How Much were your BM Dresses?

misschristinec

Is there some sort of limit? 

I love this dress http://www.jlmcouture.com/Jim-Hjelm-Occasions/Bridesmaid/Additional/Style-5935
(in INK)

but it's about $230

Is that too much? 
I recently spend about $130 and $200  on dresses
and a few years ago I spent $360 on a Vera Wange BM dress for my cousin's wedding.    But now that we have this economic rut.. I dont know...

hcer0708

Thats actually one of the dresses i like! I didnt realize it was that much.I would ask your bridesmaides what they are comfortable spending.

uppereastgirl

Whether it is too much is up to your girls and what they're comfortable with.  You'd know that better than us.  I think $230 is probably the slightly high side of average in this area.  The most I've spent for a bridesmaid dress was $325, and the least was $165.  The $325 dress was kind of tough for me because I was in law school at the time (so I had no salary, and six figures worth of debt), but at least I liked the dress?  

My bridesmaid dresses retailed for $400, but through a series of discounts I was able to get them down to $265.  And most of my girls have worn the dress more than once, which makes me feel better.  

Laurms15

My BM dresses cost something similar to that dress. I love that dress. I had more then 5 bridesmaids and at "Brides Best Friend" in englewood they were able to get 10% off their dresses so that helped. Did you try going to RK bridal in the city I hear its less expensive there.

peaches85

Mine are about $160 with free alterations.

stapletond

I guess my girls picked a dress on the higher end of the spectrum.  They choose dresses that cost around $275.  They are Amsale and beautiful though!  The dresses are chiffon and short, so hopefully they feel like they can wear them again (they really don't look like a bridesmaid stereotypical taffeta.)

I paid more than $300 for a Vera Wang bridesmaid dress and then I had to pay for alterations on top of it...and I've NEVER worn it again. 

kewltif

Check out Non Chalance and see if you can get a group discount.  I LOVE that dress by the way! The dress I had was a Lazaro (same company) and after a trunk show discount and group discount the girls paid $220 each.

I never would have thought that we would have picked a dress that expensive, but the girls wanted it.  Once they saw it they were willing to spend more to be in a dress that they really liked.

tinydancer842

originally $175, but $150 after discounts because I got my wedding dress there. You should speak to each BM Individually about their budget. When you ask someone in a big group they may feel bad about saying their budget is much lower than everyone else. Also for the BM dresses they paid 1/2 when they ordered & 1/2 when it came in -- you can always pay half if its too much for them to spend. 

jaimelody

Mine are 180 and free alterations. My girls agreed on it and still complain that it was too expensive. Make sure you let them know how much it is.

NJMom050911

$150 not sure how much the alterations are but not sure if anyone is actually going to alter. They are from DB

ffbride_0813

Mine are $130.  I got them at pearls place.  In stores they were $160. 




I love that dress you want.  I think my bridesmaids would have flipped if I asked them to spend that much.  They dont usually buy over $200 dresses for themselves.  They are more $50 on sale type of girls. 

jrgoogrl

$180 and then the alterations are a flat fee of $50...I think?!

maddie7

I think that is too much for a dress most wear again..
Mine were $145

Just Jen

Like, $119. But they weren't "bridesmaid" dresses.

To me, that seems like a lot, but what's "a lot" is different for everyone...

dmoney79

mine were $168 i think (alfred angelo), with $45 alterations

rlb81

Mine were $225 with free alterations at Hollywood Bridal and they're Jim Hjelm as well. The girls agreed that they didn't want to spend more than $200 and when they saw this dress they all loved it. It was originally $250 but the store was having a Jim Hjelm trunk show that weekend so they got 10% off.
http://www.jlmcouture.com/Jim-Hjelm-Occasions/Bridesmaid/Additional/Style-5930

TuffysMommie

The two weddings I am in:

$203 for a Bill Levkoff

$130ish for a Dessy - although I got it at Pearl's Place and the in-store quote at the NJ salon was $200

I also have worn a Vera Wang dress for my sister's wedding and I don't remember the price, but it wasn't all that much more than the Bill Levkoff.

demarcosjd

$180 and that was after a 15% discount for having over 5 girls. They are all getting it altered on their own. I was in a wedding in the fall and our dress total was around $260 with alterations and she made us get a matching shawl. In my opinion that was way too much, I will never wear the dress again and the shawl was a waste. I would go over things with them first and let them be honest with what their comfort level is.

akmackay

Mine were $158 after a discount b/c I bought my dress at the shop.I think $230 is a lot, but then again you need to ask your BM to find out. My girls came with me and I made sure to steer clear of them picking out a more expensive dress, but they tried them on anyway. In the end they all loved this one and they chose it and most of them have already decided to wear it at another wedding this summer.

mbcdefg

The only limits are the ones that your girls themselves have.

Ask them what they can afford - don't just guess/assume, and don't say, "I love this dress and it's $230, is that O.K.?" Because then they may feel pressured to say it's O.K. even if it's not, out of fear of disappointing you or out of fear of the other girls finding them "cheap" if they're the only one who cannot afford it.

Call or e-mail each girl privately, before you start looking at dresses, and ask what they can afford to spend. Once everyone gives you a number, then you will know what price range you cannot go above. (Or, you can chip in some money yourself if you want a dress that's more expensive.) You can also inquire with wholesalers like netbride.com, rkbridal.com and pearlsplace.com to see if you can get it for a better price, and they can get alterations done by local tailors.

Each of my BMs told me that they'd be comfortable spending up to $200. The dresses wound up costing $129 each. They got alterations done on their own by tailors in town, so while I don't know the exact cost I can't imagine that they spent more than $50 or so on alterations.

Denise91980

I think it depends on them and their budget. My dresses come to $140 after the discount. I tried to find something reasonable because it is very rare that you will ever wear a BM dress again, and I didn't want them to have to spend a crazy amount.
Below is the dress...but in navy

cvl105

Definitely check places like Netbride, Pearl's Place, and RK Bridal.  They offer pretty significant discounts.  My girls all bought their dresses from Netbride and in some cases were more than $50 off compared to NonChalance.  My girls dresses were all different so the prices ranged from probably about $130 to $180 or so.

ecg129

Personally, I never asked my BMs but I thought about what I would be comfortable spending. The answer to my own question was no more then $200. The thing is, most BM dresses never get worn again even if the girls SWEAR up and down they will. I've seen plenty of Jim Hjelms that I've loved but can not justify asking friends to pay $260 for it, when even if they love it too they may never wear it again.

My BMs dresses ended up costing like $135.

DS0305

That's a really pretty dress.  Definitely check around and see where you can get it the cheapest.  And talk to your bridesmaids to see how much they'd be willing to spend.

I told my bridesmaids I wanted to stay around $200 or less and they were all fine with that.  We bought their dresses at the same place I bought my dress.  They would have been $230 but since I bought my dress there, we got 10% so they ended up being just over $200.

sk2342

def look in a few places. My girls dress were $190 (they got a discount because there are a lot of them and i bought my dress at the same place).  I had a friend who went to nonchalance bridesmaids in morristown for a jim helm dress and paid $295 for it. this friend is also a bridesmaid of mine and when we went looking for dresses for my wedding she found the same jm helm in park avenue bridle for $240 .... she was not happy about that!

mrsdevilguy

Mine are $160 + alterations after discounts for their being 5 girls and I bought my dress there.

Butterstick

$128 before alterations.

reese511

i would ask them how much they are willing to spend...BEFORE you tell them that you are in love with this dress.  if you tell them that you love a dress that is $230, they may feel obligated to agree to it.  its hard being a bridesmaid b/c you dont want to have to pay out of the a$$ for something you will most likely NEVER wear again....but at the same time....its your responsibilty to keep the bride happy. 

IMO...$230 is a lot b/c there are alterations, shoes, hair, make up, the shower, gifts, bach party, etc etc etc.  but if your girls are down for it....then great.  but def ask them first, before you send them the dress.

sparkles2010

$153 (plus $50 in alterations).  I called each bridesmaid and told them I would do my best to cap all expensives for the dress at $200. (I asked them what their limit was, and this was basically it). When I told them the dress is (only) $153, they were very happy.  I think its about asking them what their realistic limit is (ie its not common to get 7 of the same BM dress for less than $100 each), and sticking to those expectations.  I didn't want to have any surprises to my girls.  Keep the financial communication open. 

If they agreed to $200 and I saw a dress that was over that, I would have paid the difference. 

allforyou

my BM dresses cost 290, and none of my girls had a problem with the price probably because they love their dress and are positive they will wear it again. another plus is their dress requires no alterations. the most important thing is to find a dress that make both you and them happy (they need to be happy with the way it looks and how much it costs).

Jaytee501

I picked a designer whose dresses I liked, then told my 5 BMs they could pick any dress (of certain color & length) & I'd find the best prices through the internet...

In stores the prices were @$140-$200; we ordered from Pearl's Place & the dresses ranged from $98-$121.

The BMs then had to pay for minor alterations; a couple of them just needed a hem.

I didn't expect them to cost so little & I *think* the girls would have paid more but hey, they aren't going to wear these ones again so I think it worked out.