Pay towards bridesmaid dresses?

Pay a portion of their dresses for sure!

Personally I would be 10x happier with paying less for a dress than receiving a gift that I may not need/use/have space for at home.

What's the budget that each one decided on?

Can you financially swing both options? I believe that any items required for the actual wedding day are not to be considered gifts. For example, if you require a certain hairstyle for uniformity, you pay for that and it is not considered a gift.

I paid for my girls dresses + personalized gifts unrelated to the wedding day.

If it's one or the other, I would rather the bride buy my dress/part of my dress than buy me any additional gifts!

Items for the actual wedding aren't considered a gift. Rather you should check with the girls as to what their budget is for a dress and if it's less than what this dress costs then you can A. pick a different dress within their budget or B. pay the difference, but I would say if you do that then you should still get them a gift separate from anything wedding related.

I gave 3 out of 4 of my bridesmaids a $100 e-gift card to put towards their Show Me Your Mumu dresses. And I fully bought the 4th bridesmaid’s dress who is coming from out of state. I DO NOT recommend doing any of that though lol. If I could go back to a few months ago, I wouldn’t do it. Save your money and put it towards your wedding day. Find a cheaper dress or send them to an online store like Poshmark to find a used one. My bridesmaid whose dress I bought fully ended up returning the one I gave her and doing that. But I only got store credit because she waited too long and didn’t give me a heads up until it was too late. Just my experience 🫠

Definitely pay for as much of the dresses as you can. $260 seems really expensive to me and i'd rather have that than a kitchy robe or another tumbler or tote bag.

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Agreed - I paid for my parties dresses ($80 a piece) and idk if they even cared enough to make it worth the $600 expense

View Quoted Comment Yep, exactly!

Definitely pitch in for the dress. That's really expensive for a bridesmaid dress. I'm sure they'll appreciate that far more than a unique gift.

And I'll second Jacks' question, how much did they bridesmaids say they could afford?

We're paying for our party's outfits. They get to pick their dresses, budget for each is $250-300. I'm not planning on doing seperate gifts aside from cards the day of

View Quoted Comment They never said. I sent them the dress and explained to them the whole issue with it going on sale. The sale is usually 50% off. That they had to buy it within the first day of the sale or thier size would be gone. I also told them they could buy it used. I don't care. I've found one girls size so far that way. I don't know thier budget though.

Budgets and expectations need to be addressed with each individual when you ask them to be a bridesmaid so they can make an informed decision if they can participate. Generally covering expenses for the wedding are not a gift for them , because they benefit you instead. Same for jewelry/robes/pjs/totes. The best thing to do at this point is either look for a less expensive dress after asking what each can afford and getting them a gift that is not wedding related that fits their interests as if you were shopping for their birthday. It will be less likely to end up in the Goodwill bin the next day.

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Ok well you don't really know if $260 is ok to spend then for each of them. I would offer to pay for some of the dress, but not as a gift. For wedding party gifts, shop as if it's their birthday. They don't need to match or be cohesive.

View Quoted Comment You didn't check their budgets before picking a dress? I have to say that this is not ok. You've selected an almost 300 dollar dress. That doesn't include the cost of accessories, shoes, travel costs for the wedding, wedding gifts, or any other parties you may be having. It's not ok to have gone ahead and basically assumed their budgets without checking with them first.
If I was a bridesmaid and suddenly had a 300 dollar dress selected for me without my input, I'd have to drop out of the wedding party. I am renovating my house and honestly my kitchen floors are way more important than a dress and my disposable income isn't what it used to be. I'd have some tough choices to make.
Personally I'd revisit this subject with them and check what their budget is before moving forward. Maybe select a more budget friendly dress. If you're adamant about keeping that specific dress, please chip in for the cost - not as a wedding gift - to help ease the cost. If you're not chipping in, you may want to be prepared to have some people drop out due to budget constraints, so you'll have to be understanding. Hope it works out!

I went with a length and color and let my girls pick their dresses. Some spent more than i would have thought they would and were happy to. some went with the cheaper options. for me personally i wouldn't mind spending that much for a friends wedding. as it only happens once, and quite frankly i'd rather pay it myself considering i know how much weddings cost.

You do you. don't ask for others input, it will be overwhelming. have an option to help pay for those who can't pay it, don't just assume they can't or aren't willing to go that mile for you.

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And don't just assume that they are willing to. Ask them. There's nothing wrong with communicating with the bridal party. And if it's "overwhelming" to do so, then there's a serious problem happening somewhere.