Bride-to-be Blogger Leslie: Keeping Cost in Mind For My ‘Maids

Weddings are expensive and everyone knows it. Just adding the word “wedding” or “bridal”to a dress or a cake or a bouquet of flowers ups the price beyond belief! I am in the process of finalizing which vendors I would like to use for my reception, and I’ve been attempting to work my magic to stretch every dollar without sacrificing the vision I have for my wedding. So with that in mind, I have been trying to keep the same mentality for keeping costs low for my bridal party.

I have only been in one wedding party so far, as most of my friends are just starting to get married or engaged. I am trying to keep in mind how I felt during my experience in that wedding in terms of costs. I am really trying to keep things on the more affordable side for my bridesmaids.

My timeline for getting the bridesmaids dresses finalized is to have everything figured out at least 6 months out from my May wedding, just to be on the safe side. I have been searching the Internet high and low, searching for fabulous dresses for my girls, but I have been frustrated in finding everything to be so expensive. In a perfect world, I would find a dress in a color I love, that the bridesmaids think is amazing, in a style that everyone would be excited about wearing again — but I know that such a scenario is not often the case, and I am trying to be realistic about the situation.

I found a few dresses I really liked at Priscilla of Boston that were really fun, and in great colors, but they were a little on the pricey side. I know my bridesmaids would spend whatever I ask them to (within reason), but just because they would, doesn’t mean they should.

I haven’t been the biggest fan of David’s Bridal, but my future mother-in-law suggested I check out the dresses, just to see what they were like. I was surprised when I found that a few of the styles were very similar to the dresses I liked at Priscilla of Boston but with a price tag that was about 50 percent less!

We are still in the early stages of picking out a few styles, having the girls trying them on and seeing what everyone thinks, but I was very surprised with the variety of dresses (in every single color imaginable) that were available at a great price at David’s Bridal. I will keep you posted on what we go with, so stay tuned!

Where do you think is a good place to go for bridesmaids dresses? Do you have any tips for keeping costs low for your bridesmaids?

For more information on my wedding planning and healthy living for brides, please check out my other blog,And Her Little Dog Too.

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