How much is too much to ask for a bridesmaid to pay for?

This answer is dependent on your bridesmaids' budget. You should ask each person privately what she is able to spend on a dress and be respectful of the prices all of them give. For me, $100 is reasonable, but for someone else it may be more than they can afford.

You need to talk to each girl individually to find out what their budget is. My girls said up to $200. In my opinion $100 isn't too much, but I'm not one your bridesmaids.

I would ask them how they feel about it, and make sure they know it’s fine if they say that’s too much! I let my girls pick their own dresses and there were much cheaper options, but my 3 bridesmaids all chose dresses around $120-130 and my MOH’s dress was $160

This answer will be different for everyone depending on your bridesmaids. If the dress you want is over their price range that they told you they're okay with, then you need to find a new dress. It's rude to ask them their price range and then pick a dress outside of that price range.

Be respectful of their budgets, but my girls just paid $130 and that’s a lot cheaper than the dresses I was asked to pay for both times I was a bridesmaid. For my ladies, I have them a few choices that had different price tags as well, all were ones I would’ve been okay with them wearing, but they 3 chose my favorite on their own.

I paid for my MOH and Bridesmaid's dresses. I think the answer all depends not only on your budget but on theirs.

I agree with the pp about respecting the bridesmaids’ budget constraints. You also have to remember that being a bridesmaid isn’t just about budgeting for a dress, there’s also shoes, accessories, hair, makeup, wedding shower gift, wedding gift, bachelorette party, travel/accommodations for any of the related events (if they out of town). That stuff adds up. I know it might pale in comparison to a full blown wedding, but just keep that in mind.

Whether or not something is expensive is all relative, and for my peer group I think $100-$150 is reasonable and about the I would feel comfortable paying for a dress or asking my friends to consider spending on a dress. I love bargains though, and would not at all be offended if my bridesmaids found a great dress that cost far less or bought a pre-owned dress. I would probably feel really uncomfortable if my bridesmaids spent more than $150 on their dress though, and would be pretty frustrated if I was asked to spend more than that on a dress to be in someone else's wedding. I think they are a lot of great dress options in the $60-$100 range.

I also think it depends on the dress itself and your bridesmaids style. If it's a dress they love, that flatters them, and fits their style, is well made, and is something they could wear over and over again I'd feel a lot more comfortable spending more. But if someone tries to dump me into a strapless pumpkin orange knee length dress I'd be pretty angry about it regardless of cost. I strongly believe in giving bridesmaids some freedom of choice when it comes to dresses - I love the mismatched bridesmaids trend and think some general guidelines (color or color family, fabric choice, and length) are appropriate and then let the maids choose from there so they can pick out something they like and within their budget.

Also as others have mentioned the cost of being a bridesmaid extends far beyond just the dress, including styling, accessories, travel, gifts, time, and more. So I say be flexible wherever you can and have conversations with your maids about expectations up front, before anyone agrees to participate, that way they know what they are signing on for.

Lol I’ve been in 3 weddings and the dresses cost $120, $135 and $240! I’m lucky too because I never had to do alterations. Each wedding I’ve spent $500. I mean that’s reasonable. Some I see pay $1000s and I think that’s nuts. Just don’t go over board.

Honest but probably unpopular opinion: $100 is a perfectly reasonable price for a bridesmaid dress. What happens if you ask and someone gives you a budget of $50? If you agree to be in a wedding, there are certain costs, the most notable being the dress. Your job as a bride is to not go over the top. A $100 BM dress is not over the top.

I reached out to a couple of my BMs (I have 7) to see what they thought about price, but I didn't ask everyone. What I did was I told them we were getting the dresses from Azazie (about $80-$130), gave them 3 colors and told them to pick a color (so that the colors were distributed 3/2/2), and then pick any floor-length dress they wanted in the color they picked. I told them it was fine if they bought their dresses used/from Poshmark as long as it was an Azazie dress in the right color. But I didn't actually ask each person what their budget was. I think my approach was pretty fair, and the ones I did ask had no problem with what I said I planned to do.

View Quoted Comment THANK YOU. I agree, no one ever asked me what my budget was when I was in college or anything, so now that we are young adults, I don’t see any problem in it and I do agree that if I were to ask a budget for the dress they would say as low as possible.

I would be respectful of their budgets too. it's not uncommon though for those dresses to cost over $100 but honestly that might be out of someone's range

I would ask your bridesmaids, individually, what their budget is for a dress and decide from there. No one should pay more than what they feel comfortable with.

View Quoted Comment

Far more people here are suggesting you respect your friends and ask their budgets than not, and yet you still think asking for their budget is a bad idea ("they would say as low as possible"). Just because no one ever asked you doesn't mean you can't now go forward with the right thing. Please don't spend other people's money without their consent.

I do not think it is too much at $100, but if you do, try to catch places on sale when you start looking, so they may come to less. Most of my bridesmaid's dresses were 100+. But I am giving them all the nice gifts as thank yous for being in the wedding and I am paying for their make up, and jewelry. My husband is giving a small gift to his groomsmen but is also contributing $30 to each of his groomsmen for their suits. So its really about what you are looking for and if you plan on paying for other things for them. I mean I wouldn't go outlandish at like $200+, but I think 100 is fair.

View Quoted Comment Are you just wanting to pick a fight? Thanks for your comment!

I would ask them what they can afford and if they can’t afford what you’d like them to wear, then you can either pay for it or pay the difference.

I think it depends on the budget for the personal bridesmaid. I plan on $100 on a dress for the bridesmaids. Davids Bridal usually has good deals. I'm buying their flowers and other things for them to try and help them afford a dress. I also gave them the option of getting their hair and make up done professionally.

I didn’t ask my bridesmaids what their budget was but I tried to find something that’s cheap because I don’t want them to spend too much money. The dresses I found were about $110 with tax and shipping. If you found some dresses that are $150+ I would probably reach out and ask if that’s doable for them. It is respectful to make sure your bridesmaids won’t have issues affording it, especially during these difficult times where people have lost their jobs and/or are just being more mindful of their spending.

I honestly don't think $100 is too much especially if it's a dress at David's bridal or any other bridal store. Of course if there are sales or youre doing dresses online , they may be cheaper. I didn't think to ask my bridesmaids what their budget is but I do think that's a good thing to do. For mine I did so dresses with different prices so I chose one color and picked about 6 dress options I liked and had my bridesmaids choose from there. After asking what their budget is , maybe you can do something similar where you allow them to pick a dress of their style & budget. If they are long dresses maybe even give them a color for shoes since no one will really see them. These are ways that your bridesmaids can spend less money or money in their price range while also still pleasing you. Hope this helps (: