How to ask about bridesmaid budgets?

I would ask in advance of dress shopping. Send them an email / text individually, or call them individually, and let them know you are just starting to look at some BM dresses and wanted to know what their max budget is so you can be sure to stay at or under that amount. Just don't make it a group message! That would be very awkward.

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Oh yeah, definitely not doing a group message! Thanks (:

Also if they're all over, why not give them a colour, fabric and designer and have them choose their own? Ex. DB in 'pool' in chiffon knee length. Something like that. It may not be realistic to hope for the whole WP to be able to go shopping.

Just straight up ask them individually. Or, you could just pick a color and length and let them pick a dress based on their budget and style preference. That's what I did.

I would ask them individually. I have 4 girls with different incomes in my wedding. So we're letting the girls pick their own dress as long as they're the same fabric, color, and length. This gives them the option to choose their own budget for their dress and find a dress that will fit their body type. I want each of the girls to feel confident and beautiful in their dresses.

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Agreed. We likely wouldn't be able to all go together since we're all over the place. And I might do that! I like the idea of same color/fabric, different dresses too.

Yeah, just be honest. Once you're ready to start thinking about dress shopping, ask each woman at what price point she'd be comfortable. Everyone knows bridesmaid dresses are stupidly expensive, and in my case, my friends were glad to give their input.

I agree with everyone else saying to just ask them individually. If you're thinking of going to "same color/length" route, I was just in a wedding where we ordered from Azazie and it was great. We all wore a floor length dress in a specific color and it was awesome to be able to choose my own dress - I hate my arms and was able to buy a dress with sleeves, while my other friend was able to get a halter which is her preferred style for her body type. The quality of the dresses were very good too!

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Thanks for the tip! I definitely want my bridesmaids to feel as comfortable and beautiful as possible!

You should definitely ask before shopping with them, and I would ask privately either in person or through a simple phone call, about dresses you like and how much that ballpark budget is and if that is over theirs or not. I started there and helped them find their dresses when I had a better idea of what they would like to spend, because without their budget limited the possibilities are endless and you could get swept away in the idea of a dress they can't afford.

You can ask in advance I did not. I selected an affordable dress designer and let them pick their own dress from that line. Everyone picked a style that suited their body type since they dont all have the same shape, which is what I wanted anyway, I love all the different styles together. They were able to see right then and there the price and if they didn't think they could afford it they found something else that was beautiful and within budget.

I texted each one saying “Hey I’m going to start looking for bridesmaid dresses. How much are you comfortable spending?”

They all said “whatever’s reasonable” so I ended up going with Azazie and letting them pick out of a group I chose of short, navy blue, chiffon dresses.

The same length/color/designer is great, but a site like Azazie is a much different price point than something like Bill Levkoff or Dessy. Get an idea of budget first THEN pick the designer.