Jenny Yoo Annabelle bridesmaid dress - cost too much?

WOW!! I felt bad about my girls paying $175.

Thanks for the input ladies! One of my friends (same circle of friends as my bridesmaids) is getting married and her dresses were $375 each. I've known all my bridesmaids for 10+ and 20+ years so I have a pretty open and honest relationship with each of them. I'll continue to keep looking to see if I can find anything similar and cheaper otherwise I'll have to make room in my budget to at least pay for a fraction of each of theirs.

I'm in a very similar situation. I loved those Jenny Yoo dresses as well for the versatility, but my bridesmaids will also be flying in and having to get hotels etc. so I knew it wasn't the best pricepoint. After talking to them, I decided to go with Little Borrowed Dress where they can rent dresses for $75 or buy for $185 and they're all really happy with it.

If you really like the convertible style, David's Bridal has their copycat version of the annabelle now for $180, there are just fewer color selections.

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_versa-convertible-mesh-dress-f15782#close

Just because your friend asked her bridesmaids to pay for a $375 doesn't mean you need to. You may love the dress, but at the end of the day, don't choose something they can't afford. If you offer to pay a portion, make sure you're paying the same portion for everyone.

@Christine thanks for the ideas! The David's Bridal dress is cute but unfortunately I'm looking for a light pink

@kristenann my point was that in my circle of friends that price point is not uncommon

I was looking for what a common price point is outside my circle of friends but thanks.

Again, just because it's common doesn't mean it's okay or that they can actually afford it. You need to talk to them. You may think someone has money to blow on a dress, but in reality they don't, but they don't say anything because they don't want to hurt your feelings. I spoke with all of my bridesmaids before I even looked at dresses. Common prices in my area are just like yours, but you never know what someone already has on their plate.

Really...why could you even consider a dress without having that open and honest conversation about exactly what each girls budget is. And, yes that is too much.

Yes it's an expensive dress. Even for a high end wedding with wealthy bridesmaids. It would be different if it was a handbag or something they want. But something they have to wear for you, probably more than a friend would care to spend.

As a follow up question for anyone, what do you consider to be a "reasonable price"?

And thanks again everyone! It's always interesting to hear everyone's opinions from around the country

Melissa- it seems you are really concerned with keeping the cost low to accommodate your bridal party which is very considerate of you, I would suggest going to each individual and asking what they feel comfortable with first before sending them the dresses you like. That way you know you're not pricing them out of a range they can't afford. It's all relative to their individual situations- I would not have the heart to tell a bride I couldn't afford the dress she loves. Budget first- dresses second!

My girls only had to pay $150.00 for their dresses. if i were you, i would sit down with all of them and see what they are comfortable with paying and then you pay the rest.

I am having a destination wedding and wanted to find really high quality dresses but at a price that was reasonable because of the travel costs my friends will be incurring. I love the dresses from J. Crew because they are high quality, 100% silk chiffon, not cheap polyester. The dresses that I choose retail for $260, but luckily J. Crew always has sales. My bridesmaids picked up their dresses for just $120 each on sale.

I agree it's way too much regardless of how much money your bm's make, but I'm also not one to spend money on clothes (I like to spend on experiences rather than on things). Also they're never going to wear it again, unlike spending that money on shoes/jewelry. That's my two cents. My BM's are buying their own dresses, but I went with mismatched (within reason, same color/length), so they could find their own and hopefully find something on sale. My one BM bought her's on sale for $35 and I was STOKED!!!

I say too expensive since they have to do a hotel room.

I would not expect my bridesmaids to spend over $200 for a dress. I'm still not excited about my dress from my best friend's wedding several years ago that I paid over $200 for and NEVER wore again lol. That's why I'm not even requiring my bridesmaids wear certain dresses, I just told them what color dress to wear. Some of these prices that are being thrown around in this thread are crazy!

For my bridal party- I didn't talk budget with them at all. I gave them a color and let them run wild. Each picked a dress in their price range (I think, honestly I don't even know how much their dresses cost).

I think that's steep. If you love the dress, would you be able to help subsidize the cost? Ie: pay half or something. I helped my ladies with part of the costs of their dresses (not part of their gift), AND none of them had to travel for my wedding. I do like the dress you picked, though.

Also my wedding dress was tulle and I didn't really have any issues with the fabric like Candace did. The BM's dresses were also tulle and I don't think any of them had issues either.

$260 is a bit much especially with having to travel and pay for two nights. As far as what is reasonable, that's hard to answer because what may be reasonable to some is not reasonable to all. It all depends on a person's situation. To someone $100 might be steep if they have a lot on their plate, but to someone else who is more financially set, $500 may seem like a reasonable price.

Best bet is to sit down with your friends and go over all the options and find out from them what they feel comfortable paying.

I agree with some of the above posters; it is really hard to give a fair answer without knowing your social circle, their jobs, their commitments (do they have kids, in school, etc). In some places this is expensive, in others it isn't. I wouldn't find that to be too expensive, but it totally depends on the individuals. I agree about having an honest conversation with each person one-on-one to see. In this community (WW) it would be viewed as a more expensive dress, which you can see by the responses given.

Edit: I just noticed you follow-up question. I really don't know how much this will help, but I would view up to $300 before alterations as reasonable. If it was more than that I would have to really love you! Hah.