The Dreaded Dress Purchase.
Brytnie wrote:
My sister is been asked to be the maid of honor at her friends wedding in July and the bride just asked her for a down payment for a $500.00 dress?? The bride is already married for 2 yrs and has 2 kids and they are just now celebrating. My sister has never been informed about buying her own dress, let alone a $500.00 dress. So my question is who is supposed to by the bridesmaid dress?
Hi Brytnie,
Ah, the joys of having friends with expensive tastes. In answer to your question, it is short and sweet. Your sister pays for the dress. It is one of the obligations of accepting the role of being a bridesmaid or maid of honor. Enough said about that.
The larger issue here is that the bride is already married! Thus the marriage is more of a renewal of vows situation rather than the actual ceremony and celebration. The bride should have the courtesy to consider the financial imposition this places on her friends. A $500+ investment for a renewal-of-vows dress should at least come with the assurance that it will be a practical purchase. The bride should make a choice based on the ability of her bridesmaids to be able to wear the dress time and time again. Classical colors and styling would be great options and would make the purchase of the dress more of an investment versus a throw-away item.
If the bride hasn’t taken these things into consideration, your sister always has the option of not accepting the role. It is never disrespectful to be up front with the bride about financial limitations. It may also alert the bride that her dress choice is beyond what people can afford. Unfortunately though, many brides take offense to a maid of honor passing on the role and the friendship may suffer. Have your sister persist in not allowing this to happen. In the long run, her honesty about her financial situation will be the best decision.
