Who pays for the bridesmaid dresses?

crystal_fire

i have asked my niece and friend to be my bridesmaids and it never even crossed my mind to ask them to pay.
I'm getting my dresses for them from Next for a grand total of 110! with shoes and accesories it'll prolly work out at just over 150! and they can keep them afterwards.

panpipe

Thank you everyone for your replies so far. I think I will pay for the second bridesmaid unless she expressly offers to do so.

I'm not suprised at some of your reactions at the decidedly non-MSE dress budget! I was completely taken aback when she offered that huge amount :eek: - I didn't really have an idea of how much dresses etc cost at that stage so was hoping to get all three dresses for £1000 absolute max! It was after hearing that I thought about bridesmaid number 2 - if we do get carried away with my sister's dress it'll be another huge expense to find!

paddingtondoo

At least you shouldn't be like most of us who have to juggle and spend hours looking for something that you like within your budget - it took me weeks to find dresses without prices that made me go :eek::eek: especially as DD and OHs daughter think dresses are the clothes of the devil so I knew they would never see the light of day again :rotfl:.

When I was looking the bridesmaid dresses were around £350 for "proper" adult ones so you should be fine.

floss2

panpipe wrote: »

.....I'm not suprised at some of your reactions at the decidedly non-MSE dress budget! I was completely taken aback when she offered that huge amount :eek: ....

Why not ask your gran if she would mind some of her money being used for things like flowers too....something she can see & think "I helped them with that". And by the time you take veil, underwear, petticoat, alterations, shoes, jewellery, headress / tiara into account along with your dress & 2 bridesmaids dresses & shoes, there may not be that much left.

sarahs999

I think it is absolutely the right thing to pay for all the dresses. IT is you who has decided to spend this amount on dresses; you simply cannot ask someone to pay that much on something they won't wear again.

Do the dresses have to be so expensive? Am I understanding right, that the budget is £3k for yours and the two bridesmaids? I spent less than that on my dress and three bridesmaids dresses combined - and I went full on: Jimmy Choo and handmade embroidered gown for me, handmade dresses for the others. I just got a local dressmaker who I trusted to do the bridesmaids dresses from a pattern I loved and using material I had sourced (silk from Thailand).

The thing is, even though you get all caught up in it and the money starts to mean nothing after a while, it's still A LOT. I look at my Jimmy Choos now and cannot quite believe I spent £400 on them. It seems quite obscene now that I have kids and credit cards and commitments. Really, the thing to spend money on is great food for your guests and great documentation -photographs, video etc. That's what you'll be looking at for the next 50 years. I know everyoen says this to brides to be ad you think, yeah yeah, but really, it's true. It's a day. It can still be magnificent without breaking the bank.

Centurian_2

My godmother made my bridesmaids' dresses. I got the pattern for £6 of the internet. They were made of real silk and cost £30 for the 2.The secret is to have small ones!

Centurian_2

floss2 wrote: »

Why not ask your gran if she would mind some of her money being used for things like flowers too....something she can see & think "I helped them with that". And by the time you take veil, underwear, petticoat, alterations, shoes, jewellery, headress / tiara into account along with your dress & 2 bridesmaids dresses & shoes, there may not be that much left.

Wedding veils are the biggest rip-off ever. often £100 for a bit of net on a plastic comb. If ever there was something crying out for a DIY job it's that!:rotfl:

ema_o

I think the fair thing to do is if you choose the dress the bridesmaid shouldn't have to pay, particularly if it is something she wouldn't wear again. If you do want her to pay you should at least include her in looking at dresses and deciding which to go for, final decision is yours but you can't make her pay for something she hates.
It does sound like you are only spending this amount as your gran has kindly offered to pay, if I was in this situation I would be tempted to spend a bit more than planned on all 3 dresses (maybe £1500) but ask gran if she would mind if some of the money went towards specific other elements of the wedding.

*Louise*

Centurian wrote: »

Wedding veils are the biggest rip-off ever. often £100 for a bit of net on a plastic comb. If ever there was something crying out for a DIY job it's that!:rotfl:

Blimey, I never saw any at that price:rotfl:

Mine was £15, brand new from an ebay shop. 2 tier, waist length ivory with satin edge :j

crystal_fire

Centurian wrote: »

Wedding veils are the biggest rip-off ever. often £100 for a bit of net on a plastic comb. If ever there was something crying out for a DIY job it's that!:rotfl:

That has taken me back a few years to when i was much younger and playing dressup at my grandma's house and i fished my aunties wedding dress out of the wardrobe i needed a veil so she wipped the net curtain off the spare bedroom window and stuck that in with hairpins:rotfl: it was nice netting too you can't get anymore MSE than that
sorry i went off toppic but it was a lovely memory for me:o