I was talking to one of my friends the other day about being a bridesmaid. We were talking about buying bridesmaid dresses and she recalled that the one she bought for my wedding was $180. ☠️☠️ WHAT. I was floored. Good gravy! I couldn’t believe it.

Honestly, that was par for the course in terms of bridesmaid dresses, but if I had to do it all over again, I would have given my girls more latitude.

There are some fantastic options out there for truly wear again, affordable, stylish dresses from some retailers.

So, before we get started on options for reasonable bridesmaid dresses, here are a few cardinal, cost saving rules :

1. Don’t get hung up on color. Choose a neutral like blush, nude, navy, etc, and bring in color with your flowers.

2. Stop googling bridesmaid dresses and going to bridal boutiques. Saying the word wedding is like saying Voldemort, except this time the death eaters are coming for your wallet.

3. Think outside of the box. Your girls don’t necessarily need to be in floor length matching chiffon gowns. Think skirt and lacy blouses, lace dresses, floral maxis- there are a lot of options out there!

So where can you find dresses for your girls that don’t break the bank?

Start here :

lulus.com : They carry a lot of different lengths and silhouettes, lots of options under $100. Free shipping and returns. I have personally bought dresses from there, even some bridesmaid style ones, and the quality has been great.

Morning Lavender : They have a nice selection of full length, tulle skirts and crop tops, as well as gowns $70- $120. Color selection is limited but classy

ModCloth.com : Prices range from $80-$170. It seems like the styles are stuff you could potential wear again, although color selection is limited.

Hm.com : selection is ok, prices are great. $50-$100

Asos : pretty good selection. They also have plus, petite, and maternity options $70-$120

There are also options to rent, which is awesome. Here are two of those:

Rent the Runway

Vow to be Chic

I hope these suggestions were helpful to you!