Who should pay for the Bridesmaids dresses?

the bridesmaids pay for all their dresses and groomsmen pay for their tuxes.

Well....I've been in FIVE weddings and I've paid for all five bridesmaid dresses myself. When I got married, my bridesmaids paid for their own as well. Mind you all five of my bridesmaids where the girls of all the five weddings I was in, so I figured it was only fair!!

they should pay, if the one has an issue financially why not bring her to the side and the 3 of you talk it out, maybe y'all can put up half and she pay half

Strange...I've been in five weddings as a bridesmaid or maid of honor and I have ALWAYS had to pay for my own dress...work it out with your girls now...same goes for all of the wedding attendants including flower girls...never heard of anyone but an extremely wealthy family offering to pay for the attendant's outfits.

In my wedding and in all of the weddings I have been in the bridesmaids bought their own dresses and the groomsmen rented their own tuxes and the parents of the flower girl bought the flower girl dress. If money is an issue, try to find fairly cheap bridesmaids dresses that they can afford, you can find nice dresses that don't cost an arm and a leg. Chadwicks has some nice ones. I wouldn't offer to help them out but if one comes to you and tells you that they can't afford the dress then offer to help them out. They should know they are supposed to buy their own dresses and rent their own tuxedos and they should have plenty of time between now and the wedding to save their money to do so.

The bridesmaid should. It is custom that they do so. have never heard of a bride being responsible for buying them

I had an experience once where I was asked (and totally thrilled) to be a maid of honor. HOWEVER, the dresses that the bride chose were close to $200 PLUS shoes, etc. I was in the middle of putting myself through school, had a carpayment, insurance, etc and at that price, there was no way I could afford it. Needless to say, I was not able to do it....and the bride never even came back and offered to help and/or offer any alternatives to me...I figured that it just wasn't that important for her to have me in it...and I never heard another word from her. I thought that was pretty rude, to be honest. I don't think any bridal party member would expect you to pick up any costs for them, HOWEVER, if you run into someone who just explains to you that are really strapped for money, then maybe offer to help them in some way or another. It could be paying for her dress.....or her shoes...or her hair.....or even just offering another alternative to a dress that is lower in cost and in her price range. But to ignore her and let her go completely is pretty rude, I think.

They should pay for their own dresses, and the one person that can't afford to pay ask her how much can she pay and if you have the extra moneys then help her out. Their are also some places where you can rent bridesmaids dresses.

Normally, the bridesmaids pay for their own gowns - as do the groomsmen, flower girl, ring bearer, etc. When it comes to picking the dresses - it is possible to pick dresses that are not overly expensive. The last wedding I was in, the gowns were beautiful satin gowns that we each paid $75 for! We got them at a department store during Prom season so they had a good selection of formal gowns. My own bridesmaids got their dresses at a small boutique in the mall that specialized in trendy casual wear and only carried a few dress styles - they each paid $49! If you have your heart set on a more expensive style and you think it may be a problem for the girls, consider helping with part of it instead of all of it.