The Cost of Being a Bridesmaid

As my regular readers know, I recently came back from a destination wedding in Mexico, as I was a bridesmaid for one of my closest friends. I've decided to do this post totalling up all the costs, because I'm sure some of you are wondering. I really never kept complete track of it nor did I keep receipts so a lot of it is strictly from memory, but I do have a pretty good one!

Ok here is the list!

Bridal Shower:
$100 (did not actually attend, but emailed her mom and BFF money)

Bachellorette:
$50 decorations
$200 paid back to her sis and BFF after the fact to help cover some of their costs
$100 approx.- gas for drive to Ottawa

Trip:
$1269 vacation package
$104 cancellation insurance
$30 clinic fee for travel consultation
$35 Dukoral prescription
$25 havrix prescription

Appearance:
Dress: $180
Bra: $36 (had to buy a special bra to go with the dress since almost my whole back was exposed)
Hair $50
Waxing: $52
Nails: $15
The bride gave me a gift card for a shellac manicure, I paid extra $5 to upgrade to french and then I gave $10 tip. For jewelry I wore my own earrings, a necklace I borrowed from my mom and a bracelet that was also given to me by the bride for the wedding.

Reception:
Dress: $45
Shoes: $62
Flight to Ottawa: Free. (paid for by her husband, she doesn't know I'm coming!)

Total Cost: $2353

Holy crap. That's a lot of money!!! It wasn't all strictly to benefit her though. I mean, I did get a vacation out of it. I got a trip to Mexico with one of my best friends and I had the time of my life. My bridesmaid dress is one of those convertible dresses that you can wear like 15 different ways so I will definitely be keeping it for future summer events and may wear it again. I didn't NEED to get those prescriptions but its better to be safe than sorry and now I'm protected for years. Overall, yeah I did spend a LOT of money and I kinda can't believe I spent that much. It didn't seem like that much because  it was spread out over a long period of time, so I wasn't thinking about the big picture. Do I regret it? Not at all. She's one of my closest friends, and I know it meant a lot to her to have me be a part of it.

Mexico!

I think I've mentioned my upcoming trip to Mexico a few times on this blog but I don't think I've really gone into much detail yet. So here's the plan: I'm leaving for Mexico next Saturday. The reason I'm going is because I am a bridesmaid in my friends wedding. This is a friend that I went to college with and even though we now live about 6 hours apart, we are pretty close. We talk basically every day and I consider her to be one of my best friends.


This is my first all-inclusive vacation and thats pretty exciting to me. Unlimited food and alcohol is like a whole new concept. Plus there is a ton of activities on the resort that are included as well. As super excited as I am to be relaxing on the beach with unlimited amounts of alcoholic beverages, I'm actually kind of stressed out about it. I keep worry about forgetting something important, or what if I don't look good and ruin the photos? LOL I'm crazy I know, but I can't help it.

The cost of the trip was $1269, plus $104 cancellation coverage. I'm planing on bringing some spending money as well because we do plan to do a few off-resort day trips, plus I will be getting my hair done in the salon on the resort for the wedding. I'm not going to divulge the actual name of the resort but it looks super nice, and its 5 stars.

This is my to do list:

-make a packing list
-get nails done
-get waxing done
-decide how I want my hair done
-exchange my spending money
-pick up a few last minute items
-take my 2nd dose of Dukoral
-then PACK of course!!

Anyways like I said I'm a little stressed out right now, but once everything is done and I am laying in the beach in Mexico I can relax!!!!

P.S. Help me please, how much clothing should I bring and what should I wear on the plane??