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Wedding

12th Jan 2024

‘Am I wrong for not buying a bridesmaid dress for my friend’s wedding?’

Anna Martin

Going to a wedding is expensive

It’s just a fact of life like the sun will rise tomorrow and low-rise jeans should be banned.

Even when attending weddings, whether as a guest or a member of the bridal party, so would you get upset if one of your bridesmaids didn’t buy a brand-new dress?

One woman did and now her friend is wondering if she did something wrong or if this whole thing was blown out of proportion.

Taking to Reddit, the mystery woman wrote: “I have a friend Ava and she is getting married and asked me to be her bridesmaid and I agreed.

bridesmaid dress

“Her theme for bridesmaids was a sunset, so she asked us all to wear yellow/orange/pink dresses to match the theme.” Pretty standard request and this poster wanted to say herself a bit of money along the way.

“I went to my brother’s wedding a few years ago and my sister-in-law’s bridesmaid theme was a yellow dress. It is a beautiful dress and was very expensive for me as a college student,” she continued.

“My brother agreed to pay more than half which made it a lot more affordable but that dress isn’t wearable outside of special occasions and I’ve only worn it once outside the wedding.”

So the Redditor decided it was a great option for this upcoming wedding and showed it to Ava, who was less than impressed, saying it had been seen before.

“My sister-in-law was the year above me in school so we do share mutual friends that I saw at her wedding and some of them will be at Ava’s wedding but I don’t want to buy a brand new dress,” she continued

“Bridesmaid dresses are expensive and I don’t get wear out of them afterwards so they sit in my closet.

“I haven’t been to many weddings though, only my brothers that I remember and a few cousins when I was much younger so maybe this is some wedding etiquette that I need to brush up on?”

bridesmaid dress wedding
Credit: Getty

People were quick to reassure her that she wasn’t in the wrong for making the suggestion.

“Why on earth would it matter that you have worn it before it’s not like people are going to look back in years to come and think “Oh what a beautiful wedding, shame the bridesmaid re-wore their dress from a previous wedding,” wrote one.

Another added, “If Ava doesn’t want you to wear the dress you already own, she can pay for a new one. Absent that, she can find another bridesmaid.”

A third agreed writing, “Ava isn’t paying for the dress, and you’ve got a perfectly good dress that fits into her colour scheme. She’s being ridiculous.”

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