Bridesmaid Dress Costs: How Much & Who Pays?

Q: I’m getting married next year and starting to think about the dresses for my bridal party. There will be five bridesmaids and they all come from different backgrounds and places across the country. One is my fiance’s little sister, two of them are friends from back home and the other two are friends from college. I have a lot of questions about who pays for bridesmaid dresses. It’s not a problem for most of my friends but some are just starting their careers and I worry about their budgets. Should I really expect my bridesmaids to cover the cost of bridal party dresses? And either way, how much are bridesmaid dresses usually?

A: All great questions! Bridal party dress costs really range, from as low as $75 to upwards of $300 and beyond. In general though your bridesmaid dress cost is probably going to be somewhere around $150. Before you get too tied up with the budget details, we suggest you take a step back and think about your wedding. What do you want your wedding to look and feel like? Having a strong sense of your wedding style is going to help you figure out what types of dresses to look for and then from there you can decide where you want to fall in terms of cost. So start by looking at photos of bridesmaid dresses and doing a little shopping on your own. (Check out our gallery of Kleinfeld Bridal Party bridesmaid dresses right here!)
Now, as far as who pays for bridal party dresses, the answer is that usually the bridesmaids will cover the cost of their dresses. Any of your friends who have already been a bridesmaid probably know this and assume that when they said yes to being your bridesmaid, they were also agreeing to purchase a dress of your choice for your wedding day.
If you are worried that one or two of your bridesmaids may feel uncomfortable with the cost, you could start by searching for super-affordable dresses (shop bridesmaid dresses under $150 right here!). You could also offer to step in and cover a portion of the cost. This might be a great way to go if you end up falling in love with a bridesmaid dress on the higher end. In the end, as long as you are open and honest about the dresses you want for your bridal party and you give your friends the space to be transparent with you about what they can and can’t afford, you should be totally fine. In the end, trust us: Your friends are going to want what’s best for you and your wedding day.

Xoxo
The Kleinfeld Bridal Party Team