Bridesmaids Financial Responsibilities

Bridesmaids pay for their dresses (selected after private consultations about budget). Anything else the bride requires the bride pays for. Anything else the bridesmaid pays for is entirely voluntary.

Nothing. Bridesmaids should not have to pay anything for the honor of standing up in a wedding. I paid for dresses, hair, makeup, none needed lodging because it was local, and my bachelorette party was dinner and going out (which is a normal Friday night pretty much).

Like others, the only thing I'm requiring is their dress, which will be off Azazie.Com so it's affordable, and I gave them a the color and that I wanted it to be long without a slit. I don't care about shoes, I just told them nude, heels or flats. My mother is hosting the shower and she will let them help plan but nothing financially (she's stubborn). I am paying for their hair and makeup the day of. One of my bridesmaids has a lake house so we'll be spending a low-key weekend there, maybe a couple of wineries in area but nothing outrageous. So probably a rough estimate would be $200-$250 total per bridesmaid.

I have 9 bridesmaids. I asked them 18 months out, so they had lots of time to save.

Dresses: $89-$169 depending on dress

Shoes & Jewelry: Whatever they wanted, so potentially $0 if they used what they had.

Hair & Makeup: $0, I covered this cost (still optional to them).

Bachelorette: Honestly, I'm not sure what it cost them. I contributed $200 for dinner for everyone the first night, and $70 for favors for everyone. I had to fly in, and so did my MOH. The other 5 girls drove (1 hour to 6 hour drive depending on where they live). I assume each girl paid around $300 not including flight/gas.

Flight: 6 girls have to fly in - flights costing $250-$400.

Hotel: $119 per night (most girls staying 2 nights - 3 of them are staying 3 nights)

Bridal Shower: $0, my mom hosted.

So at most, I'd say they could spend up to $1,500 or as low as $0. I know that's a huge range, we just have 9 bridesmaids so it differs SO much. Like for example, my fiance's 4 sisters are bridesmaids. His father paid for their dresses and hotel. Two of them didn't have to fly in, and weren't able to go to my bachelorette. So the wedding is costing them $0. One of his sisters has to fly in (she also went to my bach), and one is driving in (she didn't). 6 girls total went to my bach. I made everything SUPER optional like the bachelorette & my mom paid for the entire shower. My fiance's father picking up dress & hotel costs for his daughters helped them a lot. So it really just depends. 5 of the girls gave me gifts at my bachelorette in addition to going, and one of them sent bridal shower gifts.

My only expectation was dress & shoes. The dress that THEY chose was $185.00 and they can get any shoe they want in a specified color. If they want HMU, that is their choice and their cost but not required. I do know they spend a bit on my bach which starts tomorrow in Vegas but I let everyone know ahead of time that there was no requirement that they go. MOH has planned everything for that, as in I know what time my flight leaves and that's it, but I know she kept things reasonable cost wise for everyone and all activities were optional (if they just wanted to hang out by the pool all day, cool beans, you do you girl).

I did not want a shower as FH and I have been living together for 3 years and I have had my house for 4 years and have all the stuff I need. Mom is insistent on a shower so she is covering that cost herself.

We bought their dress, but any alterations are on them. They are responsible for getting their own shoes, which I was very lenient on style/color... most of them picked out sandals that probably weren't more than $20. They also have the option of getting hair & make up done by the girl I hired to do mine, $50 each service. So if they already had shoes and want to do their own hair & make up, all they had to worry about was alterations.

Haha oh no! I'm glad I could help. From the beginning I was very "pay for your dress & that's it" and I tried to stay that way by making everything optional. Obviously they had to fly/drive to CO and stay in some hotel (the blocked one or wherever they wanted) so those were expenses too. I've been a bridesmaid twice, both times I was out of state. The first time cost me $300 plane ticket + $60 dress + $30 shoes + $150 hair and makeup + $100 gift. The second time cost me $300 plane ticket + $200 hotel room + $120 dress + $20 shoes + $150 hair and makeup + $100 gift + $60 rental car + $150 bachelorette party + $40 bridal shower. Both girls made things optional but I just knew how expensive being a bridesmaid was so I was prepared & wanted to be involved. Our budget is larger so I'm able to pay for HAMU for all the girls, breakfast & lunch, transportation, a chair masseuse, some of the bachelorette, my mom paid for all the bridal shower, and we are spending $70 per girl in addition for day of gifts (I also spent $15 per girl in proposal gifts and another $15 per girl for bach favors). I paid for far more than the two brides I was in their wedding but our budget was bigger so that made sense to me. Also all my girls are traveling so I felt like I should cover more.

I am paying for most of the bridesmaids stuff. Accessories (shoes, necklaces, makeup, etc) are for them to handle, but I don't expect them to pay a s h i t ton of money to get something that they will only wear on special occasions. And two of my bridesmaids are my teenage kids (12 and 14), so I certainly don't expect my own kids to pay hundreds of dollars.