Attire for wedding party

In the US, it is common for the bridal party to purchase their own attire. However, some social circles differ, and it is always a nice gesture if you can afford it.

Hello Lindsey.
If you let them pick whatever they want, they are supposed to pay but if you and/or ypur groom want a specific attire or a selection to choose from, it's obvious you have to pay for their attire.
The same goes for the bridesmaid's hair and make up, whether or not you want them to be profesionally done .

We will be paying for our wedding party’s attire. The way we see it is, we are requesting them to be in our wedding and wear specific attire, so we should pay for it.

View Quoted Comment You are 100% right about hair and makeup but the attire is usually exempt from this rule. While I agree this is the way it SHOULD be, in reality the norm in the US is for the bridal party to pay for their attire regardless of if they had a hand in choosing it or not.



You can always offer to pay instead but most people who are asked to be in a bridal party are aware they will likely pay for their clothes.

I agree with the others - this is regional, but it's most common here in Australia to pay for just about everything.

We are paying for the clothing, shoes, hair, makeup, jewellery and accommodation for our bridesmaids, and the suits, ties, shirts and accommodation for our groomsmen. Sometimes shoes are left for the bridal party to pick and pay for themselves, as long as they're in x or y colour.

Basically, the more stringent your expectations are, the more you should pay for, in my opinion.

I want my girls in matching shoes, so I've paid for them. I want them in matching dresses, so I've paid for that. I want a cohesive makeup and hair look done by the same person (although with enough variation for their personalities and own beauty to shine through, of course!) so I'm paying for that. They wouldn't need accommodation if they weren't at our wedding, so that's also covered.

Truly depends on your location and what's the norm! In the US, it's common for the bridal party to purchase their own attire, but it's always a nice gesture to offer! My mom's family lives in the Philippines, and they usually purchase everyone's attire.

Our wedding party is purchasing/renting their own attire, and because of that, we checked with everyone to see what budget they were comfortable with before picking attire for them. I'm letting my ladies wear their own shoes since you won't see them under their dress, and the guys only have to rent the suit jacket and pants (making it more affordable for everyone). All of the guys have brown shoes, belt, and a white shirt, so we didn't see a need for them to rent those.

Personally I think it's rude to ask people to essentially pay for the honor of standing up in your wedding. We paid for BM dresses and new shirts/ties for the guys (they already had suits). It's typical that people require the bridal party to pay, so it's not out of the norm, i just think it's rude.

I think it depends on where you're from. Every wedding I've been in, I had to pay for my attire, including shoes. The bride usually "gifted" jewelry to the bridesmaids. For ours, I am giving them a color for dresses on Azazie, and they can pick a style that works for them. If we can afford it, I'm going to reimburse them for a portion of it. I'm also going to tell them a color for shoes, likely gray/silver, and let them pick what works for them. I'll also likely get them some jewelry but overall I'm not picky. I am also going to price out paying for their hair and makeup, but I'm also not requiring it so I may leave it up to them.