Maid of Honor Roles?

It's definitely not typical for the bride to pay for the wedding party's attire. I would have a chat with her about budget and expectations. Maybe she's really just unfamiliar.

She should pay for her dress and maybe shoes (unless you're forcing them to wear a specific shoe). As for hair and make-up, if you're insisting she get it done professionally, then you should offer to pay. If you offer the service, saying, "Hey guys, I'm going to have a make-up artist and hair-stylist on site. If you want to use them, it'll cost $xxx. Let me know if you want me to book them for you." - then they pay because they're choosing to do it.

Nope you have no obligation to pay for anything of theirs for your wedding. As soon as I signed people up I made it clear that they were paying for their dresses and shoes and as their gift from me I would cover their hair and makeup.

But I’ve also heard of a bride paying for half the hair or makeup as the gift.

Sge is responsible for her own items to be taking care of unless you want to give her the dress , makeup or hair as a gift. That's just my opinion.

View Quoted Comment I agree Emily

100000% no. You are not the bride. The bride should pay for her hair make up dress shoes and SHE should offer to pay for hair and make up or bridesmaids can pay for their own. NOT on you!

Typically the wedding party pays for all their own attire, but if you are requiring that your bridesmaids get their hair and makeup done professionally then that is something you would cover or at least chip in for. You definitely should consider your wedding party members' budgets when picking out dresses though, and if you happen to have expensive tastes but your bridesmaids aren't wealthy you'll need to give them some options or consider chipping in for the extra cost (for example, if you LOVE some $275 dollar bridesmaids dresses but your maids can reasonably only swing $100-150, then you need to compromise somewhere).

I say have a conversation with your MOH about what your expectations are and establish some participation ground rules early. Figure out what each of you are willing to pay for, what the budget is, etc. Every wedding is a bit different, so having a conversation early on will ensure you are on the same page and there is no resentment later on.

My MOH is my only bridesmaid. She's also the bridesmaid in another wedding and she's absolutely dreading everything about the other wedding because the bride is rich and spoiled and literally has no concept of people not having their parents pay for everything for them. For my wedding she had to buy a dress (I gave her some guidelines, but she picked it out) and that's it. She's probably going to have her nails, hair, and makeup done with me because she wants to but I'm not requiring it. We are paying for her lodging, and she's going to wear her own shoes and jewelry for the wedding. Even though she's the MOH in my wedding and just one of seven bridesmaids in the other, the other wedding will easily cost her 10-15x as much as mine because of what that bride wants (destination wedding, destination bachelorette, expensive dresses, etc).

View Quoted Comment This. Well said.

I guess maybe she could have assumed that based on her knowledge of bridal parties? One of our groomsman first instance thought we were gonna pay his attire due to his past experience where his attire was paid for as part of the grooms party

I agree with the other posters. It is not your responsibility to pay for the dress and/or hair and makeup (unless you are requesting a specific style for hair and makeup). It goes without saying that when you accept the roll in a wedding you will pay for your attire.

View Quoted Comment

Here is my experience (including bridesmaids + maid of honor), if you'd find that helpful:

Dress: Bridesmaids pay for their own dresses, but bride selects option(s) that are within reason of the bridesmaids' budgets.

Shoes: Bridesmaids pay for their own shoes, unless the bride is requiring a specific shoe (for every wedding I've been in, the bride has said something like "wear any silver heel" and then people buy their own).

Hair + makeup: If hair + makeup is optional, then the bridesmaids pay for it. If it's not optional, then the bride pays for it.

Generally, it's the norm for the bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses (after discussing what their budgets are). The bride is only expected to pay for hair/makeup/shoes/accessories if they require specifics.

The only "duties" a bridesmaid has is to buy their dresses with the agreed upon budget and show up/stand up with you on wedding day.

Bridesmaids always buy their own dress and sometimes shoes (usually you tell them color or style). Hair and makeup aren’t mandatory in my opinion as most of us can do our own.

Is she British or from parts of Canada where it is customary for brides to pay for attendant's dress and assorted other costs? Or just misinformed? She can do her own hair and makeup, or go to a salon of her choice, if she does not want to use yours. And show up an hour before the wedding ( earlier if pics are done of groups then..) And you are obligated to select a dress within a reasonable amount for the ladies budgets. But MOH is responsible for her dress, and all grooming costs for herself .