Bridesmaids Dresses - Who Should Pay?

by Ellie
(Manchester)

I'm getting married in May next year and I've been looking at bridesmaids dresses. With 3 bridesmaids, it's turning out to be expensive! I'm trying to keep my costs as low as possible, so can I get my bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses?

How to find a cheap wedding dress

Where to buy inexpensive wedding dresses

Ask the expert

Answer:

I say, definitely yes! I got my bridesmaids to wear their own dresses, that way I knew they'd be comfortable and they'd get dresses they can wear again. I just gave them some guidelines i.e. kneelength, summery, black and white.

A couple of other options to lower the cost of your bridesmaids dresses is to just buy the material you want them to wear and then get them to get them made up in their preferred style. That way, you get happy bridesmaids wearing the right colour and they get a style that suits them.

An alternative is to go half and half, where you you pay for the dresses and get them to pay for the accessories such as shoes, jewellery and bags.

It's up to you really, but definitely don't feel you have to pay for their outfits. Equally, if they're paying for their own dresses, make sure you choose sensibly priced dresses. For more on how to find cheap bridesmaids dresses, read this article.

Good luck!