Bridesmaid Dress Dilemma!

Moomin21

Hi all,

Hope I don't sound like a bridezilla but got a bit of an issue with bridesmaid dresses and wanted to check if I was being unreasonable!

Before ordering bridesmaid dresses from Coast, I asked them all to go and try the dress and tell me what size they wanted. They did and I ordered them, all ok. once they tried them on when they arrived they were too small and they both said 'yeah i ordered a smaller size coz i want to/will loose weight'. Now we are 6 months down the line and the dresses still don't fit and I need to order new ones! would it be unreasonable to ask them to contribute to the cost? they are £145 each so its quite a lot for me to find!!

Just to be clear, I'm not demanding they loose weight or anything!!

Thanks xx

Faith177

Moomin21 wrote: »

Hi all,

Hope I don't sound like a bridezilla but got a bit of an issue with bridesmaid dresses and wanted to check if I was being unreasonable!

Before ordering bridesmaid dresses from Coast, I asked them all to go and try the dress and tell me what size they wanted. They did and I ordered them, all ok. once they tried them on when they arrived they were too small and they both said 'yeah i ordered a smaller size coz i want to/will loose weight'. Now we are 6 months down the line and the dresses still don't fit and I need to order new ones! would it be unreasonable to ask them to contribute to the cost? they are £145 each so its quite a lot for me to find!!

Just to be clear, I'm not demanding they loose weight or anything!!

Thanks xx

How long until your wedding?

If there isn't enough time for them to fit then I would say yes it's ok for them to contribute. You asked them what size it's their fault they don't fit not your's you did everything you could xx

mazy_m

Hi

Personally I don't think it's rude to ask that at all. My bridesmaids are buying their own dresses and I did feel a bit funny asking them but thought they would be buying a new dress anyway so if they found something similar they all like why not and their reaction was fine -in fact they were all so lovely about it and some were thinking it was going to cost £150 but I explained it didn't need to be a formal one so they all liked something which was £45- result and they (or not so they've told me !! don't resent paying it at all!) So i'm guessing they are people close to you they're not going to mind at all and understand that it was kind of due to their decision to get a smaller size with the good intention....we've all been there heck i've a wardrobe full of "i'll get into it!!!" dresses that I never actually got into!! haha!!

Why don't you just explain to them you've already had to fork out £145 each so you can't afford that again how do you think they'd react you know them!!

Also perhaps sell the other dresses on and make some money back that way.

Good luck hope it goes well!!

Maz xx

floss2

Yes, if they haven't/can't lost enough weight to fit into the size they asked for, you should be asking them for the extra cash.

Stick the others on Ebay, then if they sell & recover some cash you could pass that onto your BMs

sethsgran

I agree, they should pay for the replacement dresses if necessary. Could that be a motivation to the to loose the weight.

BabyC

I think it's perfectly reasonable to ak them to contribute in the circumstances. But, if Coast still sell the style you need, it might be worth asking in store if they would agree to exchange them for bigger sizes rather than just have to pay for new ones? They obviously aren't under any obligation to exchange after that amount of time, but it could be worth a try so you don't end up out of pocket?!

sarahlouisexo

If Coast still have the exact same dresses, play the dumb blonde, take the dresses in with no receipt, and claim a member of your family bought them for you as a contribution to the wedding, claim you don't know when they were bought or how they were paid for, and ask whether you can do them as a direct exchange for the next sizes up in them, which they should hopefully do. Do this ASAP if the dresses are still in stock. If your bridesmaids then loose weight, tell them to sort out the cost of the alterations themselves!

If they've gone out of stock, take the same action, but ask for a store credit note instead, which you can then use to replace the dresses. If there is any price issues, e.g. you bought the dress for 145, its gone done in sale to 100, so you only get 100 store credit, ask your bridesmaids to contribute the extra money, because its their fault.

I hope you can get this sorted out!

hippihaz

definitely try the above - pretend to not know exactly whats going on, so long as the have the dresses in stock and your dresses arent damaged in anyway you may be fine!
my bridesmaid did this to me, insisted on a size smaller, had it at her house, insisted she would fit into it - 3 weeks before the wedding, get a text saying btw I'm going to have to have a new dress because it doesnt fit! so much stress, as matched the other bridesmaids dress and wasnt still in stock, and she said she couldnt afford a new one - thank god my mum helped out and bought them both new matching dresses! still cross about it to this day though - had an ivory and lilac themed wedding and ended up with bridesmaids in light blue...they did look lovely tho.
Really hope you get it all sorted! xxx

SmuggleswithStruggles

Contribute? They should pay the whole £145. It's their fault, they asked for a dress that was too small. If I was the bridesmaid I'd feel embarrassed and I'd offer to pay the whole amount.

Smuggles

Gonzo1987

If they were my bridesmaids they would be paying - you've got them dresses, in sizes the specified, you did your bit, they didn't fulfil their end of the bargain by losing the weight they said the would, that's not your problem (unless you were force feeding them krispy kremes) So I'd make them pay.

Moomin21

thanks for the replies everyone! ended up buying 2 new dresses and going to try and get some money back for the old ones on ebay..have asked them to all pay for their own hair and make up tho as I used the money I had saved for that to buy the dresses!! I am a bit surpised that they havent offered to pay but they seem ok with the hair and make up thing so hopefully that will work out ok! thanks everyone xx