Bridesmaid Dresses- Appropriate Price

octnites

Hi all,

Just wondering what you think the appropriate price is for a bridesmaid dress to ask your girls to buy? I fell in love with JLM Couture dresses, but my mom thought it was unfair to ask everyone to buy them, since they are typically priced around $230 or so.

Thoughts?

Avion22

You should talk to your bridesmaids and ask the what their budget is.   I think $100-$150 is pretty standard.  $230 would be a big stretch for a lot of people.

Maggie0829

You need to ask your BMs individually what their budget is before looking or loving a certain dress.  Whatever the lowest budget is (even if it is only $50) then that is the price range that you need to stay in.

My friend is getting married and the first dress she sent out for opinions was a Lazaro and I know for a fact that it was at least $400 because my Mom tried the same dress on as an option for my wedding.  Needless to say I told her that even though the dress was gorgeous $400 was just not going to fly.

gundy21

Ask each girl privately what her budget is - the lowest budget is the one you have to work with.

An alternative is to give guidelines for the dress and have each BM pick out her own dress that fits her budget.  For our wedding, it was a black dress, not floor length or super short, no long sleeves, and not completely blinged out like a Vegas showgirl.

AurorasEnvy

I agree, ask their budget first (each privately) before picking anything out.  I'd say $100-$175 is typical, at least around here.

Personally, only 2 of my BMs had budgets, the rest said it didn't matter.  Together we picked dresses out of the Amsale collection (each girl had a different one) so they ended up being about $275 each.  For the girls who had $200 budgets, I paid the difference.

So it's okay to go over the budget if you are willing to pay the difference, but like PP said really the first place to start is finding out what they are comfortable paying.

QueerFemme

I think $100-150 is appropriate.  But, I agree with everyone else.  Everyone has different versions of what "budget" means to them, so it's important to ask each person individually and stay within those guidelines.

welches79

Agree with all PP. You must ask your BM what they can comfortably afford. Also, a reminder to you, and for them, that the dress is just the starting point. They may end up needing alterations, and perhaps even accessories by the end of it all. A $230 dress could turn into over $400 if they need/want a bunch of new stuff to go with the dress.

octnites

thanks everyone! I had no idea that people ask each BM privately... good to know! I'm such a rookie!

ingramnusz

When budgeting, you may also consider shoes, accessories, etc.  If you want them all matching in regards to shoes, jewelery, etc. you should also take that into consideration in the price point.  For instance, someone might be able to afford a $200 dress, but it might be a stretch if they also had to buy $100 shoes and a $50 necklace. 

Good luck finding something that works for your ladies--I'm sure no matter what the price point, they'll look gorgeous!

vickietillotson

it's so dear , around $150 is ok . I know one website which has many cheaper bridemaids dress :

www.prefectbridal.com

Maggie0829

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_bridesmaid-dresses-appropriate-price?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:15Discussion:9ff1ba37-bd85-4992-94bb-24d590338d89Post:a54820fd-254f-4f8f-9628-0aaa0891108c">Re: Bridesmaid Dresses- Appropriate Price</a>:
[QUOTE]When budgeting, you may also consider shoes, accessories, etc.  If you want them all matching in regards to shoes, jewelery, etc. you should also take that into consideration in the price point.  For instance, someone might be able to afford a $200 dress, but it might be a stretch if they also had to buy $100 shoes and a $50 necklace.  Good luck finding something that works for your ladies--I'm sure no matter what the price point, they'll look gorgeous!
Posted by ingramnusz[/QUOTE]

If the bride wants specific shoes or jewelry for the BMs to wear then it is the brides job to pay for those things not the BMs.

Arinias

Maybe if their budgets are lower consider paying for part of the dress if you are really set on that one. My BMs dresses were $170, which I don't feel is excessive, but I know they couldn't all afford that easily even though they all agreed to it, so I surprised them and paid for half of it. But I agree with asking about budgets ahead of time. But talk to them about it. My maid of honor, was willing to pay the higher price but also tried to convince em to find a cheaper department store dress I liked. It wasn't that she couldn't afford the more expensive dress, she just didn't see the point, so talk to them all about it and get a feel for things.

searush

i think less than 200 should be alright, as they might need to buy shoes and other accesories. my friend got hers at7foxmall.com as she wants each bridesmaid to wear different colour dress but in the same style (dont ask why),she got it around 170 each