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Why are bridesmaid dresses SO expensive??

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Tybee

Tybee

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jul 26, 2004
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I''m maybe a little HYPER sensitive--
But I''m worried about the price of bridesmaid dresses.
At first my FI and I weren''t going to have ANY attendants. Since we are having a destination wedding, and cannot afford to fly people out there, we didn''t want to make anyone feel like they HAD to go to our wedding, since it would be a costly trip.

My sweet girl friends basically told me not to be ridiculous, and that they would totally want to stand up for me.

SO...my original thought was to have them choose whatever they want to wear. I was feeling relaxed and happy, and had no worries. BUT NOW that I''m REALLY planning, I kind of want them to wear the same or similar dresses, at least similar colors!

I can''t help but feel a bit bi-polar now.

Our wedding will be in the Carribean, so it will be really warm, I want them to be cool and comfortable. A sundress type dress would be lovely. Does anyone have any suggestions? I really don''t want to have them spend 200.00 on a dress for my wedding, especially since they''ve had to purchase plane tickets and hotel rentals etc. I love the look of the JCrew dresses, just not the price.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

(turning into a freaky bride-to-be) Tybee
 
You''re wedding is in July so you might have some time to wait for the summer line of dresses to come out, which I believe happen in April or May. The Gap always has really cute summer dresses, so does NY&C. Although, I''m might sure how casual you want the wedding to be.

Did you look at Chadwicks.com they usually have some really cute dresses as well.

Good luck, you''ll find something fabulous.
 
tybee: i agree about the prices and also that you might have to wait and risk getting closer to the date, until summer clothes are more fully out -- but, likely, you won''t have to go through the alteration process if you buy a sundress off the rack
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i was considering one jcrew dress that cost $98 -- it wasn''t very formal, but it was cute. you''ll find what you''re looking for...
 
I found mine online for $139 (which I think is inexpensive seeing how I spent $178 for a dress just to attend the last wedding I went to). What about letting them chose their own dress in the same color. That way you know they will love/wear it again. I think off the rack dresses are a great idea. Ann Taylor has some really nice ones (and they come in petite if you have any shorter BMs). I am sure your girls are just excited for you and aren''t worried about it.
 
Thanks Caribou and Lovelylulu-

You are both really right. I just tend to spazz out sometimes, especially when I find myself with a little extra fee time
on my hands (they closed schools today in honor of Corretta Scott King''s funeral.)

Waiting a few months is really the answer. I''m just not always so good at waiting (lol!!)

I''m going to take this nervous energy to the gym. Lovelylulu, which JCrew dresses were you considering?
 
I totally hear you. It''s really frustrating that guys can just rent a tuxedo and for $100 or so they have everything they need (our rental place even includes socks!), while girls are supposed to BUY a dress, and pay for alterations, shoes and jewelry etc...

But I''m sure that if you shop around, you can find something reasonable. What about this dress from Chadwicks, or this one from Spiegel? Or this one from Victoria''s Secret?

Also keep in mind that if girls can buy dresses off the rack, then they can make sure it''s the right size before buying and potentially save a lot on alterations.

I hope you can find something you like!
 
this was one option -- i''m pretty sure it''s $98

1sixth favorite.jpg
 
this was another option because it''s a garden wedding -- but i thought it''d be too busy

1fourth favorite.jpg
 
Tacori,
I love your idea.
I did consider having them choose their own dresses in the same color, but the only problem is, how can you insure that they will be the same color? Do you know what I mean? Especially if they buy them from different places. Unless, of course, we go with black. I suggested that to my FI (that they all wear black) and he sort of laughed at me, considering our wedding will be in July at the beach in the Carribean, black is sort of formal/hot.
Ah, I need to chll out and wait it out.
 
this is the one i''m pretty sure i''m going with and got quoted about $125/dress

1most lovely dress.jpg
 
Saturn and Lovelylulu!
You are great! That''s why I post here! Instant answers!
 
the yellow halter that i posted also comes in a strapless version. it looks perfect for a beach wedding!
 
I really do love that dress Lulu.
I would love to wear it!
 
Isn''t bi-polar part of the definition of an engaged woman planning a wedding? I know I''ve been very bi-polar-ish lately and forget about making a snap decision...I need to dwwwwwwweeeeell on these things, you know! So don''t worry.

Anyways, my BM dresses were around $90 b/c we got them at David''s Bridal and since I got a dress there the girls got a 10 or 15% discount on their dresses (which were only $110 full price).

I like the ones HouMedGal posted yesterday...they are really summery and cool-looking:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-think-i-found-the-bridesmaid-dress.39782/

I remember someone else posting some cute black dresses from Chadwicks that they were using for BM dresses...but who was that??
 
you are most welcome. i have been scouring the internet for breezy, affordable dresses so i''m glad to pass them along
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One thing you could try is telling them "sky blue" because even if they are slightly different, blues tend to look good next to each other. Just don''t try it with something like green or red where they''re likely to clash. Do you know what I mean?

What my parents did for their wedding was just say wear "pastel" so their bridesmaids were in pale aqua, pale pink, pale yellow and pale blue. They were all different styles, but all knee length and the pictures look great with a pastel theme as opposed to an individual color.

Everyone else''s suggestions sound good too, so I''m sure you''ll find something perfect! Don''t stress out tooooo much!!
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I just wanted to add another option in keeping bridesmaid''s dresses costs down. Scour the websites that offer them at discount pricing. I priced my dress and bridesmaids dresses at RK Bridal and found them to be much cheaper than every else. I went to the bridal shop to have my girls try on their dresses to make sure it was indeed THE dress. When the bridal shop told me the price, I apologized and said that I would not be ordering from them as I had found them at RK Bridal cheaper. The shop agreed to match the price of RK thus saving us all a ton of money and having the convenience of getting it from a shop where they are responsible for the dresses.
 
Tybee...i feel your pain! I am actually paying for all of my BMs dresses...so i was on a MAD hunt to find affordable ones! My dis- advantage is I needed slightly more formal floor length dresses, which tend to run more than the cockltail lenght ones (just based on amount of amterial needed i guess). Anyways, don't forget to try out the discount sites. I found significan savings. Choose a few you like and send off for quotes at mutliple sites, as they'll all quote diff prices for the dresses. That way you can price compare and a few of them price match too. I saved a good amount doing that. BUT don't wait too long...some manufacturers take as long as 4 months to deliver...and ask for rush fees to ensure delivery prior to that. You can cut down on delivery if you get them all sent to one address, and hand 'em out rom there. Some do charge extra if you are placing the order on multiple ccs. just things to watch for.

also, with your beachy wedding theme....off the rack dresses may be the perfect way to go! helps increase the "re-wear-ability" of the dress too
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.

chill out hun...you are doing fabulous! i often made up items to freak out over also...my life just felt empty without bridal stress
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. LOL...what we do to ourselves!
 
most of my gals were fine with money so it wasn''t a huge deal though i did feel a little guilty with the whole destination thing. ours were $200 and we got them at some boutique store in los gatos, but they were some major brand name bm brand that i can''t remember. i paid for their shoes and bought them necklaces and all they had to pay for was the gown and their earrings. so it wasn''t a huge deal in the end. i also didn''t have a bachelorette party really so it wasn''t like they had to pay for that. but you will always get one complainer who doesn''t want to pay for something, so be prepared, hehhee. i hoped by buying the shoes and necklaces that it offset some of the costs a bit.

but yes if you can find something for $100, awesome!! i just wanted something easy that they could all go try on locally since it was very hard to coordinate my gang.
 
I got my bridesmaids dresses from Davids and they were only 110 dollars (including tax and shipping). Because I got my dress from there, all my bridesmaids got 20 bucks off their dress and that covered the tax and shipping. So really, they paid exactly what was on the tag.

ETA: This was the least expensive I could find in my area.
 
I dont know if something like this would be what you have it mind but I thought is was cute. 89$ Guess Dress
Y6134730-FLI-LF.jpg

This is cute too but I dont like it as much, it has straps though.Black and White Dress 79$
Y6125723-WHT-LF.jpg
 
What color are you thinking for your wedding??
 
Here is this dress... Dillards online for $80

$80.jpg
 
Here is another one from Dillards - $70

$70.jpg
 
I don't know if this is too "hippie" for you or not, but I think it's cute and it's only $30.00! (Thanks for the link, bravesfan!) Might not the right blue, though.

Embroidered Peasant Dress

Here's another from Anthropologie that's on sale..$55.00! Very, very cute. Comes in sizes 0-14.

Autumn Rain Dress

Another REALLY cute dress, smocked, from Victoria's Secret (either the "blue print" or the "carribean blue" would look great)...$58.00!

Smocked Dress

If I was planning on having bridesmaids, I'd definitely choose options that they could wear again. What's the point in buying a $100+ dress if it sits in your closet forever after just "one time"?
 
Mat, Ann Taylor has some ADORABLE dresses in the "Celebrations" section. They're a bit pricey, but I saw so many I liked.

I love this one!

 
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