Groomsmen and bridal party struggle

My groomsmen paid $179 for their suits and when my FH was a groomsman last year -- his was $275. That's a pretty normal pricing. As for my own suits, for the groomsmen, I did budget a bit of 'help' into my wedding -- in case my bridesmaids or groomsmen fell onto hard times. I've assisted a few of them in getting dresses/partial payments on suits.

Is she the only one complaining about the price? Honestly, people know what they're getting into when they are asked to be in a wedding party and they're welcome to bow out. I don't honestly think that $235 is a bad price, in the slightest. If it's such a hassle and you want that color, then stand your ground. Maybe ask her what she'd think is reasonable and then pay off up until that, to keep the color you're looking for and to avoid stress. It's not necessarily your problem to pay for, but if you want something and you're having a hard time finding it elsewhere --- sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

Honestly, if she's the only one saying anything, I wouldn't be concerned about finding a whole new place to rent from.

You're really doing this the hard way, imo.

Our groomsmen rented from Gentux. It's an online rental service, they reserve online & the suit is sent straight to their house. They rented a black jacket & black pants, then we let them wear their own black dress shoes, black belt, and white button down. We paid $10 each for their ties, $5 each for their pocket squares, and $10 each for matching socks. I personally think over $200 is way too much to ask a GM to pay for unless the bride & groom consulted with every individual person prior and they are 100% okay with it.

I had a similar situation happen and I gave up on David's Bridal's "wine" color. I ended up going through Azazie and using GenTux for suit rentals.. much more affordable!

She's being difficult, then. She made an unnecessary purchase, imo. If you told her that her boots were fine, then I don't see why she bought new ones. Honestly, I don't know how much the boots were but I know they can be pricey because of 'trend' and what not... and brand. However, you might just have to split the difference and call it a day if you want to go with what you want to go with. Though, I'd be weary to do the difference of $235 to $150 - that's almost 40% off, see if she'll meet you at like $175 and you can cover 25%. That's fair, imo -- especially since she bought new boots. It's not your fault that she took on the extra expense rather than putting it towards something needed vs. wanted.

I'm realistic with my Groomsmen and Bridesmaids, I'm not going to just hand money left and right with no regard for what I need to do -- but I will be nice and help out. In this situation, if you want what you want... help out a bit, but she really did make a purchase that could have been money better spent on the suit that she's complaining about.

As for everyone's options on here, they have good ideas, too. I just think if you found what you want, it's easier to find ways to fix the one person than to have a headache.

Another option --

Honestly, I might even say don't worry about it unless he comes to you or if he's the type to go through her... then I'd worry. Maybe ask him if there's an issue with the pricing and if he says no, then don't concern yourself with her words. Basically: "Hey, I was making sure that everything is alright with the suits for the wedding, if there's something I might be able to do, let me know" -- type deal. Don't ask if he can afford it, that'd be rude, but leave it open for him to be like: "eh, it's a bit pricey". He really should be saying this, himself -- it has nothing to do with her other than it's "their" money.

Can you do black tuxes & just match the shirt or tie to the wine?

So I didn't have an issue with my bridesmaid dresses, however I have a similar situation. Some of the previous posters are saying that your future sister in law is being difficult, but I don't think she is. My future sister in law is a bridesmaid in my wedding. Her husband is a groomsmen. And her kids are flower girl and ring bearer. So her dress ended up being just over $200 - they are designer and we didn't get them from David's bridal. When we went looking for tuxes last week, we knew they would complain. She started complaining before we ever went for tuxes. So we went and picked a tux and it was as cheap as we could get it at $145. We called all the groomsmen and told them and everyone was fine with it - except future sister in law and husband. She wanted to leave off the shoes because "he already has shiny black shoes". It would have only saved like $10. Fiance and I were kind of mad at first - I mean this is her brother's wedding and they are super close, why is she not willing to spend money on our day?! But after we talked and calmed down, we realized that her financial obligation is way more than any of the other bridesmaids/groomsmen. They have two attires to pay for and that doesn't even include their kids (which will be as cheap as possible but still cost money). And even though it seems money is no issue for them and they spend money on lots of things we don't deem "priority", we had to sympathize and realize maybe they are struggling behind closed doors and it's just a strain on them. And we really don't want our wedding to be a burden on them. So we called them back, and offered to apply our $40 deposit credit to their tux, so they only pay like $105. Groom's tux was free and the deposit was to hold our date and they told us we could either apply it to one of the other tuxes or get it back afterwards. So it was an easy sacrifice to make for us (what's $40 more when you're spending thousands already?) and it made them feel a lot better about it. We will probably buy the kids attire too if we can swing it just to alleviate a little more. But if I were you, I would look around at other tux shops. Maybe even some boutiques that sell prom dresses (they usually rent tuxes too and I've found they are cheaper). Over $200 does sound a little high for a tux to me but that could be a location thing. Just shop around a little and don't go with a place just because David's Bridal recommends it. Although on a side note, I think if you bought all your dresses from David's, the guys might get some sort of discount (I think I might have read 40% somewhere) on their tuxes so check into that too. And if you can afford to help with the cost of their tux, do it. Groom's should be free so maybe that will help. And keep in mind that at the end of the day, this is YOUR day. They love you, but your wedding is not the only thing in their lives that they have financial obligations too and it's not necessarily a priority to them the same way it is to you. I'm sure if they had plenty of money to spare they wouldn't mind at all, so if they are complaining it's probably because they genuinely cannot afford it.

Another option might be to have the groomsmen in normal black (or grey since that is one of your colors) suits and just have the tie coordinate which can be bought separately and get the cheaper suits (though it will still be a bit more expensive than she is thinking), it might sooth her and help with your coordination issue since ties in various colors are much easier to find.

Our groomsmen are all renting and its still 205 and some change. I don't think 235 is ridiculous and I don't thinkl she will find many better deals for rent but I would ask her if shes so concerned to look into options and bring them to you so you can compare maybe? My girls are in Navy and my Guys are all in grey (light grey) and my dad is in a darker grey.

We ended up saying we'd pay the difference for our family members because I was tired of hearing their excuses and whining. They all had agreed to 180 and it came to $230. Not an expense I wanted to pick up but it was easier to just deal with it than listen to one more person complain about what my FH had his heart set on.