It is typical that your bridesmaids will be buying their own bridesmaid dresses.  However, there is no reason they should have to break their bank account to get their dresses.  So why not give them a break and loosen up the restrictions on what kind of dress you want them to wear?

If you have more than one bridesmaid, you can still ask them to wear matching dresses if that is the kind of look you are going for.  Or, you can mix it up a bit and let them pick their own bridesmaid dresses as long as they stick to your color of choice, and maybe even the style – i.e., spaghetti strap, empire waist, full length, or sleeveless party dress style, or whatever style and look you want, but their choice of dress.  This may appeal to them if they have some freedom in choosing their own bridesmaid dress, rather than being forced to wear some frilly, poufy 80s piece of yuck, or some tacky lamé dress that looks like it came from the disco era.

As with your wedding dress, if your bridesmaids need to save some money, suggest to them to keep an eye out for sales and visit the warehouse or outlet stores to look for their bridesmaid dress.  Or, if you’re not asking anyone to dress very fancy, there are often even some regular dresses that are nice that will do. Yet another idea, is if you decided upon a vintage theme for your wedding, you and your maids could try visiting estate sales, yard sales, garage sales and even thrift stores in search of older clothing that would make for a perfect vintage bridesmaid dress.

For my bridesmaid and matron of honor, we shopped at an outlet store.  One of my theme colors was purple, and that was all I really required of the bridesmaid dress – was for it to be a dark shade of purple.  Otherwise, they were free to chose the style that fit them and their budget best.  I believe my matron of honor found her dress for under $50, and my bridesmaid, who happened to be my sister and could not afford to buy her own dress, I paid around $30-$40 for her bridesmaid dress and another $20 or so for the flower girl’s dress.