Bridesmaid dress question

CASK85

So I'm a BM in my friend's wedding this coming May. She has chosen 2 Ann Taylor dresses for the maids and we can pick either one. She wants to order them all for us at the same time so we can get the discounts that they offer through their online store (30% off if you order 3 or more of the same item and 20% off if you open a credit card) which would dramatically decrease the price of the dresses for us. This is all great. 

She was asking me what a good deadline for choosing the dress and size would be. She was thinking two weeks from now. . . does that sound reasonable to you or is it too soon?  She is just trying not to be rude/demanding. It isn't an issue for me since I know my size and which dress I like, but some of the other maids feel like they need some time to figure it out. TIA for the feedback.

calindi

I'd say this is a tough time for everyone financially, given the holidays coming up, so they might not want to plop down the money right now, and her wedding is still awhile away.  Can she say the end of January?  Or will the dresses be discontinued by then?

CASK85

I really don't know if they will be discontinued. . . some of the sizes are already sold out (12 and 14 of one of the styles). I think that she might be able to carry the charge on the Anne Taylor card she plans to open for the discount for a month or two, which might give people time to come up with the money. (honestly they are pretty cheap with all the discounts ~100-130 dollars). 

calindi

That makes sense - well, if she says you have to have the order in by X date (give the girls at least a month - maybe Dec 15th?) and you have to pay the MOH by X date (sometime in January).

loopy82

I can understand on waiting if money is the issue, especially with the holidays and whatnot approaching. However, if the main reason is that they are just indecisive, then I think its good to give them a timeline. Deciding between two different dresses shouldn't be that hard. I would imagine that Ann Taylor would have dresses shipped of much more quickly than say ordering BM dresses the "traditional" way.
 
Is the percentage off discounts a limited time offer?

Since the bride was talking about opening a credit card for additional money off does that mean that she is initally making the purchase and all of you are paying her back? If that is the case I think then the dresses should get ordered by whatever timeline the bride decides, unless she is demanding payment to her as soon as she orders them.

CASK85

Yeah, the bride is opening the card so we'll pay her for the dresses eventually. 

I guess she decided to go with the two week timeline. . . I think it'll probably be ok. It doesn't seem to be a money issue, but more a time to figure out which dress/size. 

Thanks cate and loopy