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Bride-to-be Allie wrote us with a common wedding etiquette question you may be wondering, too! She asks,

Hi Emmaline! My niece is the flower girl in my wedding and I just started looking at flower girl dresses. I showed some to my sister (my niece’s mom) to see her thoughts on the dresses I found. I was wondering, who pays for the flower girl dress? Who picks it out? Thanks in advance!

Great question, Allie! Here’s the wedding etiquette on who pays for the flower girl dress at your wedding…

Who pays for flower girl dress?

As an answer to your question, a flower girl’s role is accepted on her behalf by her parents and attire is treated as any attendant in your wedding party. So, who pays for flower girl dress? This one’s easy: the parents of the flower girl buy the dress and required attire accessories. Alternatively, the bride and groom may purchase the flower girl’s dress (and accessories) as the gift for the flower girl, if they’d like. (See also: Who gets a gift from the bride and groom?)

by olivia kate couture, photo: jen jar photography

3 Tips for Choosing the Flower Girl Dress

1. Choose affordable flower girl dresses.
When you’re choosing the flower girl dress, look for affordable dresses. You’d be surprised how many beautiful custom made flower girl dresses are out there — and within your budget! The bride typically picks out the flower girl dress (or a few from which the flower girl’s parents can have final approval).
If the bride is not paying for the flower girl dress, it needs to be affordable — somewhere definitely under the $100 mark is what you want to aim for, and even better if you find something around or slightly under $50.
This flower girl dress is custom-made by Happy2Sisters and is only $45! ↓

by happy2sisters
Here’s a photo of this dress worn by the flower girl:

by happy2sisters
These are all under the $100 mark, too!

left: olive and fern, right: beane and co.

left: maiden lane boutique, right: renzrags

left: renzrags, right: beestyled kids

left: beestyled kids, right: mon bebe lagos

left: renzrags, right: simply chic couture

left: imogen in the meadow, right: sweet valentinaDon’t forget cute shoes! These are all by Bitsy Blossom.

by bitsy blossom

by bitsy blossom

by bitsy blossom2. Provide a few options.
It is helpful to choose three flower girl dresses you like best (along with price and store location or online website) and present them to the flower girl’s mother. It is also helpful to choose dresses in different price points. This way, you’ve picked out dresses you like BUT the flower girl’s mother can ultimately choose which one her daughter will wear. They say mother knows best, and when it comes to what your flower girl will be most comfortable wearing all day, it’s best to let mom decide. (She’ll know if her little one hates sleeves, prefers sleeves, gets too itchy with tulle, needs a more breathable fabric, etc.) Plus, since she’s buying it, she should have some say in which one she’s comfortable paying for.
3. Mention any accessories needed right away.
If there are particular shoes, tights, or accessories you need/want the flower girl to wear, we recommend letting the flower girl’s mother know right away. This will eliminate any need for last-minute shopping and everything can be pulled together at once.

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PRO TIP: The couple pay for the flower girl’s basket (and the ring bearer’s pillow), so don’t worry about that being an added expense for the flower girl’s parents.

by twentyeight12

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The accessories may include shoes, tights/socks, or a cardigan sweater/pashmina. If you want something “extra” — i.e. a hair wreath, hair accessory, flower girl banner or basket — those would fall along the lines of a flower girl gift and should be purchased by the bride and groom.

by kinsey grace co.
Hope it helps!

You might also like: Do flower girl dresses have to match the bride along with How to Keep Your Flower Girl Happy // Both articles are super-helpful reads for the bride on this topic.

♥

Happy Planning!

xo
Emma