Bridesmaid Dresses - Where to buy?!

JessulyMcCabe

Hi everyone! 

I'm having a hard time looking for bridesmaid dresses. I am going to ask my 5 bridesmaids to purchase their own dresses, so I am trying to find dresses that are as reasonably priced as possible (my goal is $100 or less). I will pick the color and 4 or 5 styles for the bridesmaids to choose from, so that they can all pick a silhouette they like. 

My big problem is that I don't know where to shop! David's Bridal does not carry the color I want (I'm looking for a bubble gum pink, not a light pink like blush, but not a dark pink like fuchsia, and not an orange-pink like coral). The boutique's I've visited for wedding gowns have bridesmaid dresses starting at $150, but I feel that s a little pricey. I found jjshouse.com and uwdress.com, but they are only online so my bridesmaids can't try them on. 

I live in Bedford, MA, but am willing to go as far as Nashua, NH, as well as out to Natick, MA since I go to school near there. Any suggestions for boutiques or stores with bridesmaid dresses around $100? Or do you think asking my bridesmaids to simply choose online is okay? Thank you! 

missdelilah

@JessulyMcCabe I'd really advise against the online Chinese websites.  I've bought a couple of things from them (mostly for costumes) and some of them have turned out fine, while others have been complete messes.  Usually the quality isn't good and very often doesn't look anything like the photos, which the take directly from the original designers websites.  You can check out this Facebook page if you like https://www.facebook.com/BridesBeware/photos/a.487124101379377.1073741829.475593509199103/572440046181115/?type=3&theater  Not everything that comes out of these sites is going to be horrible, but all I can do is give you a very big warning.  

I'll reach out to some of my friends around the area and see if they have thoughts on boutiques that have dresses within your range.  It might be worth calling Manhattan Bridals, if you can get to Deadham.  They have a lot of under $1000 wedding gowns, and tons of bridesmaids stuff, so they may have something in your price range.  I'll let you know if I find anything suitable before someone beats me to it.

Edit: here's the link to the pic I was looking for that comes from Jj's House: https://www.facebook.com/KnockoffNightmares/photos/a.1374258626151088.1073741828.1374245942819023/1470336716543278/?type=1&theater

JessulyMcCabe

Thank you so much @missdelilah I appreciate it! 

RebeccaFlower

You really need to ask your bridesmaids for a budget before you do anything. But definitely don't go with anything from a Chinese knockoff site, that's just asking for bad luck. 

I personally hate 'bridesmaids' dresses from David's Bridal or otherwise. Would you consider going with a mismatch look? Give them a swatch of a color and they can find a dress in a style they like within their budget. No, they won't be matchy matchy but everyone will be happy! 

missdelilah

I like @RebeccaFlower's suggestion.  I'm not doing a matchy matchy thing with my ladies either, and I think it's the easiest way of making everyone happy, and having each lady look great.

As a follow up, my hairdresser recommended the bridesmaids section of the Target website.  Everything is easily returnable to a store if it's not right.  http://www.target.com/sb/dresses-women-s-clothing/bridesmaid/-/N-5xtcgZ57qso#?lnk=Grid_dresses_0_0_X0Y0W4_16_6_2014|X0Y0W4|T:Template_Grid1A|C:CMS&intc=1637053|null

JCbride2015

I have also heard great things about Target dresses.  Many of them come in a soft pink that I would call bubblegum.

http://www.target.com/p/tevolio-women-s-chiffon-illusion-sleeveless-dress-fashion-colors/-/A-14709010#prodSlot=large_1_5

And yes, please ask each BM privately for her budget.  They may surprise you and say $150 is fine, or they might only be able to spend $50.  The lowest budget is what you should go by.

Or, you can just tell them "bubblegum pink, knee length" and let them each pick their own dress.

missdelilah

One friend suggests you try Alfred Angelo.  They have stores in Dedham, North Attleboro, and Danvers.

MollyandD

My bridesmaids picked their own dresses. They all ended up with shades of green or shades of red/pink. The only thing I requested was that the dresses be go to around the knees. Some people like the colors to all be the same, but I didn't want that personally.

They got the dresses from different places. Some went to Ross, and my matron of honor spent $10 on her dress from there. I don't think anyone spent more than $50 on the dress. This is a picture taken by a friend while the photographer positioned us. 

atlastmrsg

Don't forget about places like Macy's.  They run coupon sales all the time.  And you might be able to get "real" dresses that could potentially be worn again, not dresses that scream "bridesmaid" and "on eBay by Monday."  The last David's Bridal satin monstrosity I had to buy was on eBay three days after I wore it because it was so hideous.  

Viczaesar

genuine100 said:

The mismatched bridesmaid dresses are more popular, bridesmaids could choose different style to meet their body, but color could be the same. 

Vendor alert, @buttercup1958

primafaba15

I'm going to second Alfred Angelo.  I bought my bridesmaids dresses there this weekend.  With that said: ask a lot of questions about the prices. Their site listed ranges starting well below $100 and none of the dresses pulled ended up being anywhere below $150, so I have no idea where those inexpensive dresses were, but supposedly they were there. 

On that note: I also second the suggestion to talk to your maids about their budget individually. I was trying to go cheap, as close to $100 as possible and was super worried when the dress they fell in love with turned out to be $180 (of course, we forgot to ask before they tried it on). All three were completely unfazed about getting that dress despite the price-- and I stayed completely out of the decisions, they chose it all among themselves. So you never know! 

I had the same problem with David's: none of the dresses I liked seemed to come in the color I wanted (a certain shade of purple). Most of AA's basic dresses come in any of their Dream in Color colors which encompass a lot of different shades of a LOT of different colors.  They also had a lot of really pretty, not bridesmaid-y options that my maids were excited about wearing again. 

I don't know where your maids live, but a major perk for me of AA was the fact that they're a chain, since I have maids in MA (I'm in Worcester; she's in Charlestown), CA and VA. We were able to get everyone together for the purchase appointment, but for things from here on out that made it easier.  

jjaskovach

I don't know if it is too late, but my bmaids all got their dresses online at Jcrew.  They are always running sales and have a wide range of colors. Ordering and exchanging were not that complicated, they just had to get their measurements ahead of time....