BM dress sticker shock!

calicchc · November 2009

yikes....so my girls and i went BM dress shopping yesterday. they were so great, they tried on tons and tons of dresses. we fell in love with 2 but the sticker shock is killer. http://tinyurl.com/y8lkr3 http://tinyurl.com/yd7jwqz * this is the one i really like. its hard because i didn't pick these dresses out but the girls did and then we found out the prices. i've looked online and called some bridal warehouses but they are still a lot of money. any alternatives you ladies can think of?

Rosanna'n'Steve · November 2009

do you mind saying how much they were? Jim hjelm is a little pricier but not too bad. My girls dresses were Jim Hjelms and they were originally $220 i believe but then we went to a trunk show and they each got 15% off the dresses. What price range were you thinking of? There are plenty of other designers at more affordable prices.

BrideMaidPro · November 2009

how much were they (fyi, links won't work for me, but work might be blocking them)

calicchc · November 2009

oh sorry! so the lazaro was 360 and the jim hjelm was 280 could you just die! its craziness

erikag23 · November 2009

my girls wore jh dresses and we were quoted $280. we ended up ordering from pearl's place and they saved almost $100.

calicchc · November 2009

did you guys ask your BM what their price range is? We never really discussed it. We just went to the store and i literally let them look through the racks.

mbcdefg · November 2009

Did you ask them their budgets (each of them in private) before you all went shopping? Just asking because I know a lot of brides have had problems where they've said, "Is this $xxx dress O.K.?" in the store and the BMs say yes, then later on there are problems because the BMs say, "Well, it was really more than I wanted to spend, but I didn't want to say no and be a jerk."Did you try pearlsplace.com already?I can't see the first URL at all, and the second one makes it hard to see what the style is. Can you repost the link, or at least the style number?

Rosanna'n'Steve · November 2009

yeah those are quite pricey. Jim Hjelm has cheaper dresses as I stated above, but I would just keep looking for other designers that are more affordable. You can also try a website, i forget the name that other girls have used on here. They have designer dresses are cheaper prices. ErikaG I believe ordered from there.

kewltif · November 2009

My girls wore Lazaro dresses that were originally $280 and got a group discount plus a trunk show discount. I think they came out to $220

calicchc · November 2009

what is pearls place?

calicchc · November 2009

sorry im a turd and can't post links lol! ok so lazaro # 3982 and jh # 5981. going to check out pearls place now

mrs.spunky1508 · November 2009

Also look at RK Bridal. Allie had luck with Lee Phillip Bridal and some have had luck with House of Brides (Chicago, not Denville) and Chrissy O's in Newton.

mbcdefg · November 2009

did you guys ask your BM what their price range is? We never really discussed it. We just went to the store and i literally let them look through the racks. Haha, you beat me to it. Yes, I e-mailed them both and said, "How much would you be willing to spend on a dress? Let me know and then we won't look for dresses more than that amount." It worked out perfectly because they both happened to quote me the same price (and don't forget to tell them that they may need alterations, too). Like I said before, I've heard of a lot of brides having problems later on because the BMs may be afraid to speak up if the bride says to everyone in a group, "I love this dress and it's $xxx. Is that O.K. with you girls?" I think a lot of BMs would feel bad about squashing the bride's favorite dress and would therefore agree to a dress that's above their budget just to make her happy, even if it means problems later on figuring out how to pay for it. Or a lot of BMs might be embarrassed if every other BM says she can afford it, so she'll agree so she's not the odd man out. And unfortunately I think a lot of BMs are also labeled as "biitches" if they don't agree to whatever the bride wants, so I think a lot of girls are afraid of the biitch label and will say O.K. to something they're not truly comfortable paying. (Seriously, how many times on this board alone has someone posted that her BM is a "biitch" for not wanting to pay for her dress?)

mrs.spunky1508 · November 2009

Pearl's Place and the others are large discount retailers. You get a quote from Pearl's Place and it's $210 for example. You call RK Bridal and tell them Pearl's quote and they beat it by 5%.

calicchc · November 2009

i called RK this morning, their prices were actually very similar. just called pearls place and the jh is cheaper next question...has anyone ordered thier BM dresses online? how did that work out for you?

Lola Minnie · November 2009

I actually loved the lazaro one in person but agreed it was too pricey. Have you bought your gown yet? Maybe there will be a discount if you purchase at the same place. Where I looked at dresses, they offered either 10% or 15% discount on the order which helps a little I guess.

calicchc · November 2009

mbc-- i know! actually all of the dresses i liked got the axe cause no one liked them. so i feel okay cause i never really had my heart set on the dresses but the JH one once everyone put it on was just beautiful. i will keep searching. asking them to pay that much is insanity to me. i have a lot of girls to consider (7)

mbcdefg · November 2009

I hope it works out! Jim Hjelm dresses look so pretty. If you can't get everyone to agree on one dress, another option is to pick the designer, color, fabric and skirt length yourself, then let them pick out their own styles from there. Or does everyone prefer to be in the same dress?

calicchc · November 2009

i think they liked being in the same dress. i myself am pretty flexible.

erikag23 · November 2009

pearls place is a bridal store located in new orleans. i called and gave them the style number, the gave me the quote which was almost $100 less per dress. i placed the order over the phone and the dresses were delivered approx 3 months later. i had all the dresses shipped to my house so the girls could could split the delivery fee instead each having to pay it.

VivaLaDiva405 · November 2009

I'm wearing this in a wedding on Saturday: http://www.jlmcouture.com/Jim-Hjelm-Occasions/Bridesmaid/Spring/2009/Style-5918We found them in a shop in Mamaroneck (Bride is in Westechester) for $270 plus alterations. I found them at RK Bridal, through the No Frills, for $220. I'm spending about $45 on alterations so in the end, a good deal. We got them at RK because my go-to bridal site: http://www.bestbridalprices.com/ does not carry Jim Hjelm. My BMs all begged me not to choose strapless design, and I wanted them all in long dresses, and every last one said "I'll wear whatever you want" - those were the only guidelines and I stuck to it. So they are wearing these Moonlight Bridal dresses (http://www.bestbridalprices.com/me-too-quick-delivery-bridesmaid-dresses-style-mt8860-p-42222.html). I didn't show them anything over $200 to start with, and they all chose the same one as their fave pick. Case closed.

Just Jen · November 2009

I never really asked my girls for their budget, but I had my own in my mind, which was less than $150. I had a TON of trouble finding anything I liked that fit the bill, which was why I went with off-the-rack party dresses.

calicchc · November 2009

erikag... did you find that letting the girls get them altered wherever worked out for you?

erikag23 · November 2009

alterations were no problem. since all of my bm's lived in different parts of the state and one out of state, they each brought it to their seamstress. i did give the girls guidelines, such as, the bottom of the dress must cover your shoes, etc.btw, all the weddings i've been in, i was responsible for my own alterations.

Mye · November 2009

My bms were Jim Hjelm dresses - I let them pick whatever style they wanted, as long as they were same color, fabric and lenght...the prices ranged from $110 to $280, we went to Hollywood Bridal in Kenilwort, they got the dresses during a trunk show so they got a 10% discount and alterations were included in the price

AlmostLoCo · November 2009

I went to Nonchalance a couple weeks ago and they are offering a 20% trunk show discount on Lazaro and Jim Hjelm dresses until the end of the year. Because of this, we were able to hit the girls' price point on most styles (under $200). I also let them pick their own style, and some styles are more affordable than others.

backyardbride2010 · November 2009

You could check out netbride.com too. I was in a wedding over the summer and the bride chose a $190 dress but one of the girls had big budget issues so we used netbride and we got them for $120. I was REALLY skeptical of ordering them online but they came in early, were a ton cheaper, and overall I had a great experience.

Kelly&Timothy · November 2009

i 2nd netbride. my BM's ordered Watters and Waters dresses from them and saved. they also shipped super quickly.

alliecarrie41 · November 2009

there have been a few posts about this recently. i dont know why anyone pays salon prices, but for multiple weddings i have been in and my own now we used leephilipbridal and got nearly 1/2 off. you don't have to sacrifice style for price... you just need to know a good seamstress when the dress comes.

cvl105 · November 2009

My girls used netbride and all their dresses came in perfect. They all got different dresses, same designer/color/material, and all the fabrics matched. They all save a decent amount of money.