7 EASY WAYS TO SAVE MONEY AS A 

BRIDESMAID

One of the biggest annoyances of being a bridesmaid comes down to one thing and one thing only — how much it costs. As a bridesmaid, you may be asked to pick up the bill for your dress, pre-wedding party decorations, and little items here and there. All of this will add up to most likely more than you ever wanted to spend. Lucky for you, here are seven ways you can save money as a bridesmaid.

1. Book travel ASAP.

When you find out the date of the wedding, start looking into travel deals or set alerts. The faster you look into travel, the more you'll be able to avoid last minute booking fees or hiked up fares.

2. Share a hotel room.

To easily save some money, ask others in the bridal party if they'd be interested in sharing a hotel room for the wedding. The more people you can share a room with for the night, the less money you'll end up paying.

3. Skip dress alterations. 

Real talk: most likely, you are only going to be wearing your bridesmaid dress for a total of 8-10 hours, and then chance are you may never step foot in it again. If you can avoid doing alterations, you'll also avoid handing over some serious cash (on top of an already expensive dress).

4. Borrow a pair of shoes.

Some brides opt for all of their brides to wear a certain shoe aesthetic. If the bride has specific shoe requirements and you don't have any shoes that match what she'd like, see if you can borrow a pair from a friend that match the bride's reqs. You will only have to wear those shoes for the ceremony and photos. Then, once the reception entrances are done, you can change into something more comfortable of your own.

5. Do your own hair and makeup.

Even if you're not a beauty expert, turn to YouTube and spend a few days practicing how to give yourself the perfect wedding updo and makeup application. As long as the bride is okay with you doing both yourself, you'll save quite a bit of cash.

6. DIY the Bachelorette Party Decorations

 When you're ready to start thinking about hotel room or restaurant décor for the bachelorette party, look into some easy DIY craft decorations that you and the other bridesmaids can easily put together yourselves.

7. Look at The Registry Right Now 

The longer you wait to check out the couple's wedding registry, the fewer the gift options left to purchase. As soon as the couple puts up their registry, start browsing and purchasing items that are in your gift-giving price range.