Woman explains why bridesmaids should not be expected to pay for anything during the wedding

We all want our loved ones close to us on our wedding day as we celebrate our love with our partner. On this special day, we plan the venue, the outfits and how and when we want to celebrate this day. However, one woman also reflected on the importance of bridesmaids and she has made a video on it. She said the bride should ensure that the bridesmaids do not have to pay anything and it sparked an online debate. Claudia—who goes by @Partygirlclauds on TikTok—spoke about how bridesmaids are expected to pay for hen parties and different functions. She started her video by saying, “Should you make your bridesmaids pay their own way for the wedding? For context, I’m a 2023 bride. I’m getting married in August and I don’t expect my bridesmaids to pay for a single thing, including the hen party. Your wedding is not your bridesmaids’ financial responsibility."

She also made a few exceptions to what bridesmaids should be paying for such as wedding gifts and the expenses of coming to your wedding. "But if they’re in your bridal party, they’re paying for a lot of stuff. Bridal shower, hen party, makeup, hair (if you’re paying for that), a dress, jewelry, shoes and a wedding gift on top of that.” She explains how this puts financial strain on the bridesmaids and they have to compromise on their financial goals. She added, "And to the brides that think, 'Oh, this is a privilege to be my bridesmaids,' I would implore you to think again."

She mentions how much bridesmaids contribute to the wedding already. “Your bridesmaids are dedicating their time, their emotional energy, their physical energy to be a bridesmaid in whatever aspect you expect them to show up for."

Some of her friends even asked to pay and she said, "I personally don’t feel comfortable asking them to pay for things when I have asked them to be my bridal party. It’s not a privilege.  It’s work for them and they’re my friends and they love me. They want to support me but it’s not their responsibility to pay around $700 to $800 at the moment per bridesmaid to be in my wedding. It’s just not fair.”

She also discussed how one's bridesmaids might not even feel comfortable sharing their discomfort in paying. She also shared how people do it out of love but no one cares about the wedding as much as the bride. People resonated with this video and showered it with comments. @AkoulAlaik commented, "I agree I feel like you should only have the number of bridesmaids you can afford. I don’t want to stress anyone out financially." @CarleyBates wrote, "I’m a 2024 bride and I have asked my bridesmaids to only pay for their dresses as I am paying for everything else, which I believe is fair."