What bridesmaids can expect to pay once they say ‘yes’

Darcy Allen is preparing to serve as a bridesmaid for the sixth time this year.
“So I’m in and around weddings for work and personal life,” she tells 9honey.
Allen works as a wedding planning expert at Easy Weddings.
While she has seen couples make different choices to stay within increasingly tighter budgets, she says most bridesmaids still understand there will be a significant expense they incur when they agree to be part of a bridal party.
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”What we have seen is the bride has paid for the cost of the dress as the big ticket item, especially if it’s something that they want to dictate,” she says.
A recent survey of wedding expenses found 41 per cent of couples are still choosing to have bridesmaids with “the exact same dress”.
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Brides who expect their bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses often allow them to choose their own within a colour theme or palette of a few different colours.
”Different shades of blue or different shades of orange or burnt orange or sage green is really popular at the moment as well,” she shared.
She says bridesmaids can also expect to pay for their own shoes and accessories, as well as manicures and spray tans in preparation for the event.
Allen estimates she has paid $700 for each turn as a bridesmaid, taking her total to $4,200 across all six weddings.
She says it’s the hidden costs that cause the most financial strain for bridesmaids.
”You’ve got to take into account as well, even if the bride is covering the big ticket items like dress and hair and makeup, what typically happens is you stay with the bride the night before and the night of the wedding,” she explains.
“So a lot of the time, the couple has paid for say the wedding night accommodation but we’ve covered the cost of the night before,” Allen says.
Then there is the cost of the hens event hosted by bridesmaids.
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“Sometimes the hens, hidden costs that come up later because someone’s had to pull out or unable to attend, it’s an unspoken rule that the bridesmaids will cover it,” she says.
It has never occurred to Allen to say no when asked to serve as bridesmaid, although she knows of instances when this has happened, particularly as the cost-of-living crisis continues.
Groomsmen will usually pay for accessories like shoes, belts and bow ties, while the cost of the suit is normally covered by the groom.
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And bridal parties are also expected to purchase special gifts for the couple, in addition to these costs, although an increasing number of couples are choosing wishing wells in lieu of gifts.
“For myself and my partner, we’re usually contributing about probably $350 to $400,” she says.
She does wonder if her popularity as a choice of bridesmaid may be due to her work as a wedding planner.
“I hope that I’m a good friend and that’s the reason, but perhaps my occupation does come into play there as well,” she added.
She has kept each as every dress from her wedding experiences, saying her “ultimate goal is to, you know, be the next Katherine Heigl” as seen in the cult movie 27 Dresses. Most are in a champagne hue.
“Champagne seems to be the key winner there,” she says. “The tricky thing is they’re not really dresses that you can often wear elsewhere because of the colour.
“Like, if I wore them to another wedding, I’d almost look like a bride.”
As of 2024 the average cost of a bridesmaid’s dress is $200.
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