The bride's side of the family traditionally pays for the bride's wedding dress and the bridesmaids' dresses. Increasingly, however, bridesmaids are paying for their own dresses.
The bride's parents pay for the wedding dress. They also pay for any other elements of the bride's outfit, such as shoes, veil, hair accessories and jewellery. It's also the responsibility of the bride's mother to accompany her while dress shopping, and help her choose a gown.
Time It Right and Communicate Your Choice
It is customary for the mother of the bride to buy her dress first and then share her choice with the mother of the groom. The mother of the groom might also need special orders and alterations, so be sure to give her ample time to accomplish this before the wedding.
If the bride has got a specific dress or type of dress in mind, she should offer to pay for the dresses. If the bride is very flexible about the kind of outfits she'd like the bridesmaids to wear, she can suggest that they choose and purchase their own dresses, as long as she's willing to accept the outcome!
If the bride can afford to, it's a very thoughtful gesture for her to pay for the dress or a portion of the cost for each of her bridesmaids. "We've seen more brides paying for their bridesmaid dresses, especially if they pick a more expensive dress for their 'maids to wear," she says.
“It's very common in Australia for the bride to pay for the bridesmaid dresses. This varies overseas but if the bride wants something specific it seems fair for her to shoulder the cost. It's not uncommon however nowadays for the bride and bridesmaid to split the cost.”
Bridesmaid dresses
If you're on a tight budget and you can't afford to cover the cost of the dresses, it's reasonable to ask your bridesmaids to pay for them. These are some of your closest friends and family, so you'll probably find they are very understanding.
We'd say there's a fairly solid consensus that the couple should pay for anything beauty-related for bridesmaids, like hair, makeup, tans or nails. Basically, anything that affects the way the girls look that the bride has specifically requested.
What expenses should I expect to cover as a bridesmaid? Most often, bridesmaids cover the cost of their dress and undergarments, shoes, accessories, and hair and makeup for the wedding day. The bride may opt to cover any of the aforementioned costs if she deems it appropriate.
Yes, it's customary for the couple to give gifts to the wedding party, including the MOB. Many brides give their mom a personal, sentimental gift before or after the ceremony as a token of their appreciation.
Navy is the most popular mother of the bride dress color. Not only is navy timeless, but this color dress will work in a variety of wedding venues and locations. We have many navy gowns from which to choose.
The mother of the bride plays the role of hostess, meaning you should spend some time greeting guests during the reception. Although there are exceptions, other wedding-day duties may include sitting at the parents' table and dancing with the father of the bride to help warm up the dance floor.
Of course, it would be amazing to give your daughter thousands and thousands of dollars as a wedding gift, but not at the risk of making your own financial situation dire. Depending on their relationship with the bride, wedding guests typically give between $50 – $150 when making a monetary gift.
What Does the Groom's Family Pay For, Traditionally? The groom's family is responsible for corsages and boutonnieres for immediate members of both families, the lodging of the groom's attendants (if you have offered to help pay for this expense), and sometimes the costs of the rehearsal dinner.
Traditionally, the best man purchases a gift from the couple's wedding registry or gives cash. However, if the best man would prefer to give a more creative or sentimental gift that' s not on the registry that he feels the couple would love, that's okay, too.
The bridal party is responsible for covering their own hair and makeup costs (or doing it themselves) unless the bride requests that hair and makeup be done in a certain way or by the same artist. In that case, it's the bride's responsibility.
Even though you're already spending a lot of your money and time as a bridesmaid, wedding etiquette indicates that you're still expected to give a wedding gift to the couple. Bridesmaids are supposed to get the bride a gift for some prewedding events as well.
Wedding Gift - Most bridesmaids spend anywhere from $50 to $100 on a wedding gift. With that in mind, it's also important to take your other expenses into consideration. The couple understands that you've spent a good chunk of change on everything else, so don't feel like you have to go overboard on your wedding gift.
"The bride should cover the cost of her wedding party's hair and makeup, especially if she's requesting or encouraging them to have it done," says Jove Meyer of Jove Meyer Events. Meyer says most of his brides fund bridesmaid hair and makeup for their crew.
The Guests
For the most part, guests will be responsible for booking and paying for airfare, hotel rooms and any other additional expenses, like food or shopping. Bridesmaids, you'll be expected to pay for your hair and makeup and formalwear. Groomsmen, you'll have to shell out for your tuxes and grooming.
If you are requiring that everyone have their hair and makeup done, then paying for it is usually the norm, but you could choose to have your bridesmaids pay for the service themselves.
The list of bridesmaids' responsibilities includes: Emotionally supporting the bride at all times throughout the wedding planning and ceremony. Assisting the Maid of Honor in planning and paying for the bridal shower and bachelorette party, and of course, assisting the Maid of Honor throughout the wedding day.
What is the Average Cost of Bridesmaid Dresses? According to experts, the average cost of a bridesmaid dress is about $150. Keep in mind that's the average cost for just one dress - multiply that average by the number of bridesmaids in your wedding party and the costs will add up quickly.
Whilst there's no hard and fast rule, tradition dictates that the bridesmaids and the other attendees cover the cost of the bride's place on her hen weekend.