Dress as part of gift?

bwisco123

Alright laides- hear me out. 

I am debating buying my girls bridesmaid dresses from them as their gift - or paying for part of it as part of their gift.  3 of the 4 girls that are in my wedding are in other weddings literally a month before mine and everyone is feeling a bit strapped/overwhelemed with all of the $$ invovled. 

The dresses I've picked (at this point) are only $90 so I was thinking of paying for atleast half and then having a little extra something for them the day of the wedding and such. 

Does this sound like a totally tacky/bad idea?  Being that I am ALSO in this wedding a few weeks before mine- I would have loved for someone to pay for part of my $150 dress lol -

opinions please :-)

trix1223

It's a lovely gesture.  But it's not really a gift for them.  It's a gift for you to complete the "vision" you have for your wedding.  Sorry.

CaseyandSalley

no mam I wouldnt be grateful it was "part" of a gift.

aerinpegadrak

Since the dress is the one thing a bridesmaid goes in knowing she'll have to spend money on, paying for part of the dress frees up that budget for other things, which is nice.  However, it might be better for everyone if you selected a cheaper dress or let them pick their own dress in your colors, that way you can get them something they'll enjoy and use after the wedding.

bwisco123

ahhh thanks - I should know by now if I am indecisive about it - its more than likely not the best of ideas lol. 

Thanks for your input:-)

SSaltzman87

I agree that it's a great idea in theory, but it's not really a gift to them.

Maybe a better idea would be to let your BMs wear a dress they already have in a specific color, so no extra money is really spent on their/your part.

GJMLucky

Since the dresses are only $90, and you need 4 of them, I say just pay for them. Then, get them a smaller BM gift, say spend $50 or so and call it a day. The gesture of you paying for the BM dresses will go a long way  

marissa_claire

I think paying them for something they already bought is a bit odd, so if anything I would give them a Visa giftcard.

And to be honest, I would personally just pay for them and not consider it to be their present.  We paid for our BM dresses, and I don't recommend everyone do it, but in your case that's $360.  I would crunch numbers and see how to work other things around so that I could just outright pay for their dresses, no strings attached.

stina93446

Attire and jewelry for your wedding isn't a gift. Sorry.

If you want to help pay for their dresses, I would. Like $25 toward each girl and not calling it a gift, and then use the remaining money to get them something that is geared toward each individual girl. Hope this helps.

LoveMuffins

I'm paying for my girls gifts as their present, and I'm going to get them a little something extra. They're incredibly grateful, as they're all strapped for cash and this way they can choose any of the styles in the store that we're shopping at. I've been in a wedding where the dress was the gift, and we certainly didn't expect anything extra, but were given presents anyway.

As PPs have said, the BMs go in expecting to shell out for the dress... but on the other hand, I think that makes paying for them even nicer. Since it tends to be one of the larger BM expenses, it's great to be able to lift that burden.

JEeyore28

I think this is a great idea and I am actually doing the same.  I know my girls will greatly appreciate it. 

bwisco123

Thanks to everyone for their input - it is nice to hear both sides and see that others are paying for their ladies dresses also. 

I am going to sit on it a bit longer before we do any ordering so I can make a decision!