Weddingbee boards

Hello, Hive!

Looking for some advice:  One of my best friends is a boy, and I knew that I wanted him to stand up with me as a "bridesman."  He was flattered and excited to be a part of the wedding party.  FI, in order to "even out" the party, asked a good female friend of his to stand up on his side.  I have no problem with that; I've only met her a few times (FI is Canadian so all of his friends are in Canada), but I do like her. 

From the very beginning at more than a year out I started to get emails from her about what she'd be wearing.  She suggested that she wears black to match the groomsmen (I think the boys will be in gray suits, though), and that she "has a perfect black dress already!" 

MOH and one of my bridesmaids went to a bridal shop the other day to begin looking at dresses.  They both LOVED this dress from Siri.  It fits the sort of vintage aesthetic my wedding will have.  It is, however, pretty expensive at $350.

I showed it to our Canadian groomsmaid, and she said it is absolutely beautiful, but she can't spend that much because she'll also have to purchase a plane ticket.  I completely understood, and I suggested that we find a cheaper dress, perhaps in Gray, that will compliment the girls. 

I found a dress from David's Bridal that fit in her budget, and looked nice enough.  After she looked at it she said, "I like the Siri dress better."

I wanted to be like, "well, for 200 more dollars you should?"  : \

I'm not sure what to do.  Our budget is really tight, but I might be able to help her out with the dress.  Is it terrible that I'm less inclined to do so because I don't even know her very well? 

What would you do in a situation like this?

I would also try to find another dress that is more affordable for her. I would match her dress in gray for the groomsman colors. Travelling from Canada is EXPENSIVE (one of my bm is from canada) but she is driving down with her significant other, but still you have to consider she is spending a lot of money to come down here, so I would help her out with a more affordable dress.

That siri dress is pretty, but, coming from a budget bride, it cost just as much as my wonderful wedding dress I found! LOL. The thing is, I had a much bigger budget but fell in love with the dress and it was kind of bonus that it was much cheaper than any of the others were.

Gray is a popular color, what if you try looking for gray dress that is not considering part of bridal? You might be able to find one that is like the previous but without the pricetag because it isn't considered "bridal." Or maybe try ebay/etsy and get one of those sellers who take a pictures and make dresses for cheaper!