Do i offer to pay for my bridesmaids shoes?

If you require a certain look (silver shoes) then you pay. Bear in mind that no one will see them or care if they match.

They need to wear any shoe that goes with the dress, and has a formal look. No need to match the other shoes. They pay. They may have 3 nice non-silver shoes, and wear those.
Or, you say, if you buy the silver shoes I like, I will pay for them.

IMO, yes if you're requiring a silver shoe you should pay for it. If you haven't already announced the other stuff, you could drop paying for spray tans or mani/pedi's (as long as you're not requiring those too) to balance out the budget.

Also consider how much the shoes will matter if they're wearing long dresses...they will be hard or impossible to see, and even if visible most people will not notice or care about the bridesmaids shoes.

I do personally agree that you should pay for them, even though you are not asking for a specific style.

Basic colors for formal shoes, in my opinion, include black and nude - typical staples in most closets. Anything outside of that is a specialty shoe color, including metallics. If you want a specialty shoe color, you should pay for the shoes. Otherwise, let them wear what they already have.

Honestly, in my circle, it's pretty common to ask the bridesmaids to wear a metallic shoe color and have them cover the cost if they have to buy a pair. So I think it depends. I wouldn't bat an eye because that is what many do, but based on other people's comments, that isn't the norm everywhere.

I asked my girls to wear any silver shoes (didn't care if they were heels or not) and I didn't pay for them not did they ask me to.

I also asked my girls to wear any silver colored shoe (didn't care if they were heels or flats) and I didn't pay for them. Some of the girls wore shoes they already owned, and others opted to buy new shoes for the occasion. I paid for their hair and makeup. It's pretty common in my family and social circle to ask the bridesmaids to wear a shoe in a standard color such as silver, black, or nude.

But I will say that if I could do things over, I wouldn't have asked them to wear silver shoes in the first place. The dresses were long and nobody could see the shoes anyway

If you’re wanting a specific color than you should pay...

Silver is one of the most common and standard colors for nice shoes worn to weddings, so I think you'd be fine having them pay since they can wear any silver shoe that they want. I mean, if you were asking them to wear something really specific and out of the ordinary like a turquoise-colored shoe, or if you were asking that they all wear the exact same pair of identical silver heels, then I think you'd need to pay. But for any silver shoe? I think it's absolutely fine to have them pay for this

I have been a BM/MOH in 10 weddings. In all of them a specific color shoe was requested. In all of them I paid for the shoe. As a matter of fact, one bride changed her mind on the shoe color last minute after everyone had purchased the original color and I STILL paid for the second shoes. I am really surprised that so many people would pay for the shoe. It’s definitely not something anyone around me has ever done. Aside from that you aren’t asking for anything ridiculous or crazy expensive. Anyone can get any simple silver shoe anywhere for any price. I really don’t think you need to worry about this. They can purchase the shoes themselves.

View Quoted Comment This. My oldest sister was first in our family to marry after the wedding websites came online, 3 of us were before. And to
this shoe issue, someone on Wedding Channel said the best thing, then or since, what several noted here. She said, look up Bridesmaid groups real weddings. Count how many WP with long dresses where it matters. ...... I just googled that, and first thing to come up is this:Bridesmaids from Real Weddings | Martha Stewart" https://www.marthastewart.com/7947750/bridesmaids-real-weddings?slide=52a40d74-f666-42e8-a00e-80aee2d39ea4#52a40d74-f666-42e8-a00e-80aee2d39ea4
Really,look. More brides and BM fight over this than I can ever believe.

Or just google images

I don't thinknyou should have to pay. They can get an inexpensive pair of shoes and you're paying for hair, makeup, mani/pedis, and spray tans.

I echo other posts. If you’re asking them to wear something specific they don’t have, you should pay. It’s incredibly kind for you to pay for their make up, but that also isn’t necessary since they could do their own make up for the wedding. And unless the shoes are open toed, no one will see their toes so pedicures seem pointless to pay for.

Thank you for the advice! I'll keep it in mind.

My advice is to take into account your BM's financial situation. If they are struggling to make ends meet or have expressed other financial concerns then I would offer to pay. If not, I would just reiterate that they don't need to be expensive shoes and to contact you if they are having issues getting them. There are plenty of good $20 pairs of shoes so you are looking at about $40 if you pay for both of them. Lulu's, Amazon, DSW, etc. have good budget-friendly options you can buy or refer them to if they need help finding some.

It's generally been my understanding - and when I say understanding, I mean it's what my bridesmaids actually wanted to do when I asked them - that bridesmaids generally pay for their own dresses, hair, and accessories. It doesn't sound as though you gave many specifics, other than the shoes be silver and have a heel. That sounds general enough that your bridesmaids could find decent pairs that work for them. The only way I think it would make sense for you to pay for the shoes is if they were both going through financial troubles right now, but if they were able to pay for their own dresses, then I don't see how one pair of shoes for each of them will break their banks.

View Quoted Comment

Yeah that is right. I just gave them a general instruction for silver heels, or flats if they didn't want to wear heels. As far as I know they aren't going through any financial struggles. I just wanted to know if it is impolite of me to expect them to pay.

I personally don’t think it’s necessary to pay for them if you don’t care what the style or brand is of the shoe itself. Silver isn’t an uncommon color, and it’s not like you picked an expensive shoe out that’s hard to afford. This way they can pick a shoe in their budget that’s the color you want, but you don’t have to worry about paying for one picking out a more expensive shoe than the other or anything like that.