Dress Cost

[polynesianbride]

Ok ladies I am in need of some help here. I'm wanting to poll how much people spent on their dress? I know this is a very forward question but I'm having a huge dilemma... I had set an initial budget for what I would spend on a dress... now I'm in love with a dress that is more than twice my original budget I never should have put the dress on because now I'm in love with it and all the other dresses I try on I like ok but I don't get that feeling that it's the ONE! I am far enough out that I may be able to rearrange my budget and afford it but I also think it's silly to spend that much on a dress- it's $2600!!!!! Was my original budget ($1000 or less) unreasonable? Thanks in advance!

 

[jspahn]

Ok ladies I am in need of some help here. I'm wanting to poll how much people spent on their dress? I know this is a very forward question but I'm having a huge dilemma... I had set an initial budget for what I would spend on a dress... now I'm in love with a dress that is more than twice my original budget I never should have put the dress on because now I'm in love with it and all the other dresses I try on I like ok but I don't get that feeling that it's the ONE! I am far enough out that I may be able to rearrange my budget and afford it but I also think it's silly to spend that much on a dress- it's $2600!!!!! Was my original budget ($1000 or less) unreasonable? Thanks in advance!

Any place I went I told them not to even bring/show me any dresses that were over $1200 because I was afraid I would end up in that situation (of liking a really expensive dress).
My budget was really $1000, but i knew i could fudge $200 if needed.

 

[polynesianbride]

Yeah I had told them $2000 was my absolute MAX (their lowest price "range" started at $1200-$2000 - that should have been my clue to leave the store!) but there wasn't anything I really liked... my mom and I were actually getting bored... so the owner finally came out and said "I know this is out of your budget but I know you'll like this dress" I knew just by looking at it I loved it and had to put it on ... now everything looks so blah compared to it. Darn sales people.

 

[Ember]

I did exactly the same thing! I debated a long time over getting it, but in the end I went for the dress I loved ($2700 - marked down from $5000). I can honestly say that I don't regret it for a second, even almost 2 years later. I felt beautiful, and wearing my gorgeous dress was a huge part of that.

Give it some though and decide if the dress is really important to you, and decide if you'd be willing to sacrifice something else to have it. In the end, I gave up the carriage for my dress. There wasn't enough money for both, even though I would have wanted them both.

Do you have a picture of your dress??

 

[disneymom8589]

My DD was in a similar situation as you. We had gone to a bridal shop to look at bridesmaid dresses and she had no intention of looking for a dress for herself at that time. She had looked on the internet at some dresses through David's Bridal and had an idea of how much she was going to spend on her dress. Well, when we were at the bridal shop (Demetrios), there was a gorgeous wedding gown in the window and to make a long story short, she ended up trying it on. It looked so beautiful on her, but was quite a bit more than she had budgeted for (we gave her a certain amount of money for her wedding and she had to decide how she was going to spend and allocate the money). She decided to get the dress and 3 1/2 months later, she has seen other dresses, but is still so pleased with her decision. It has forced her to rearrange her wedding budget, but it was worth it for her. The dress was around $1700, but she got it for 20% off since she purchased it on her first visit to the shop.

 

[jenna77]

$1200 including veil and alterations. I bought my dress at David's during one of their sales and saved $200.

 

[polynesianbride]

Well... it doesn't sound like my initial budget was unrealistic at all. But atleast I'm not the only bride who has fallen in love with a pricey dress The dress is by Ramona Keveza and the store wouldn't let me take any pics of it at the store (not til you buy it ). On Ramona's website they show the front of the dress only but the back is what I really love. Here's the front...

The front as you can see is quite plain and simple. There is some pretty ruching behind the model's flowers that you can't really see. The back is what I love and I have a hard time explaining because I've never seen a dress like it before. It has a fairly low deep V in the back and the material is gathered all across the back and then flows into a lovely train. I really wish I had a picture of it- it's just stunning on... the pic hardly does it justice. I think I will keep looking and search every store I can for something I love closer to my price range... but if not it sounds like those of you who have splurged don't regret it so that's good to know! Thanks for all your input everyone!

 

[torsie24]

I'm yet to buy mine but it will be between $1k-$2k although england is a lot more expensive than the US so I'm not surer how much Alfred Angelo gowns are over there.

I personally couldn;t spend over £1k (currently about $1500) on a dress, my favourite is £800 which we think is pretty good value.

 

[torsie24]

Yeah I had told them $2000 was my absolute MAX (their lowest price "range" started at $1200-$2000 - that should have been my clue to leave the store!) but there wasn't anything I really liked... my mom and I were actually getting bored... so the owner finally came out and said "I know this is out of your budget but I know you'll like this dress" I knew just by looking at it I loved it and had to put it on ... now everything looks so blah compared to it. Darn sales people.

Just read that description, and it really sounds like that's your dress.

For the sake of $600 dollars I'd definitely go for it!

My engagement ring was $700 more than our maximum budget, but after I tried it on all my other favourites just became 'blah'. Now I have the ring and love it everytime I look at my hand!

In ten years time when you look at your photos would you rather feel like you saved an extra $600 or you had the dress of your dreams?

 

[malibustacey]

I was told not to go into the shop with a budget, because you never know what you might find, the first dress i tried on was £2195, and i thought i loved it until i went to another shop, found a much much much better dress that i actually do love, and it costs £930 and with the veil, tiara, shoes and alterations it will cost around, well i hope it will cost no more than £1300.

But, if its your dress, its your dress. There will be no way that you could change your mind and thats when you know its 'the one'. If you are worried about the budget, im sure that you will be able to scrimp and save and have that dress. You have 1 year and 10 months to go, you can buy it now if you have the money or take it from the wedding budget, and you still have plenty of time to save up for the rest of the wedding. We are worrying about the cost of the wedding, but we are not THAT worried because we have a lot of time to save up and the exchange rate could change and help us a little!

 

[Chilly]

As other UK brides have said they cost a lot more in the UK, my budget was £800 but prob would have gone to £1000 in the end the one I wanted was £600 so I was very happy.

Why don't you look around some more just to see if anything else catches your eye before you commit to one?

 

[wendy46001]

I got the dress i fell in love with...even took my dad to talk me out of it (he was no help and turned into a complete mush)....But it was the dress...and no regrets...

Try a few different things on, maybe something similar
and if its still the one….then go for it

 

[dhay]

I am probably the dissenter here

A wedding does not a marriage make. This is a dress you will wear once. Most marriages end in divorce because of money issues. Is it worth it for osmehtign you will wear only one time?

And if your parents are paying, shouldn't they be more concerned wiht their retirement? Especially in this current economy where everyone retirement accounts are hurting. Even if they say they would pay for it, I personally think you need to be self less and pick somehting in your originally identified budget.

Just my opinion. Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

My dress was only $200 from David's Bridal online. I loved it from the first second i saw it and the price was just a bonus. I knew i had to have THAT one. I was uneasy about ordering online but figured for $200 i could take the risk.
It fit perfectly!!! You can see my gown in our wedding pictures, just click the link in my signature!

It also fit in my carry-on Mickey bag along with my shoes. Then i had Carolyn Allen's come to our Poly room and steam the gown for $75. It came out great and they were sooo nice!

 

[Ember]

I am probably the dissenter here

A wedding does not a marriage make. This is a dress you will wear once. Most marriages end in divorce because of money issues. Is it worth it for osmehtign you will wear only one time?

And if your parents are paying, shouldn't they be more concerned wiht their retirement? Especially in this current economy where everyone retirement accounts are hurting. Even if they say they would pay for it, I personally think you need to be self less and pick somehting in your originally identified budget.

Just my opinion. Good luck whatever you decide!

I DO agree with you. Honestly I do. I just think that if you go with this reasoning all the time, you could quickly justify not having a wedding at all. The money used could always go towards something more practical. If we were all smart and practical we wouldn't bother with a Disney wedding or with the absurd prices they charge or have our loved ones fly out. We would quietly get married with no fuss at city hall because it's the marriage that's important. . .

The wedding is important, too. It may be only one day, but it's a special day and it's worth a little indulgence. Not that this should be permission to go off the deep end, spend money you haven't got and turn into a selfish monster! I just don't think anyone is selfish for wanting the things they want at their wedding, or for going for it.

 

[Carye]

My dress was on sale for a weekend only for a trunk show deal, so it wound up being $760, more than I originally thought I would spend, but I fell in love with it. As for the veil, I have one i like that is $159, but I need to look at another store where I have a certificate for $125 off my veil, but I may end up doing 2 the one I love with my dress is cathedral length and I want something shorter for the reception.

 

[beatlesblonde]

I admit I have very expensive taste (my dream dress was $5000 ). So I knew I had to have a budget in my head when I started dress shopping (about $1000). The dress I chose was about $800 and the bridal shop took it down to $600 since I agreed to buy it on my first visit. Now if I could only find a way to get those $600 shoes...

 

[padisneyfour]

I made my original wedding dress years ago partially because of cost so for our VR I wanted to buy within reason. When I made the dress and veil it was almost $200.00 then when I bought my VR dress ( a gown from alfred angelo on sale ) it was just over $300.00

 

[PrincesCJM]

From reading the comments, I felt like I was in the minority for spending less than $1000 on my dress. But I was relieved to see the poll results.

I love my dress. I couldn't turn down a $350 dress and the store let me buy the sample that they had just gotten in the previous.

 

[polynesianbride]

Thanks for all your opinions ladies it helps alot! I am just torn because before I tried this dress on I 100% would have sided with dhay. I feel it's a dress that you wear for ONE day so it just isn't practical to spend THAT much money on a dress. However I LOVE this dress and even though we are planning a more conservative wedding we still want our day to be exceptional and special. I still want to feel gorgeous on my wedding day and have a wonderful day filled with ! I even took my dad to see this dress as he is one of the most frugal people in the world... and he said to me "it's a beautiful dress... you won't find anything like it cheaper though... the design is very unique and I doubt there are any knock offs". He advised me to keep looking but not to settle for something I don't LOVE.

DF and I are paying for the entire wedding... my parents are already retired and they are in no position to help- especially given this economy. DF and I don't have any debt except my car which will be paid off in 2 months... we live fairly modestly, we are both nurses and he is in the process of getting his masters. We could technically "afford" this dress without risking going into debt... I just don't know if it's the wisest choice of how to spend our money.

I am going to continue looking for another dress that is more reasonable. If I can't find something that I LOVE as much though I think I will get the dress... but I really do feel that my original budget was reasonable despite what the owner of the store and my aunt led me to believe (they said the "average" bride spends $3,000-$4000 but I see by the poll that atleast for disbrides this is not true). I'll let you know the final outcome but it may not be for several months as I will probably continue to search for awhile. I think time is to my advantage... I just have to keep an eye on my LOVE dress so it doesn't get discontinued or anything! Thanks again for everyone's input.