Wednesday Wedding Tips: Being a Bridesmaid is Expensive!

Weddings are expensive; I think most people know that. Actually, the average cost of a wedding in America is around $24,000… according to a quick search on Google. That is about what it cost me for two years of graduate school. While weddings can be very pricey for the bride, groom and their families; they are also expensive for the people who are in them as I learned in the wedding madness of last year.

Oh the weddings of 2010… I was actually IN or I coordinated four weddings last year. Those four weddings included: five bridal showers, four bachelorette parties, three rehearsal dinners and four weddings.  Three weddings were held at home in the Fort, one was held here in the South and an additional South reception was held for one of the Fort weddings.

This lovely dress was a reasonable $115

I saved all of my receipts and four weddings cost me over $4,800. Yes, go ahead and gasp… I did after I totaled it all up. That is NOT including gas money for the extensive driving that I did to get to said showers and weddings (but it does include airfare for one round-trip flight). It also does not include money I spent on food while I was out of town and away from my apartment for long weekends or entire weeks and it does not include funds that I was reimbursed for. It also does not include ATM withdraws and receipts that I couldn’t find… so I am guessing this actual figure is somewhere over $5,000. The dress, alterations for the dress, hair-styling and make-up for the day, salon pampering afternoons, wedding and shower gifts, airfare, hotel stays, food for showers, the list goes on.

Gift bags I created for a shower

All four of these weddings were for people that I love, so I didn’t really hesitate to spend the money, because I wanted whatever it was to be lovely for each of them. But it was still a lot of money. So, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you my newlywed friends for never making me get dyed to match shoes or handbags… I for one appreciate the consideration to my wallet! To anyone else planning a wedding soon… keep the cost in mind for your bridal party, they will remember and appreciate it!