We're having a pretty modest, outdoor summer wedding and our budget is not all that big, because I am just getting into real estate and don't have a lot of money right now. My fiance is putting money away and my parents will be helping us a bit as well. I'm not how to or if I should ask my bridesmaid and MOH to pay for their dresses. 2 of them are students, both graduated this year so they will be working for about a year when I get married, which means that they will have some money at the point, but the third one is my cousin and she's kind of a beach bum. She takes random vacations for months at a time to places like Costa Rica, Mexico, Australia and comes home broke. I'm a little worried that asking them to pay for the dresses will put them in a bad position. I'm hoping that we will be able to pay around half of the cost, but that will depend on the costs of everything else.

Any suggestions on how or when I should ask them about paying for the dresses? I figure that by giving them a year to save some money that should be plenty of time but I'm a little worried and embarassed to ask about it. None of them have been BM or MOH before, nor are any of them married, so I'm not sure they know what all the job entails

Thanks!!