Moms and Maids

Bridesmaid Issue

Okay, so my wedding is May 31, 2014. My bridesmaids are scattered everywhere 3 live in Alabama, 1 in Georgia, and 1 in Ohio. I also live in Alabama. I started the search early on for the perfect bridesmaid dress so I could give my girls enough notice to plan and save. I spent about a month researching the price ranges and what I wanted. When I narrowed down the designers I liked, I talked to my girls privately about their budgets and the budget was to keep it under $200. The day I bought my wedding dress, the store carried one of the dresses I liked and I knew it was the one. My bridesmaids also got a 20% discount on the dress because I had 3 or more bringing the dress to a total of $154...I was thrilled. However, before I set up the bridesmaid account I called my girls and made sure that was okay because with the discount package you have to get your measurements on your own and use the size chart as a guide. Everyone agreed that was the perfect option since everyone is so scattered, not to mention busy with their own families/work, so they could just get their measurements and call and place the order to the store over the phone. Well I think everything is fine and dandy, until one of my bridesmaids calls me this morning saying she searched eight websites where you get the dress plus free shoes for the exact same price, so in reality I did not get a discount and the store duped me. I tried to not to take it personal and just took as her trying to help, so I steered the conversation in another direction but she kept on and on about how I did not get a discount and really was just talking down to me. Needless to say, the conversation was not productive. It ended with me standing my ground saying I was pleased with the decision and thought I made a good selection. She got mad and just said nvm I will talk to you later and it was over. I really do not want to lose a friend over something silly, but needless to say it really got off with me how she purposefully researched to see if I really got a discount and then called me up to tell me such and talk to me like I was an idiot. None of my other bridesmaids are going and double checking prices. The point is I thought everything was good and everyone was happy. I need some advice on how to handle this because I do not feel bad for standing up for myself, but I do not want the wedding fun to be ruined over an argument that never should of took place. 

Re: Bridesmaid Issue

  •  I don't see anything wrong with your bm researching prices and trying to get a better deal. If the site is legit, your other bms would probably be happy that she saved them some money. Remember you're asking her to spend money on a dress that you picked out.You should be open minded enough to take a look at the information. 

    Did you get the name of the website where she found the dress? The thing you have to be careful about is there are many sites that sell cheap Chinese knock offs. There prices are lower, their dresses are poorly made and there is little that can be done to rectify the situation. For more information, check out this thread on the attire board:  http://forums.theknot.com/discussion/979709/faq-for-attire-and-accessories#latest
                       
  • Okay, so my wedding is May 31, 2014. My bridesmaids are scattered everywhere 3 live in Alabama, 1 in Georgia, and 1 in Ohio. I also live in Alabama. I started the search early on for the perfect bridesmaid dress so I could give my girls enough notice to plan and save. I spent about a month researching the price ranges and what I wanted. When I narrowed down the designers I liked, I talked to my girls privately about their budgets and the budget was to keep it under $200. The day I bought my wedding dress, the store carried one of the dresses I liked and I knew it was the one. My bridesmaids also got a 20% discount on the dress because I had 3 or more bringing the dress to a total of $154...I was thrilled. However, before I set up the bridesmaid account I called my girls and made sure that was okay because with the discount package you have to get your measurements on your own and use the size chart as a guide. Everyone agreed that was the perfect option since everyone is so scattered, not to mention busy with their own families/work, so they could just get their measurements and call and place the order to the store over the phone. Well I think everything is fine and dandy, until one of my bridesmaids calls me this morning saying she searched eight websites where you get the dress plus free shoes for the exact same price, so in reality I did not get a discount and the store duped me. I tried to not to take it personal and just took as her trying to help, so I steered the conversation in another direction but she kept on and on about how I did not get a discount and really was just talking down to me. Needless to say, the conversation was not productive. It ended with me standing my ground saying I was pleased with the decision and thought I made a good selection. She got mad and just said nvm I will talk to you later and it was over. I really do not want to lose a friend over something silly, but needless to say it really got off with me how she purposefully researched to see if I really got a discount and then called me up to tell me such and talk to me like I was an idiot. None of my other bridesmaids are going and double checking prices. The point is I thought everything was good and everyone was happy. I need some advice on how to handle this because I do not feel bad for standing up for myself, but I do not want the wedding fun to be ruined over an argument that never should of took place. 
    I'm not sure what there is to handle. 


    What did you think would happen if you walked up to a group of internet strangers and told them to get shoehorned by their lady doc?~StageManager14
    image
  • I am also not sure what there is to handle.  It's completely reasonable for her to research other prices - I ALWAYS do that for stuff like this - and it sounds like she dropped the whole issue anyway once you said you didn't want to talk about it anymore.
  • I feel you can ALWAYS find a cheaper price or better deal. But, then, so what? So what if she gets free shoes. They're probably crap shoes. Anyway, you DID get a discount from your store. You were not duped by the store. Just let it go with the bridesmaid. Let her place her order wherever. Be happy with your store, your decision, and the discount you did get. Forget it with her. If she brings it up, shrug your shoulders and say "so what".
  • I understand how you feel she undermined you. But maybe she has been in another wedding where someone found a cheaper dress so she decided to do a little searching herself. She is only trying to help.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • Thanks for the advice yall. Its really not that fact that she found a cheaper dress. It is how I thought everyone was happy with dress and everything is already set up, so I guess I did not see the reason to search for something cheaper. Also, I felt like she was just wanting to prove I did not get a discount. It was more of her tone and how she presented everything than anything else. I am very open minded, but I think how you say things is very important. She had a very "know it all" tone and was treating me like a child. 
  • Because one of my bridesmaids is pregnant and requested that I find a dress as early as possible so she could plan. Plus, the dresses have to be ordered by December and they all wanted enough notice to save up. 
  • I'm on the fence about this. I had a similar situation, where I gave my girls tons of options and tried to work with them, but they all said "I don't know, get what you want us to wear." Everyone was fine except one girl, who then refused to order her dress on time for no good reason. She eventually convinced me and everyone else to order them from some store near her instead of where ever was convenient for them. It worked out, they had dresses and in the end it didn't matter. I'm curious though.... Will you lose the discount if all your girls do not order from there? Can she get hers where ever and the others get it from your place? I would make sure the site is legit, then tell the other girls to work it out between themselves as to what is the most convenient. Is that annoying that she did that? Yes. Is it a big deal when it's all over with? No.
  • Because one of my bridesmaids is pregnant and requested that I find a dress as early as possible so she could plan. Plus, the dresses have to be ordered by December and they all wanted enough notice to save up. 
    I guarantee your dresses don't have to be ordered six months in advance; your bridal shop just wants their money ASAP.
  • zitiqueen said:
    Because one of my bridesmaids is pregnant and requested that I find a dress as early as possible so she could plan. Plus, the dresses have to be ordered by December and they all wanted enough notice to save up. 
    I guarantee your dresses don't have to be ordered six months in advance; your bridal shop just wants their money ASAP.
    This.  I have a bridesmaid who has cancer and she looses and gains weight frequently because or various treatment...she wants to wait as long as possible to order her dress...my wedding is less than 5 months away and we still have time...
  • Because one of my bridesmaids is pregnant and requested that I find a dress as early as possible so she could plan. Plus, the dresses have to be ordered by December and they all wanted enough notice to save up. 
    This makes no sense to me. In fact it seems completely backwards. You'd want to wait longer because she'll have a better idea of what her body will be doing and what size she needs.
    Oh... unless she'll have already had the baby by then? Yeah......... no amount of planning is going to help in that case because it's going to be a big fat guess what size she might wear after the baby is born. Though I guess maybe it would STILL be good to wait because the doctors can track how much weight she's gained and how much of that might be the baby...

    I don't know. I can't wrap my head around that one.
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