Massachusetts-Boston

Bridesmaid Dresses

I was wondering how much the bridesmaid dresses you chose were. The bridesmaid dress I like is $195 (I get a discount at the place where I bought my dress) and the junior bridesmaid dress is $130.I told my fiance's sisters who are in the wedding and they cried, they were so upset over the price and said the don't want to spend more than $150.I'm not asking them to help pay for my shower and am buying their jewlery and letting them pick their own shoes.Is this too much to ask? I have been in multiple weddings and have paid 200+ for dresses. I just don't know what to do about them.These are the dresses I picked: Bridesmaid, it does come with straps. http://watters.com/product.php?coll=wtoo&showid=1006   Matching junior bridesmaid dress. http://watters.com/product.php?coll=girls&showid=567   I would like to do both in Tiffany blue.

Re: Bridesmaid Dresses

  • kates2480kates2480 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    my girls paid $190 and didn't say anything. I've paid over $300 before. it is what it is, I think less than $200 is pretty decent.
  • edited December 2011
    I think that's a really hard question to answer and it totally depends on their current financial status. Bursting out in tears clearly means that this would be a hardship for them. Personally, I think that is a lot of money for both a bm dress and the jr. bm dresses. If someone can't afford it then you need to accommodate them and see if you can order them from a cheaper place, pick a new dress or offer to supplement some of the cost.  Remember, they won't ever wear these dresses again... so that's a lot for a one time outfit. There are tons and tons of dresses out there for cheaper.
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  • edited December 2011
    My girls dress is $139, but will be $129 after the discount for getting tuxes there as well....I wanted $150 or under for my girls...3 out of 4 of them are in tough financial times bc they just graduated/are still in college...and I don't want them to spend a fortune anyway....
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  • hbyrne31hbyrne31 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Can anyone recommend a designer that has less expensive dresses in Tiffany Blue? I really don't want to have to change my color scheme. I would like to do long gowns in either chiffon or duchess satin.
  • edited December 2011
    I don't think it's unreasonable, but clearly it is a problem for your group. So take their financial situations into consideration and search around for something within their budget. I think if you are flexible, you will be able to find something. We got my bridesmaid dresses at Ann Taylor on sale--$80 a piece. Most of my bridesmaids had never been bridesmaids before, so I'm not sure they realized what a good deal that was. But no one complained about the price. They bought their shoes for $50 too, so the total price was $130 each, I guess.
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  • edited December 2011
    I think $195 is a little pricey...especially for a dress that they'll probably never ever wear again. My girls paid $150 for Suzi Chin dresses from Nordstrom, and I made sure to choose one that they can wear over and over again. They were simple black cocktail dresses. Just be mindful of your bm's financial circumstances. Times are tough. Just because you can afford $200 for a dress, doesn't mean that they can.
  • edited December 2011
    Have you tried contacting Pearl's Place, netbridal or rkbridal? They are all real/online stores that sell designer wedding attire for a large discount. I'd check there before looking for a new dress.
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  • hbyrne31hbyrne31 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I guess I'm just a little frustrated because I know they are not in a tough financial situtation. I think they just don't care for me marrying their brother and I just didn't know if that price was actually unreasonable. My MOH and I went to three different bridal shops to look at dresses and I did not see a single dress under $150. I'm willing to look at other dresses I just don't know where to start.
  • edited December 2011
    Also, more affordable designers are alfred angelo, davids bridal, and some bari jay designs.
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  • hbyrne31hbyrne31 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks girls! I'll start looking at those designers and online retailers. My wedding hasn't been too stressful so I guess something had to add a little stress. ;)
  • edited December 2011
    Whatever their motives... you have to assume that they can't afford it. If they are lying to you then so be it but really, there's no way for you to really know that unless you ask them straight up.
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  • edited December 2011
    Alfred Angelo dresses are so pretty and are reasonably priced.  Not sure if they have a Tiffany blue, but I bet that they do - they have a ton of colors.The dress place I went to is awesome, and they have free alterations, and the woman who does them is amazing - but the catch is that it's in Fall River (which was far for me).  Carmen's Fashions, I really liked them a lot.  The alterations are actually something to consider because they can be really pricy, I paid almost $100 for alterations when I got a bridesmaid dress at Davids for a friend's wedding. 
  • hbyrne31hbyrne31 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    *uta10*- I just took a quick look at Alfred Angelo and the dresses are really pretty and they cary a color called pool. It's funny that you say Fall River, because I actually got my junior and senior prom dresses at a place in Fall River (Party Dress Express) because I saved so much money. It doesn't hurt to check it out.
  • edited December 2011
    $195 is more than I was comfortable asking my bridesmaids to pay.  We ended up getting dresses at JCrew for $165.  My MOH opted for a more expensive style for $180.  They didn't need alterations.  The only person who can answer "is this too much to ask?" is your bridesmaids and it sounds like they already did.  Have you tried looking at department stores? 
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  • edited December 2011
    We got Alfred Angelo dresses, and I think all were around $150 (the girls each chose their own style). We got them from Anita at Bridal Reflections (617-489-5441) in Watertown, and she was very helpful.
  • edited December 2011
    I think $195 is on the upper end of average.  I really think it depends on the dress and the crowd. When I talked to my BMs, they preferred to spend more $$ on a PoB dress because they thought they could find something they liked and would wear again (I'm letting them each pick and it's navy), versus letting them each pick a dress at DB or Alfred Angelo, where they didn't think they would wear any of the styles again.  We're also going through Pearl's Place, so it will save an average of $50 per dress. IMHO, I don't think a lot of people would wear a floor length pool blue gown again, so it sounds like inexpensive is the way to go for you!  You'll find something, don't worry :)Also, not to be snarky, but they cried over $45?  It sounds like they're looking for something to complain about.  I get that not everyone can afford a $195 dress, but I don't think crying is a normal reaction.  I wouldn't beat yourself up over suggesting the dress.  
  • edited December 2011
    I don't think it's too much to ask at al, but I can see some people not having a lot of extra money to spend these days. Is that price after the discount? And I don't know how you feel about shorter dresses, but maybe look for a dress they can wear again so they aren't paying for a dress they'll just wear once.
  • edited December 2011
    If you really want them to wear those dresses, pay the difference yourself.  Easy as pie!
  • edited December 2011
    You've gotten a lot of good suggestions, so I can't really add to them :) I know David's Bridal has a pool color that's pretty, and the dresses are inexpensive (although, I'm not sure if they will be inexpensive enough, since my BM dress from there for my cousin's wedding - simple chocolate dress - cost $180). I guess I'm the bad bride on this post, my girls paid $208 for their Jim Hjelm dresses (that was after the discount we got from the trunk show) - not a single one of them complained. In fact, they love their dresses so much they are trying to figure out how they can wear them again (alicat, another knottie, and my BM, wants to wear hers to work. You know, just stand in line for coffee in a floor length gown, LOL).
  • edited December 2011
    Fool and I posted at the same time - but I wanted to say I like her suggestion! I offered that deal to all my BM's, I would pay the difference if the dress went over what they were comfortable spending - but they were all fine with the price. I'm getting them really, really nice gifts as a thank you, haha!
  • edited December 2011
    I agree with the above--I think you should really try and take their financial restrictions and get something cheaper. Even if they're complaining just to be pains-in-the-neck, it's not going to make your life any easier to have them wearing the dress you want at the cost of complaints and tears.All that said, I got my girls' Watters dresses through RK Bridal (I first got a quote from Pearl's Place and then RK beat it by 5 percent). They ranged from $130 to $190 and were raw silk (which I think would be more expensive without the discount than what you picked--so there's hope if you're willing to order online. And--with 7 bridesmaids, we had not one problem). I also got around price issues by letting them pick whatever style they wanted in a single fabric and color (slate blue--which is GORGEOUS in Watters)--I LOVED how it looked; in my opinion, the matchy-matchy bridesmaid thing is a little outdated. Plus, it keeps everyone happy!
  • edited December 2011
    PS-And I agree that the crying was a bit over the top!
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