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E
Newbie November 2023 British Columbia

Who pays for bridesmaids dresses/hair/makeup?

Ebony, on June 12, 2022 at 23:11 Posted in Beauty 0 20
Hey everyone, I’m wondering if you brides are paying for your bridesmaids dresses and their hair/makeup?
If not, how did you tell them? I’m not really sure what the norm is
Thanks!!!

20 Comments

Latest activity by Kaitlin, on August 7, 2023 at 14:55
  • K
    Curious September 2021 Alberta
    Kaitlin ·
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    Having been a bridesmaid that was shoved into a peach and dark silver dress that cost $300... I paid for my wedding parties outfits. If you a prescribing what they have to wear, i think you have to cover it. If its just a colour or length or something then they can cover it.

    Hair and makeup. when i was a bridesmaid the one time we had it done (the orange monstrosity time) the bride covered it.

    Otherwise we know how to do our own hair and makeup, and your friends look like your friends in the photos rather than strangers with odd hair and makeup.

    Basically if you are forcing it you should cover it (specific dress, professional hair/makeup). If its a dress that you really realllly like or something ask it to be the gift for the wedding.

    Also to be clear, i do like orange, there are lovely shades. This was not one of them, and the $300 price tag combined with alterations while being a student probably made it uglier in my mind. I would never say anything to the bride, but I would never do that to someone else.

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  • Megan
    Frequent user July 2023 Ontario
    Megan ·
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    I think I’m going to tell mine what the cost would be and let them decide what they want to do. I think it’s unfair to tell them they have to get their hair/makeup professionally done if you’re not planning to foot the bill. Being in a wedding is expensive as it is and if they’re more comfortable doing their own makeup, etc it doesn’t really bother me.
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  • Vinod
    Top August 2017 Ontario
    Vinod ·
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    Yoy can choose to buy the brideamaids dresses if the budget fits or make up and hair. The budget is tight on your end, give the cost of the dress and let them pay for their hair and make up if they can afford it. Accessories of jewelry can be given to them as gifts to match the dresses.
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  • D
    Featured September 2022 Alberta
    Derek ·
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    There is no right or wrong way to handle this. Pretty sure though, that my fiancee's bridesmaids/MOH are covering their own costs (they have purchased their dresses already), and from what little I've heard, they will probably be covering their own hair/nails/makeup as well.

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  • Farrah
    Curious April 2023 British Columbia
    Farrah ·
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    I'm paying half the cost of hair and makeup for my bridesmaids - not making them get it done, but if they want I told them I would cover half of it. For their dresses they are able to choose whatever they want as long as they run it by me first and it fits the colour scheme so I think they appreciated the flexibility there since they'll be able to shop for a dress that fits their budget!

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  • Danielle
    Frequent user April 2022 Ontario
    Danielle ·
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    I feel like the norm now is that, unless you mention otherwise, your bridal party assumes they pay for their own - at least in my friend group anyways! That being said, I gave each of my bridesmaids a different colour and told them they could wear any dress that made them happy - This allowed them to feel completely like themselves and to also choose a price point that they were comfortable with, individually. Everyone showed me their dresses before they bought for the most part but to be honest, I wouldn’t have said no to anything. This took away so much stress on my end and I was so happy to see them all so happy! I also paid for half of hair and makeup (which was optional but everyone chose to do) and bought everyone bracelets, however the girls bought their own earrings and shoes (again, all their choice within the colour palette). Being more relaxed and giving them more options definitely made me feel more comfortable with them having to purchase these things.
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  • C
    Super December 2020 Ontario
    Carmel ·
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    Rule of thumb is if you want something very specific, you should be paying for it. There isn't a norm and I think being up front about everything is the best way.. I would say bridesmaids expect to pay for their own dress but if you insist on having hair and make up done then you should be paying for it. I had it as an option for my siblings and the rest of the party. They all wanted to do it and we're happy to pay for it. As for dresses, they each got to pick their own so that way I didn't feel as guilty about them having to buy a dress because really they didn't have to if they had one that would work (they all bought new). I should also note that my bridal party all have fairly big wallets so finances weren't a huge issue, but I still wanted to be mindful of course.
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  • Kim
    Devoted June 2022 British Columbia
    Kim ·
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    We only have two people on each side for the wedding party, so we decided that we would pay for their dresses and hair/makeup, leaving them to buy their own shoes (also paid for the suit rentals for the guys). It didn't even cross my mind to have them pay as I knew the style of dress that I wanted them to wear and didn't feel it was fair to make them pay for what I wanted.

    Everyone is different!

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  • A
    Super September 2022 Alberta
    Alyx ·
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    As for dresses I showed them the options I liked let them choose and told them when they needed to go in and buy them.
    This was Covid times so we couldn’t all go in together
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  • A
    Super September 2022 Alberta
    Alyx ·
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    I have them the option to have there hair and makeup done my the lady I found gave them the price the ones that said yes I asked them to e-transfer me and the ones that said no are doing there own hair and makeup
    Just be upfront is always best so there is no confusion!
    I bought my bridesmaids gifts to kinda say thank you for all the money they put in and for supporting me through the process!

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  • Rebecca
    Expert October 2023 Newfoundland and Labrador
    Rebecca ·
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    Its not abnormal to go either way on this.

    I personally told my girls to purchase their dresses from azazie or JJ's house in their color, shoes whatever as long as they matched the dress and were comfortable i don't care.

    I'm paying for their Hair and make up and have purchased them all amethyst point necklaces that are in crystal form image below

    Keep reading below:

    Who pays for bridesmaids dresses/hair/makeup? 1

    and I'm looking for earrings for them as well haven't landed on that as of yet.

    it really depends on you & what you can afford/ are willing to spend.

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  • Malyssa
    Expert October 2022 Alberta
    Malyssa ·
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    Defineitly no norms on this one. I think this is a personal preference and a budget thing. If its within your means to help, you can but you don't need to pay for any of those things.

    Personally, I only have one MOH on my party, she bought her own dress and I am paying for her hair and make up. If I had more girls, I may have only elected to cover make up.

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  • Brooke
    Curious October 2022 Ontario
    Brooke ·
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    I have my dad's best friend's daughter doing my hair and makeup, as well as my bridesmaids. They paid for their dresses, shoes and accommodations for the wedding weekend, and since it's a family friend doing the beauty stuff, I'm treating the girls to that.

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  • Brittany
    Super August 2023 Alberta
    Brittany ·
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    My bridesmaid will be paying for their own dress and shoes and I will be sticking to what they can afford. I am also paying for hair and make-up as for booking the services I needed to pay up front.

    They will also be paying their own way to the location of the wedding so I am trying to keep their other costs low.

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  • C
    VIP September 2023 Ontario
    Carine ·
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    My friend who'd getting married next weekend paid for all her bridesmaid dresses but won't be paying for hair and Makeup. I'm getting married next year my girls are paying for their dresses, so I offered to pay for their hair and will also buy a little gift for them.

    All depends on your budget and their budget.

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  • Amanda
    Featured August 2022 British Columbia
    Amanda Online ·
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    I only have my MOH standing up for me and she has payed for her dress and her makeup. I have my aunt who is a hair stylist doing our hair so we're not paying for that. But when I did have a conservation with her about paying, she insisted that she pay for it.

    Every bride is different and if you choose to pay for it or get your brides maids to pay for certain things or all of it that is ok too.

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  • Jenny
    Frequent user September 2022 Ontario
    Jenny ·
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    I’m not paying but I approached the subject by sending everyone a dress and asking them to let me know if it was in budget for them (and if not I said they were welcome to message me out of the group chat). Everyone agreed it was in budget for them and they ordered the dresses on their own. For hair and makeup I’m just going to let people know in the chat that they can get it done through our mobile stylist for (insert amount here) or they can do it on their own if they’d rather.
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  • Jacquie
    Frequent user August 2022 Alberta
    Jacquie ·
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    For hair and makeup, I let both my bridesmaids know that it wasn't in my budget to pay for their hair and makeup, but I didn't expect them to pay for it either. So I gave them the option of either paying or doing it themselves.
    For the dress, I just kept in contact with them to make sure the dress I was choosing was within their price range and they were comfortable wearing it.
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  • Krista
    Curious June 2022 Alberta
    Krista ·
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    My bridesmaids paid for their dresses and shoes. But then I wanted them in a different shoes style, so I purchased the new shoes. I won’t be paying for any make-up or hair. I am doing mine myself, so I wasn’t going to pay for theirs.
    Definitely each to their own though! I did buy my bridesmaids gifts.
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  • Hank
    Featured September 2021 Ontario
    Hank ·
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    There's no norm. Some brides pay while many others don't. There's a cost expectation for agreeing to be a part of the bridal party and usually it's best spelled out when the bride asks someone to be part of the bridal party but I know it doesn't always happen.

    A good rule of thumb is to keep budgets in mind when choosing dresses and makeup/hair options if you're expecting the bridal party to pay for it. Extend the courtesy of letting them have a say on what to wear and whether they need the hair/makeup service. If you demand a particular stylistic choice, especially one that's quite costly, it would be a nice gesture to pay for some of it if not all.

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