Bridal Party on a budget

lovetruly06

Everyone in my bridal party has limited funds and one of my sisters live out of state. would it be better to out and buy dresses or go buy material and make the dresses?

mbcdefg

I don't know how much it'd cost to make a dress (this would be a question for a local seamstress). But my bet is that it'd be easier to purchase dresses. What is their budget for a dress? You have a ton of options: Target.com, sale dresses from J. Crew and Ann Taylor, department store dresses, Marshall's and TJ Maxx, overstock.com. eBay sells gently used BM dresses, and new-with-tags dresses (David's Bridal, J. Crew, Ann Taylor, etc.). Or you could specify a color and length, and the girls could find their own dresses - thrift shops and consignment stores, borrow dresses from friends, or ask them to wear a black cocktail dress of their choice.

banana468

Ditto mbc.  There are a ton of options.  Ask each BM individually what she can spend on a dress.  There are TONS of sales out there now. 

stina93446

Why not tell them to pick out any black dress that is already in their closet?

paula2131

Agree with all the pp... you may be better off finding something on sale than going to a seamstress.  JCrew often has dresses for as low as $60 and I've never paid less than $40 just for alterations.  The little black dress thing is a great idea because you can always add a coordinating color to it somehow, whether it's a sash, flower pin, wrap, or shoes. 

lovetruly06

The issue with the "little black dress" idea is maybe only one girl actualy has one i've asked them. I thought about sundresses or something that wouoldnt cost a lot and they would wear again, then I realized that I live in michigan and im getting married in october, that would be very, very cold. Im not into matching looks I want them to express themselfs and look like thier own person, Im just not sure how to do that yet. At least we have a year to figure it out. thanks for your help guys, and keep it comming:)

mbcdefg

I think the beauty of the little black dress idea is that you can literally find a LBD anywhere. I have one from Ann Taylor that was about $75, and another from Marshall's that was $30. You can probably find them in any thrift store. I'll bet most girls could borrow them from friends. And even if they have to buy a new one, it's at least a good "investment piece" for future events. Another idea could be to pick a brand and look on eBay. One girl on here told her BMs to pick any apple red David's Bridal dress they wanted. Some got them from the actual store, while some went to thrift shops and eBay and got them for under $50 each. Another girl liked a certain J. Crew dress, and found enough brand new ones on eBay to outfit each BM for less than $100 (when the dresses actually retailed for over $300). Target.com even has BM dresses now. Most are under about $60. Do you know how much money the girls (on average) have to spend? Also, do you know what kind of dress you want? Maybe we can help you find something online.

shari2004

I have girls of different body shapes.  I found J CREW had some reasonable dresses that fit their body styles AND could/already have been worn in places outside of weddings.  You can get discounts and free shipping.  Sign up for their email thingy and you'll get sent discount codes weekly.