Bridesmaid dress cost

The first thing you should do is ask your girls what they’re comfortable spending. “Too much” is really relative to the person spending the money. I personally feel like that’s a lot of money for a dress they’d wear once. If some of them don’t want to spend that much, but you still want that dress, I’d pay the difference between their budget and the cost.

Probably depends also on where you are located. Where I live, $245 is a lot of money, I wouldn't spend it. But in other cities, this is probably quite average.

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This is the right approach. But also remember that the dress cost is only the starting point. Also consider the cost of alterations, accessories, and any other money you plan to require them to spend. Figure all of that into your conversations with your bridesmaids about their budgets.

You should ask your bridesmaids in advance how much they are comfortable spending, or what they can afford. Then, look for dresses in that price range that match your aesthetic preferences.

I do agree with asking your bridesmaids for a ballpark of what they are comfortable with. don't tell them that the dress you like is $245. just ask first in general what is a comfortable ballpark each is good with and find the average of that.

but personally i think that's a lot of money. especially like what PP said that's only the start - what about shoes and what not?

I agree with everything PP said - ask them what they’re comfortable spending first.
If they think it’s too expensive and you’re set on the dress, maybe see if you could cover half the cost or something like that to make it more affordable for them.

Definitely have that talk with your girls about finances in regards to the wedding. Talk to them one on one though as I'm sure the girls would not be comfortable talking to everyone about it you know? I knew all of my girls financial situations so I bought their dress for them, but they were totally fine paying for any alterations needed. They all had minor alterations so it was less for what the dress cost. I bought their dresses from Birdy Grey for only $69. And they just used whatever shoes and jewelry they already had to go with it. I wasn't too picky. I just requested for dainty silver jewelry to go with their dresses.

Ask you girls what they’re comfortable with! All of my girls are working and in school so we opted for $150 max. My girls all have different dresses, so they ended up ranging from $300 - $100! But Birdy Grey is amazing, we got most of them from there!

Just echoing as others have said, definitely ask them first. I was just in a wedding where our dresses cost around $250 even though we weren't asked our budget and I was pretty pissed off that I was spending that much money on a dress that didn't flatter me at all that I was going to wear once. My girls are all wearing different dresses and I'm trying to stick as close to $100 as possible.

Thanks everyone!! Will definitely be talking to all my girls about this. 😊

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If their budgets are lower and you really can't imagine them in anything else, you could pay for a portion of the cost.

Keep in mind that the dress style may not be flattering or agreeable to all parties. They may not want to invest that much in a dress they don't really like. But, i agree, you should take a poll. Best wishes!

That is something only you and your bridesmaids can answer. People say all the time “oh don’t listen to anyone else because you can totally wear a bridesmaid dress again to everything” but the reality is it’s a one wear only purchase. So keep it on the inexpensive side unless everyone has bottomless pockets and spending money isn’t an issue. $245 is a lot for a one time wear outfit. Check out Azazie which is largely under $100. Also major cities have wholesale districts where you can brand new dresses dirt cheap.

I don’t think it’s that much, but it’s all relative. I say talk with them and if you really love the dress just subsidize what they can’t pay. I paid for 3 of my bridesmaids dresses because some of my bridesmaids were low on funds.

I wouldn’t pay over $150 for a bridesmaids dress. I let my bridesmaids pick their own dresses (within certain specifications) so no one felt pressured to spend a certain amount of money.

That is a lot of money ... all the dresses my bridesmaids can pick from are less then 200 dollars which seems responsible and I just bought a bridesmaid dress for my sisters wedding in June and it was only 154

Reasonable * not responsible

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We're doing this as well. My favorite dresses are $195 from Revelry, and my bridesmaids each said they can make $200 work for a dress. However, I couldn't get past the guilt of asking them to spend that much on a dress they'll wear once, so I gave them a color from Azazie, Birdy Grey, and Revelry with a list of my favorite styles at each. Now I know I'll like the color, that the styles will go together, but that they'll have final say over what suits their body and their budget.

I've only been a bridesmaid once, but I spent just over $150 after taxes at David's Bridal. I was in college at the time and wish I had built bridesmaid expenses into my budget better, so it was personally a bit steep at the time. I think having a conversation with your gals about what makes sense for them is the way to go.

I’m looking for dresses no more than $100. Even though I’m paying for hair/makeup and jewelry. I just think its a lot to ask and I’m asking them to also travel 4 hours away. I personally wouldn’t want to spend $245 on a dress unless it was like my sister or something. Because they also have to pay for their shoes and alterations

Mine were kinda pricey also. A lil over 200. I asked them what they thought before I made my decision but I made it known this is what I had my eye on from the beginning. They all loved it and said they would definitely be able to wear it again so they were fine with it