Cheap Party Dresses

Average price for a bridesmaid dress?

My friend is getting married this fall, and she has asked me to be a bridesmaid. As I've only ever been invited to one wedding and never apart of any, I wasn't aware that I'd be paying for my own dress (as my best friend was in her cousin's wedding last fall and her cousin paid for all the dresses). I work p/t minimum wage, and am going back to school, with over 10K going on my credit card. I literally cannot put anything on my card. The place she wants to get our dresses from, I looked online and the cheapest dress is $200! Is this normal? I've already told her I can barely afford food, let alone a dress, and she told me we'll gets discounts as she bought her dress there. I just wonder how much of a discount this will be. I really want to be apart of her wedding, but right now, I don't even have $200 in my bank account. Any advice?

Public Comments

1. At least 100 dollars:(
2. I would never go over $150 for a bridesmaid dress unless i planned to pay for it for them. Still $150 would be pushing it a little.
3. I found adorable dresses for my bridesmaids that they will be able to wear again for $99 at David's Bridal.com. I also bought my dress there so they had given me coupons and I was able to get $20 off the price for all of them with those. $79 isn't bad at all. Either that or you could just find a nice formal dress from a retail store. Your bridesmaid dresses don't have to come from an official bridal shop. All the best to you.
4. My wedding is coming up soon and I didn't look any any over $150. I ultimately picked one out that was $110. Most brides try to make your expenses as minimal as possible. However, there are some who will pick out a $200-300 dress, but they are rare. If she picks out a dress you truly cannot afford you really need to speak up and tell her you can't afford to be in her wedding, it doesn't make you a bad friend. There are other expenses besides the dress associated with being a bridesmaid: Shoes, hair, nails, accessories Bridal shower (usually planned by the MOH and all the bridesmaids split the costs for it) Bachelorette party (depends on the type it is, if its and evening out with family & close friends everyone pays for their own way, and the bridesmaids split the costs for the bride. If it is in someones home, its tacky to invite someone to a party in your home and expect them to pay in that case usually the bridesmaids split the costs for food and drinks) Bridal shower gift (its a gift giving event, even as a bridesmaid you're expected to bring a gift but it doesn't need to be anything super expensive you can even go in on a gift with others) Wedding gift Being a bridesmaid can easily turn into a $500 investment. Not all but some.
5. There are many cheap bridesmaid dresses,I think you'll like .You can custom made it !
6. http://www.jjshouse.com/bridesmaids-dresses-c7/ it's not so dear as you think.
7. next time, when someone asks you to be in your wedding....you ask them "what exactly do I have to do?" That way you can make an informed decision. I see at least 5 questions on various wedding websites of people saying they accepted a job to be in the wedding party and now they can't/don't want to fulfill their obligation. Ask first. I think bridesmaids dressing are about $100-$200 on average. I see a lot for around $80 though. MY wedding dress was $89...so if I were to have bridesmaids (which i'm not) I guess I'd ask them to buy a $20-$30 dress.
8. If I were asked to be in someone's wedding, I would expect to pay and budget to spend around $200 for the dress. Yes, there are definitely options that are less than $200, but I would say for a typical bridesmaid dress $125-$200 is probably a very normal price range. My bridesmaids dresses for my wedding were $138, $150 and two were $268 (I let my girls choose their own dresses, but even then I paid for 'em). I purchased a bridesmaid dress to wear to a formal wedding and it was $155. My advice to you is to keep your friend informed on your financial situation, but go along for the moment to check out dresses. See what the discounted price will be and if you can afford it, great. If you can't afford it, tell the bride that even with the discount you cannot afford the dress and you have to step down from being in her wedding. I do think it is inconsiderate on her part to choose such a pricey dress for someone in your situation. Don't forget that as a bridesmaid you are probably going to be asked to chip in to pay for the bridal shower and the bachelorette party, you may have to pay for your own hair & nails to be done for the wedding, and there are still shoes. If this is too much, bow out now.
9. Average is probably $150-$200 - It should be $100 - anymore than that is just stupid for a polyester dress you will never wear again.
10. Sadly $200 is an average price for BM gowns. On top of the gown, you'll also have to pay for shoes, hotel, airfare, hair and makeup, and hosting the shower and bachelorette. I think I once paid about $1000 total to be in a friend's wedding, and that was 10 years ago. The bride usually covers your jewelry, alterations and flowers. I think you should regretfully back out of the wedding and let her know you'd be happy to attend as a guest. She should understand your situation and if not, well that shows her true colors. Weddings bring out the worst in people but hopefully your friend will let you off the hook. There'll be a ton of drama later if the other bridesmaids ask you for a few hundred dollars to host the shower and you can't help them.
11. AT the very least $100, (personally) at the most $200. Some brides go over the top and ask their bridesmaids to spend up to like $300-$400 on just the dress, to me that is crazy! My girl's dresses are super cute! They are short (about knee height) and strapless. They are running about $160 I think. You also have to think about shoes. If the dress is long, she shouldn't mind if you don't have matching shoes, my girls are wearing matching shoes and they are about $60. You also need to ask her what else you are responsible for, each bride is different. For instance, my sister's wedding (this Sept) she is expecting us all to pay $170 for a dress, (even though it's long) shoes, guessing will run about $50, hair $65, nails and make-up are optional but if you include those, nails at least $30, make-up I believe is about $35, that brings the total cost to about $350. Me (wedding next May) the girls are only paying for their dress and shoes, so a total of $210. As you can see, many brides are different. Honestly, if you can't afford it and your parents won't either help chip in or front you the money, be up front with her. Tell her you just can't afford it right now. If she is a good bride and good friend, she will totally understand and won't take it personal. Good luck!
12. i looked for the cheapest dresses i could find i looked for 6 months.. and my girls dresses were 223 with tax. cheapest thing i found anywhere around here. you need to talk to the bride, explain this to her.. say you'd love to be bridesmaid, but you honestly cant afford it at all. she's either going to accept your decline or offer to help you pay for your dress. good luck