Are you paying for your bridesmaids dresses?

[ichimiyuki]

We have 3 bridesmaids and 3 groomsmen for our February 2011 wedding.  We got their input as to what they thought of style/colors but paid for all of their outfits .  We waited 'til the end of the season when everything went on sale.  We totally lucked out with helpful sales staff who offered to search for the sizes we needed nationwide and order whatever they didn't have in for us. 

 

Bought the dresses from BCBG ($100 ea), sandals ($50).  The shirts & pants are from Tommy Bahama ($100) sandals ($50).  We had used our 'Passport to Paradise' which saved us 20%.  I find the style doesn't change much there but the colors are new every year.  Everyone is responsible for their own alterations.

 

I will be getting my bridesmaids earrings and a pashmina for the ceremony/reception, and paying for their hair-do.  They will decide if they want to get their makeup done or do it themselves at the salon I booked.  I will get them a small gift, not sure what yet.

 

We've asked the groomsmen to wear a belt that matches their dark brown sandals.  My fiance will be picking out a gift for each of them.

 

I never used the stuff I had to buy for other weddings and I know being a part of a wedding can get expensive.  We're not helping with the cost of the rooms or anything but wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone since this is a destination wedding.  I would feel uncomfortable asking for everyone to pay for their outfits.  I feel good about the choices we made and that we're getting everyone's outfits!

[june11bride]

I never felt like I ever really had a choice in paying for their bridesmaid dresses and felt obligated to because of the destination wedding..they are paying so much to attend my wedding (and I have always had a sense of guilt about it!!). I don't mind, of course, but dont like it when people assume this is going to be cheap for me!!

[all the love]

We're paying for the bridesmaid's outfits, but we only have 3, and their 'dresses' are beach sarongs in our wedding colors, so they were really affordable and no alterations required. We just love the casual look and feel of the sarongs. We're also hoping to reimburse them for some of their travel costs, although we'll wait until our costs are final to see how much money we spent.

 

FI's groomsmen are all pretty well off, so we decided to get them nicer gifts and have them pay for their own outfits (about $130 each)

[jennifersyble]

Ok, so I'm not planning to pay for their dresses but I'm also making it a personal goal for the dresses to not be over $100. I think that's reasonable. I also wanted to add that I was in a wedding once where the bride paid for the cost of the dress over $100 (so, if it was $150, she paid $50.)

[gratchie]

I paid for my bridesmaid dresses from dessy.com . I figured it might as well be my bridesmaid gift to them  

[KCB2011]

We are not paying for the BM's dresses because I wanted to give them a more personal gift.  Also, I will be paying for a manicure and pedicure once we get down to the resort as an additional thank you.  I also am trying to keep the cost below $100 and right now it's looking like they will only be about $60, woohoo!

 

FI is buying his groomsmen their pants and shirts as his thank you gift to them but that is more because he doesn't really know what else to get them!  We will probably get them something else (smaller) like a nice pair of sunglasses or something as well.

[tris]

I am paying for my BM's dresses. Considering how much they're paying to come down with us, I felt it was a nice gesture. They are paying for their own alterations (if they need, my 1 BM fits her perfectly, the other is just getting hers shortened a bit). They're also buying their own shoes & jewelery.

 

I think for DW's it can go either way

[NikkiT1021]

Initially I thought we would pay for them, but after realizing how over budget we are going already, it's not going to be an option. I am however, going to be buying their shoes (they don't know this yet). 

[Meggers7484]

I found perfect bm dresses on Forever 21.com for less than $25!!! So I was happy to pay for those, and will be getting them their custom jewelry and clutches as their gifts. The groomsman weren't so lucky, they will need to spend about $150 on their attire, but realistically they would have spent that on a tux rental at home, at least these clothes they get to keep!!

[Marlena]

I like the idea of paying for the bridesmaids dresses. I might do that and get them something small to go with it.

 

Has anyone ordered a bridesmaid's dress from lightinthebox.com ? It looks very nice, and ships to your house in 3 weeks, versus ordering from a bridal salon and getting your dresses 6 months from now (and then one of your girls gets pregnant between now and then and it doesn't fit) I'm thinking about it....