Who purchases bridesmaid dresses?

Chloe0427 · September 2012

Should I purchase the bridesmaid dresses for my bridesmaids? I've been in a few weddings, one of which the bride purchased the dresses. Thoughts?

emichele87 · September 2012

I did not purchase my BM dresses, but I also told them to wear a black cocktail dress. One girl had one she wanted to wear and the other two wanted to get new ones.

Generally the BMs buy their own dresses in my experince. That is one of the understood things that BMs will purchase when you ask them to be in your bridal party. But DO find out budgets and keep to them!

amymaysa · September 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_wedding-party_who-purchases-bridesmaid-dresses?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:37Discussion:361a46f3-8490-411d-85cd-a57653f16b4ePost:ffbbbca5-48ef-4d95-98d3-ec8fe477e4e3">Re: Who purchases bridesmaid dresses?</a>:
[QUOTE]The bridal party is traditionally responsible for paying for their own attire. Before you pick a dress, you are expected to individually ask each BM what their budget is and then stay below the lowest number.
Posted by KindaSparkly[/QUOTE]

This...

itzMS · September 2012

I paid for all of the dresses for my bridesmaids. I wanted them to enjoy the day and not stress about paying for a dress they'd never use again.
It also allowed me to pick the brand I wanted without worrying about individual budgets. There were certainly no arguments about the dress choice either!

[Deleted User] · September 2012

I bought my girls their dresses. I knew their financial situations so I took care of them. Luckily they were ok with me getting them off ebay & getting them dry cleaned. You would be surprised on how many david's bridal bridesmaid dresses you can find on e-bay. But as a bride you are not required to buy them, but it is nice not to pick out a crazy expensive dress for them to buy.

Peledreamsofrain · September 2012

The only situations where you're expected to pay is if you 'simply MUST' have a specific dress, without beforehand collecting budgets from the maids. Or if you are exceeding said budgets with your 'must' dress choice.

If you being concientious of your BMs' budgets, getting their input for the dresses, or (like me) even just letting them have free reign to pick a dress they want, then they pay for it.

Basically put yourself in their shoes. What would you resent being asked to pay for? Most people would answer: something above my budget that I had no say in.

theelusive1 · September 2012

We tried to pick a nice reusable dress in a reusable color. The dress ended up being on sale after a few weeks and was $99. They can wear cowboy boots or black shoes/sandles. The children are all wearing cowboy boots. Guys black pants, white shirts and we bought the ties. We did not want people to incur a huge expense for one day.

snowdaisy822 · September 2012

Yep, usually the BM's buy their dresses, but keep in mind their budgets. I wanted to find a dress they would wear again, so the dress in my siggy was only $35 and they all love it.

My sister did buy our dresses for her wedding, though.

sierraberry32 · September 2012

I just gave a color, length and two types of fabric that I wanted, and let them choose. If they didn't already have a dress I set up some one on one time with them and we went shopping!

LadyLuck77 · September 2012

All the weddings that I have been in, I have paid for my dress and I know this is common practice. However we are getting alot more financial support from our families than I expected, and one thing that I want to do for my BM now that some money has been freed up is buy their dresses.

And SnowDaisy, you are my hero! I really like your BM dresses and love the price even better! I ordered one in black for myself as I'm needing a cute black dress, so feeling out how the fit, etc. before I purchase anything for my BM. Thank you!

jessie6786 · September 2012

I bought them dresses as their bridal party present...win-win in my book!

32daisies · September 2012

Lord, I wish I'd been in some of your weddings.

I've been a BM five times and I definitely bought my own dress each time, and only once was my budget consulted.

It's a nice gesture if you can do it but, honestly, most people can't, and that's okay. I did a straw poll with my BMs abt cost and it all worked out, but you might be surprised. Find out what they're thinking. Frankly, mine didn't want a cheaper dress -- I kept trying to find economical options and they said, "We want to look fantastic, let's spend a little more and it'll be great". Um, okay.

So talk to your 'maids and see what they're thinking.

shenzhentoby · September 2012

I'm wearing a second dress, one for my ceremony and cheap bridal wedding dress then I'm changing into a black gown for the reception. The main reason being that I wanted to wear a black gown in the cheap bridal wedding dresses first place, but it really seemed to make everyone super unhappy for whatever bridal gown wedding dresses reason, so I decided on the compromise of wearing a more traditional gown for the ceremony and my black gown that I guess I really consider to be "the dress" for the reception.

Who purchases bridesmaid dresses?

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