If you are planning a wedding, you probably understand how quickly expenses can add up when it comes to venues, food, and decor. While you might be working through your wedding budget, don’t forget the costs this can bring to bridesmaids as well. If you can get creative and help your bridesmaids lessen costs, they will appreciate it. Here are five clever ways to help keep costs down for bridesmaids leading up to and on your big day.
1. Let Bridesmaids Choose Their Own Dresses
If you have a certain look you are trying to achieve at your wedding or have wedding colors all picked out, this doesn’t mean that your bridesmaids need to be carbon copies of one another. Picking a specific dress not only can be limiting to certain body types, but can add a cost to budgets that some bridesmaids might not be able to cover as easily as others. If you can guide your bridesmaids with a color palette or basic style, your girls can then find something in their budget, a vintage style, or have dress already they can wear or borrow. This freedom of choice can go for shoes and accessories as well.
2. Help With Travel and Lodging
If you can pay for hotel or airfare for your bridal party, that is a fantastic gift to friends and family. If you cannot afford to help out that much, be sure to look for great airfare deals or set up travel packages that are manageable, especially if you are having a destination wedding. If most of your wedding party is nearby, opting for a local venue can be a big help. If your wedding will still involve guests from both near and far, have a block of rooms for your bridal party that are discounted, or offer to pay for a suite that bridesmaids can stay in together.
3. Limit Events Leading up to Your Wedding
When It comes to bachelorette parties and bridal showers, these might not be avoidable, but don’t need to be prohibitively expensive to your bridesmaids. While you might not be involved in the intricate details of your bachelorette party, you still can let your maid of honor know some parameters when it comes to cost and location. Having a local bachelorette party if all of your maids are local can still be fun and will save on travel costs. When it comes to the bridal shower, unless this is something your mom or future mother-in-law wants to set up, make sure your bridal party doesn’t feel pressured to plan a bridal shower on top of your bachelorette party.
4. Tell Bridesmaids They are off the Hook for Gifts
If bridesmaids are in your wedding, chances are they will incur some expenses, whether this is traveling, buying dresses, or planning events. Don’t take this for granted and don’t think that a small token gift from you for their efforts is enough. In some cases, bridesmaids are maxed out from expenses and may be stressed to also buy a gift off your registry for your big day. Make it clear to your bridal party that they do not have to purchase a gift for you and your spouse-to-be, and their gift of involvement as bridesmaids is plenty and all that you would ever expect.
5. Be Sensitive to Out-of-Town Bridesmaids
While you might want to treat all of your bridesmaids fairly when it comes to helping curb costs, you might inadvertently be putting those who are coming in from afar in a bind without realizing it. If your best friend from college or favorite cousin doesn’t live nearby like the rest of your bridesmaids, be sure to be extra sensitive to this. It might make sense to pay for a hotel or airfare for this one special guest to be a part of your big day. Letting them know they can opt out of pre-wedding parties might actually be a relief to them, especially if they aren’t sure how you would feel about this.
Most big weddings happen when one is just starting out in life, so it would make sense that those involved in the wedding party could be in the same boat. Anything you can do to help your bridesmaids not stress on costs related to your wedding will be a huge help. Putting some effort into cutting costs will keep everyone happy and help your loved ones look forward your big day with happiness and excitement