Bridesmaid expenses
Are you always the bridesmaid and never the bride? If you are, then you know by now that being a bridesmaid is not only about helping the bride with her needs, and standing with her at the altar on the day of the wedding, but it is also about spending money, and yes you will be spending some, if not a lot of money, for the wedding.
Get ready and save some money, because here are some of the bridesmaids expenses you might incur:
Dress - unless the dress will be paid for by the bride. Sometimes the bride offers to pay for all the dresses, but in most cases, you have to shell out the money for it, and it is not cheap. The best thing you can do for yourself is to talk to the bride, and all the other bridesmaids, and choose a dress that you may be able to wear again, so it’ s not a total waste. A lot of times, based on my experience, the bridesmaids dress is a one time wear only. All the dresses I wore when I was a bridesmaid, I really never saw again. It’s still in my closet I’m sure, but I never wore it at any other event again. For real.
So maybe try to come up with a solution, and discuss it with the other bridesmaids. There are so many wonderful options nowadays for bridesmaids dresses. Gone are days where everyone has to be in the exact same dress. Explain it to the bride, I’m sure she’ll be open to suggestions.
Shoes - Sometimes you have a buy new one to match what you’re wearing. That’s what ladies do, right? If you already have one that you can use, that’s perfect. But if you don’t, maybe you can borrow from someone? If you need to buy a new one, but something that matches with your other wardrobe, so you can wear it again, and again to other formal events.
Hair and make up - Again, sometimes the bride offers to pay for this, but if not, you have pay it yourself. Maybe one of the bridesmaids know how to do hair and makeup? If that’s the case then that’s one big chunk of expense avoided. I don’t know know how to do hair and make up, so I had to pay for a professional to do it for me, when my friend got married. I think I paid like $150 at that time, I don’t remember exactly. But if you really want to save money. try practicing it yourself. There are so many tutorials online, especially on Tiktok, on how to do hair and make up. You can practice and try different hairstyles, one that fits your face perfectly. Maybe by the time the wedding comes, you’ll be an expert.
Nails - for your hand and feet. There are so many places where you can get this done for cheap. I usually just go to the nail studio inside my local Walmart. My nail lady does a really good job. But what they do with my nails are just simple. If you want something fancy, like gel nails, or some some really cool nail art, then that’s the expensive one.
Bachelorette party - whether it will be held locally, out of town, or out of the country, you will be spending money. It is usually the Maid of Honor and the bridesmaids who plan everything, so talk it over, be honest with everyone if you don’t have enough money to cover for whatever you guys are planning to do. Bachelorette parties don’t have to be extravagant. The important thing is everybody, especially the bride, will have fun.
Wedding gift - of course, you’ll have to give a wedding gift, whether or not, you are a bridesmaid. If you’re not giving a monetary gift, try to find something vintage and classic. You usually find those at antique stores or vintage shops.
That’s all of the big expenses I can think of, based on my personal experience being one. Of course there are other small things, like transportation, etc., but this list is just for the ones that take the most chunk of money from you.
