4 Women on How Much They Spent Being Bridesmaids
Wedding season is fast approaching, which means if you're crying tears of joy for your betrothed friends, your wallet is also sobbing. Weddings are notoriously expensive affairs to have, but they can also be astronomically expensive to attend-especially if you're in the wedding party. Here, four women share exactly how much they spent as bridesmaids in their friends' weddings.
Dress: $330
"I spent $215 [on the dress] because the bride got a discount because there were so many of us. But I had to get extra length because I’m tall, so then it was $230, and then I spent $100 on alterations. I donated the dress to a prom dress drive and that did make me feel a little better, to be honest."
Shoes and accessories: $30
"Before the wedding, the bride was like, I’ve decided everyone should wear silver shoes because that’s something everyone has. So I spent about $30 on my shoes, and they have not been touched since then."
Hair and makeup: $0
"I didn't get either done. I did my own, and the bride didn’t care. I think I was the only one who did my own, everyone else got theirs done."
Nails: $50
Hotel for wedding weekend: $60
"For the actual night of the wedding, it was local but they wanted the whole bridal party to stay there. So I split it with two other people, so I think I spent $60, which isn’t that much."
Wedding gift: $150 gift card
Engagement gift: $50
"I did a wedding planning kit that I made. I got her magazines, some little stuff, like Advil, bandaids."
Bridal shower: $200
"The bridal shower the bridesmaids had to plan, and we paid for most of it. We each had to pay $150: $1,000 of that went for a deposit because we did it at a country club. The bride’s mom paid for the rest of it. [The maid of honor] said $50 would go toward postage for invitations and the remaining $450 would be the gift for the bride and groom. We had to volunteer to make a dessert or make one of those cheesy craft games. I went to Costco and bought everything and spent at least $50 on that, which was fine."
Bachelorette party: $970
"We did a destination bachelorette. [The maid-of-honor] did a package, but I couldn’t go on that flight, so my flight ended up being $350 and I had to pay $250 for the hotel room and then $60 for the bride. She had us do one of those cycling things where you drink on the bike and buy a matching t-shirt and that was another $85. We split all of the bride’s food and drinks. I was there for three days, two nights, and I probably spent $200 on food and drinks. One night we did a $25 open bar, and we all had to wear black dresses."
Extra: $26.95
"Right after we were all asked to be bridesmaids, the bride graduated from school, and the maid of honor planned a congratulatory brunch with just her and the bridesmaids. It was $26.95 a person, which included one mimosa."
“I actually have a spreadsheet for every wedding I’ve been invited to or in… ideally I want to start seeing places where I should haven’t spent the money and save myself money in future weddings when I wise up.”
Dress: $285
"She tried really hard to be affordable so the dress itself was $140, which I thought was super reasonable. But then I did have to get it altered, it was slightly too long, so it was one of those things where I bought the right size but had to get it taken up a bit so I didn’t trip and because there were so many layers to it. It was $145 to get altered."
Shoes and accessories: $0
"She was really open about shoes, so I used a pair I already had. She gave me a necklace as part of my gift, so I wore that."
Hair and makeup: $20
"Her parents paid [for hair and makeup] except for tip. So it was supposed to be $100 per person, but we only ended up spending $20 each."
Nails: $35
Flight to wedding: $380
Hotel: $0
"I didn’t do a hotel because one of the bridesmaids lived out there, so we all shoved a bunch of air mattresses into her apartment and made it work."
Engagement gift: $40
"She had both [a bridal shower and engagement party]. I didn’t go to either being the out-of-towner, so I didn’t have any travel costs. I did send one small engagement gift. I have a tradition with a couple of people who have gotten engaged, so I got her a Christmas ornament. I had their names put on it and the date they got engaged."
Wedding gift: $150
"I found someone on Etsy who turns photos into watercolor paintings, so I’m going to do that, but she’s going to give me a discount if I order three weddings at once."
Bachelorette party: $685
"Being one of the east coast girls, I had to do a flight. The flight was $320 to Kansas City and we stayed at an Airbnb, so that ended up being $125. We pretty much covered every cost for the bride. We did a live podcast show, so those tickets were $100. [We also] made t-shirts... those were $20 each. The bride’s mom sent us some money to be used for whatever we wanted, so we used that for brunch. We did one of those lingerie exchanges where everyone brought her lingerie."
Dress: $275
Shoes and accessories: $100
"My dress was $200, and then the alteration cost was about $75. I had to buy gold shoes."
Hair and makeup: $150
Nails: $65
Spray tan: $40
"The hair was $75 and makeup was the same price. I’ll be getting my nails done, and I’m getting a spray tan which is about $40."
Hotel: $50
"I had to get a hotel room, and I’m splitting it with 3 others, so it was $50-75 each. I can drive, luckily."
Bridal shower: $95
"She had an engagement party and a bridal shower. [For] the bridal shower, all the bridesmaids split the cost as far as decorations and food. So I probably spent $75-100 for the bridal shower, which really isn’t that bad. The gift we split and that was $20 each for the bridal shower. We ended up getting her this life-sized Jenga set to play at the reception and got it monogrammed."
Gift: $100 check
Bachelorette party: $400
"We went to Baltimore so we were able to drive, but it was about $100 for the weekend for the Airbnb. And then as far as food and alcohol, I probably spent another $75 [on food to] bring to the house. We did a pirate cruise, so it was a booze cruise but pirate-themed. It was actually so fun. That was $25 each to get on. And then we did brunch which was another $50. We did get shirts for the bachelorette weekend, so I think that was another $25."
Dress and shoes: $450
"I would say $450 including dress, shoes, undergarments, alterations. We ended up all picking the same dress, and it wasn’t too crazy expensive. I’m tall so I had to pay an extra $20 because I needed extra length with it."
Hair and makeup: $0
Nails: $65
"I paid for my nails beforehand. She had her family member do our hair so we didn’t have to pay for that, and I did my own makeup."
Gift: $100 check
Bridal shower: $50
"I got her a bridal shower present beforehand and that was probably $50. I got her-they were really cute, she registered for them-but they were little Kate Spade tumbler glasses and they said 'His' and 'Hers' on them. I wasn’t able to go to the actual shower because I was on a work trip."
Hotel and transportation for wedding weekend: $400
Bachelorette party: $350
"I had to buy my bus ticket [for the bachelorette] and that was probably $80. We stayed at her apartment, so that was cheap. We did a pole dancing class, we got our nails done together, and then we went out that night. And we covered everything for the bride. I would say that was a $350 weekend, including transportation and booze."
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