Who pays for bridesmaid dresses and makeup?
Generally speaking, bridesmaids are expected to pay for their own dresses and accessories; they may also be required to foot the bill for hair and makeup appointments and transportation to the wedding.
- In the US, the tradition is for the bridesmaids to each pay for their own dress, regardless of who is making the final call on what the dresses will look like.
- The bride should try to be flexible about the kind of dresses she chooses for her girls.
Fortunately, covering the costs of hair and makeup services is definitely not required. If you can't pay for the services, you can still help everything go smoothly by procuring prices from your hair and makeup stylists and offering to book services for your bridesmaids in the bridal suite.
It's pretty standard that the bridal party will pay for what they wear on your wedding day. The key here is, while you're picking it out, make sure it's somewhat affordable for everyone. Just because you're not dishing out the money for it, doesn't mean there's an endless budget.
Of course, it'd be lovely for bridesmaids to have their hair and makeup professionally done on the morning of the wedding, but if this is out of your budget to cover, you can make it optional for the crew and give them the option of paying for the professional hair and makeup artist to do theirs if they want to cover ...
Asking bridesmaids at modern weddings to pay for their own dresses is relatively common, but it's important to give them plenty of time to afford it. Saving for a £200 dress is a much easier task if your wedding is two years away compared to just a couple of months.
"We often see the maid of honor assist in covering the cost of the bridal shower (often in conjunction with a family member of the bride), covering her own costs and some of the costs of the bride for the bachelorette party (in conjunction with the rest of the bridesmaids), her own travel to and from the wedding, a ...
While it would be nice if they shared the expenses of a bridal shower, you should not, and cannot dictate that. Think about it this way — you would basically be asking them to throw a party in your honor. Wouldn't you think it rude if someone asked you to throw a party for them?
Although once upon a time it was expected that the bride's family would foot the bridal shower bill, modern society has changed the rules. Nowadays, the person (or people) hosting the bridal shower are responsible for covering the costs associated with the shower.
While generous, that's still an exception to the norm. Generally speaking, bridesmaids are expected to pay for their own dresses and accessories; they may also be required to foot the bill for hair and makeup appointments and transportation to the wedding.
Who pays for bridesmaids nails?
Bridesmaids (and all wedding party attendants) are responsible for their own attire, transportation and lodging, as are the parents of flower girls and ring bearers. If the bride wants special hair, make up and nails, it's a nice gesture on her part to pay for those.
Even though you're already spending a lot of your money and time as a bridesmaid, wedding etiquette indicates that you're still expected to give a wedding gift to the couple. Bridesmaids are supposed to get the bride a gift for some prewedding events as well.
You might think the bridesmaid dress is the most expensive part of being in a friend's wedding. Turns out it's just a small percentage of the wedding expenses associated with bridesmaid duties. Wedding Wire estimates that the average cost of being a bridesmaid is $1200 for each wedding.
How Much Does Bridesmaid Hair and Makeup Cost? On average, bridesmaids and other wedding party members should expect to pay about $125 to $250 per person for hair and makeup. It's up to the bride if she will pay this cost, or if her attendants will cover it themselves.
The answer is that it depends.
In other scenarios, it makes more sense for the wedding party to cover their hair and makeup costs. And, in other scenarios, the bride might cover part of the expenses, with the bridesmaids footing the rest of the bill.
You can discuss specifics with your stylist, but most hair and makeup pros will suggest 30 minutes per bridesmaid for hair and another 30 minutes for makeup. For the bride, an hour window should be allotted for both hair and makeup application.
If the bride is paying for the bridesmaid dresses, then it's reasonable to ask the bridesmaids to cover the cost of their own shoes and even jewellery, hair and makeup. Just like with the dresses, you'll have to let go of the reins if you go for this option, so set some boundaries early on to avoid disappointment!
Be honest and upfront.
Try to decide how you want to proceed and have a conversation — in person or over the phone is ideal — as soon as possible. Explain how honored you are to be asked, but being in a wedding is not part of your budget right now.
There's no set rule as to how many bridesmaids become too many, but anything over 8 is looked at being a big group of bridesmaids. The average number of bridesmaids is 3-5. Some brides decide to have only a maid of honour or 1 bridesmaid, and this is totally normal, but some decide to have a bigger group of up to 12.
If you're still itching for dollar amount suggestions, follow these very loose guidelines for how much to spend on wedding gifts: If you're a coworker, acquaintance, or distant relative: $50-$75. If you're a friend or relative of: $75-$100.
Do I really need a maid of honor?
While having a maid of honor is a very common tradition, it's by no means a requirement.
The couple is usually responsible for all the flowers required for the bridal party including bouquets and boutonnieres. Also, there may be some extra travel the couples may pay for.
At the reception, the bridesmaids may give a speech, but generally just need to be friendly and have fun on the dance floor. The wedding party members also attend the rehearsal dinner, morning-after brunch and any additional events during the wedding weekend.
Typically, the Maid of Honor and bridesmaids split the cost of the bachelorette party. The bride's expenses (including her drinks, meals, and transportation) are split evenly between the bridal party.
Although it's trendy for the bride to give everyone attending the bachelorette party a gift, it's certainly not necessary. Traditionally, the maid of honor and bridesmaids plan and pay for all bachelorette festivities, and the bride spends her time preparing for the big day instead.
