Does anyone watch "Say Yes to the Dress"?

[princesss]

Date: 4/24/2010 5:32:41 PM
Author: RaiKai

Date: 4/24/2010 3:59:58 PM

Author: princesss

Am I the only one who would totally spend that much money on a dress if I could afford it? I mean, if your parents are wealthy and paying for your wedding, and they want to take you to Keinfeld''s, why not? Or if you''ve saved for years and years (or months and months, in some cases) because you really want a designer dress with all the bells and whistles, why shouldn''t you?



I''ll be totally honest and say if I had the kind of wedding budget that would allow for an $11k dress, I''d get one in a heartbeat.

I think it is cool if it really works in your budget as a couple and for you personally...it still would not fit for me even if I could afford it (technically *we* could have spent more but I would not and did not).


Our entire wedding cost under $10,000...the cost of many of those dresses... and it was *exactly* right for us. It was personal, unique, intimate and very *us*. There is nothing we would have changed about it even if we suddenly had tens of thousands more to spare (and I would not want someone else to have paid for our wedding either). It just would not fit for us as a couple. And I certainly would not spend that much on a dress to wear for a day! There are so many things I would rather put that money (like more vacations together!) and I think one can have a wonderful dress for a *lot* less. To me the designer name just is not worth my own money!


If someone else wants to do it and can afford it..cool. It is just not for me! Like I said I would just rather that money went elsewhere!

I was just wondering because a few of the posts struck me as more judgmental than live and let live. We all prioritize differently, and I don''t see how somebody spending $12k on a dress really affects the rest of us enough to have a strong opinion - especially if we''re watching the show and contributing to the industry that makes it possible!

I definitely wasn''t trying to be confrontational, it''s just that as somebody who would gladly spend the money on an amazing gown if I had it to spend, I didn''t see my opinion represented. So I thought I''d throw it out there.

 

[PumpkinPie]

I can''t imagine paying that much either - but I do enjoy the show! (my wedding dress was about 93 $)

 

[4ever]

My post was not ment to sound judgemental but I can see now how it could be taken as such. I''m also a pretty frugal person and a realist more then a dreamer. I never fantasized much about wearing a really massive or expensive dress and our wedding is likely to be way too low key for somthing like that to be appropriate anyway. If I had that kind of budget for wedding attire I''d have the same dress and some really flash wedding jewllery like diamond pear drop earings *drool*

which I could wear post wedding also. I can dream

 

[beltane]

My first wedding gown was $137 30 years ago. My new one was on sale: $74!!! LOL!

I LOVE "Say Yes to the Dress". I watch it every Friday night in bed with my wedding rings on (it''s the only time I''m allowed to wear my wedding band and stare at it LOL!) I watched "4 Weddings" this week too and thought ALL the wedding were awful!

Anyhow... back on topic... personally I do find thousands of dollars for a dress for 5 hours to be very frivolous. But if the girl or the parents have the budget, why not?

I''m the same as most of you.. if I''m going to spends thousands and thousands of $$$ on something for me, I''d rather it be VERRRRRY sparkly! Diamonds last forever and can be worn every single day. Yay. If I was like those girls on the show and I''ve got a $5,000 dress budget, I''d find the dress for $500 and spend $4,500 on some bling!!!

 

[elrohwen]

I went into wedding planning not wanting to spend more than $1k on a dress. I was determined to get one for cheap. But I never found one that really looked good on me

Then I saw my perfect dress in a bridal magazine. I knew I had to have it, but I spent 6 more months looking at cheap dresses. Finally I sucked it up and went to POB to try it on and loved it! It ended up being $1500, which was more than my original budget, but it was so worth it.

Compared to some of the dresses on Say Yes to the Dress, my $1500 is chump change

eta: A lot of the girls on that show have dresses paid for by parents or other relatives. If your aunt came up to you and said "I'll buy you a $10k wedding dress" would you take it? You can't exactly ask your aunt to give you the money for a downpayment on your house. I doubt that many of those brides are paying for their dresses on credit - either they can well afford it, or it's a gift.

 

[emeraldlover1]

I think someone already said this but we all have different priorites and budget accordingly. I don''t regret for a minute how much I spent on my dress. I had a budget and stuck to it and that was really all that matters. There were dresses that I wanted that were around the 10k mark that I didn''t even bother to try on because I wasn''t comfortable spending that much however I was ok with the amount that I did decide to spend. I knew I wouldn''t be happy with a dress that wasn''t a specific design and material. Just my priorites I guess.

A friend of mine who is getting married next September has a very large dress budget because she fell in love with a particular dress. She is saving in other areas so that she can have the dress that she wants. And...it is over 10k. Until I saw the dress I couldn''t fathom it but in all honesty, she looks amazing in it so that is all that counts.

 

[RaiKai]

Date: 4/25/2010 10:03:27 AM
Author: elrohwen
I went into wedding planning not wanting to spend more than $1k on a dress. I was determined to get one for cheap. But I never found one that really looked good on me

Then I saw my perfect dress in a bridal magazine. I knew I had to have it, but I spent 6 more months looking at cheap dresses. Finally I sucked it up and went to POB to try it on and loved it! It ended up being $1500, which was more than my original budget, but it was so worth it.



Compared to some of the dresses on Say Yes to the Dress, my $1500 is chump change

eta: A lot of the girls on that show have dresses paid for by parents or other relatives. If your aunt came up to you and said ''I''ll buy you a $10k wedding dress'' would you take it? You can''t exactly ask your aunt to give you the money for a downpayment on your house. I doubt that many of those brides are paying for their dresses on credit - either they can well afford it, or it''s a gift.

I can quite honestly say I would not take it.

First reason being it would not *fit* for me to spend that on a dress whether it was my money or given to me. This may come from my own life experiences...but I would not do it. I am not judging those who do or would...it just does not fit for me personally.

Second it simply would not fit my wedding style which is and was quite small, intimate and easygoing.

Last...money generally comes with strings. I chose my dress entirely on my own...I would not someone else to be there pressing for their choice as they were paying for it. If that money could *only* go to a dress...I would say thanks but no thanks. Honestly.

I can say I don''t spend a lot of money on bling though either (nor did we inject much direct into the *wedding industry* when we breakdown our budget)! DH and I both do, however, have our own expensive hobbies...travel, sports and so on...where money that others would prefer to spend on dresses or bling goes! I am sure some would also look at my bikes and say they would *never* spend that much on a bike and I would believe them! Everyone has different priorities.

 

[HopeDream]

I enjoy the webclips I've seen of "say yes to the dress" It seems like such an exciting time in those girl's lives. They are living the Barbie wedding dream. I especialy like the episodes with women who aren't particulairly in to fashion, or dificult to fit women, who come out feeling like princesses. I'm not such a fan of the snotty girls who ooze with a sence of entitlement.

Can I rent a wedding dress? (my BF rented a crinoline for under her wedding dress)I can't fathom plunking out a load of cash for a dress that I will wear once. (Could I have an ering upgrade instead?

)

Conversely, I've read about people that wear their wedding dress every anniversary after they're married and go out for a fancy dinner with their husband. If I was going to do that I might be willing to spend a little, but it couldn't be a ridiculous giant dress - something simple and timeless (Maybe tea length?).

 

[LabRatPhD]

Date: 4/25/2010 10:15:39 AM
Author: emeraldlover1
I think someone already said this but we all have different priorites and budget accordingly. I don''t regret for a minute how much I spent on my dress. I had a budget and stuck to it and that was really all that matters. There were dresses that I wanted that were around the 10k mark that I didn''t even bother to try on because I wasn''t comfortable spending that much however I was ok with the amount that I did decide to spend. I knew I wouldn''t be happy with a dress that wasn''t a specific design and material. Just my priorites I guess.


A friend of mine who is getting married next September has a very large dress budget because she fell in love with a particular dress. She is saving in other areas so that she can have the dress that she wants. And...it is over 10k. Until I saw the dress I couldn''t fathom it but in all honesty, she looks amazing in it so that is all that counts.

Ditto this. I went into appointments with a strict budget that FI and I decided together. Financially we could have spent more, but my dress was lower on the priority list for both of us. We mutually decided that we wanted to have a more generous budget for wedding bands and a fabulous honeymoon. I did not want to try on anything over the budget (to avoid temptation!) and am very happy with the dress I got, which with alterations, came in under budget. It is all about priorities.

 

[Tuckins1]

Yeah, some of those dresses are OUTRAGEOUS!!! Yes, they are pretty, but I can''t imagine spending that much on a dress. My dress was $699 plus another $300 for alterations, and that was kind of a lot for me at the time.

 

[4ever]

Date: 4/25/2010 12:56:20 PM
Author: HopeDream
I enjoy the webclips I''ve seen of ''say yes to the dress'' It seems like such an exciting time in those girl''s lives. They are living the Barbie wedding dream. I especialy like the episodes with women who aren''t particulairly in to fashion, or dificult to fit women, who come out feeling like princesses. I''m not such a fan of the snotty girls who ooze with a sence of entitlement.

Can I rent a wedding dress? (my BF rented a crinoline for under her wedding dress)I can''t fathom plunking out a load of cash for a dress that I will wear once. (Could I have an ering upgrade instead?

)

Conversely, I''ve read about people that wear their wedding dress every anniversary after they''re married and go out for a fancy dinner with their husband. If I was going to do that I might be willing to spend a little, but it couldn''t be a ridiculous giant dress - something simple and timeless (Maybe tea length?).

There are still a few companies out there who rent out wedding dresses, I have found one near me as a back up. I still don''t see this as being the cheapest option but it''s worth looking in to.

 

[KittyGolightly]

There''s a website called One Night Affair that rents wedding dresses. I looked into it briefly, but had reservations about how they did their alterations. The same dress has to fit multiple brides, so they take in the fabric without actually cutting it off. It totally makes sense, but really made me question whether the dress would actually fit me well. I just didn''t want to take that risk for my wedding day.

 

[FutureMrsMRS]

I love that show

Yes, I go crazy over the $5K, $10K, etc. I''m spending $370 before alterations on my gown and it''s GORGEOUS on me! I love it!!

What bothers me MORE than their ''budgets'' are the brides who fall in love with a dress in the fitting room and then when they go out and get criticized (sometimes belittled) they change their mind. And I agree about the ''money with strings'' thing. Ugh. No thanks.

 

[CourtLynB]

I loooooove "Say Yes"! and I will admit, I also have a thing for "Platinum Weddings". I try not to pay attention to the price tags on Say Yes because I really just don''t want to know. I want to enjoy the beauty of the dresses. But there are times, like the 23 yr old someone mentioned earlier with the $25k custom dress she didn''t like so daddy bought her another one, that I can''t help but be like "are you out of your mind??" I really do enjoy nice things, but even if I had the budget, I couldn''t bring myself to spend that kind of money on a dress. I could find a much better use for it, like some more sparkly things....

Platinum Weddings I watch with my mom. We sit and drink wine and go "they paid how much for flowers??!" haha. The FF asks what kind of dress I want when he sees me watching either show and I honestly have no idea. I tell him a white bikini because I want to be married on the beach!

 

[legallyspoiled]

Date: 4/26/2010 11:08:55 AM
Author: CourtLynB
I loooooove ''Say Yes''! and I will admit, I also have a thing for ''Platinum Weddings''. I try not to pay attention to the price tags on Say Yes because I really just don''t want to know. I want to enjoy the beauty of the dresses. But there are times, like the 23 yr old someone mentioned earlier with the $25k custom dress she didn''t like so daddy bought her another one, that I can''t help but be like ''are you out of your mind??'' I really do enjoy nice things, but even if I had the budget, I couldn''t bring myself to spend that kind of money on a dress. I could find a much better use for it, like some more sparkly things....

Platinum Weddings I watch with my mom. We sit and drink wine and go ''they paid how much for flowers??!'' haha. The FF asks what kind of dress I want when he sees me watching either show and I honestly have no idea. I tell him a white bikini because I want to be married on the beach!

FYI, I have a friend who is in the wedding industry. She has worked with several of the vendors that have been shown on "Platinum Weddings." Lets just say that the show drastically inflates a lot of the prices. I have no doubt that they are all still fairly expensive weddings. They just aren''t as expensive as the show''s producers lead us to believe.

 

[Grlsbestfrnd]

I love ''Say Yes To The Dress''! I watch that show all the time but I would never spend more than $1000 for my dress. Those people obviously don''t know how to shop around like I do lol. Now, 12k on a nice diamond ring... that''s another story

 

[beezygal]

too bad I don''t have TLC... but I''ve been watching some clips on the TLC website. I know what kind of dresses I want. From one of the clips, I''ve realized kind of dress I like is called princess dress.

 

[Clairitek]

Date: 4/24/2010 12:09:39 PM
Author: Travel Goddess
We''ve had some PSers on that show before and I believe TLC pays for 50% of the dress if you agree to be on an episode. That would almost be worth it to me! You could essentially take whatever your dress budget is and double it!

For some reason, I have a much easier time watching an established couple purchasing at 10K+ dress than some 21 year old with daddy''s credit card. I''m sure a lot of the couple''s are putting it on credit, but my guess is that for a lot of them, this is just a drop in the bucket. I''m sure the men these women are marrying won''t be wearing a rented tux either but a custom-made designer suit. It''s all relative.

I don''t believe this is true. One of the people- BlissfulBride said she got a 12.5% discount or something. This is what I was offered as well when I went to Kleinfeld''s to look for a dress. Another PSer who was on the show- Sparkalicious- didn''t even buy a dress in her appearance but they said she did when they aired her episode. Then they proceeeded to make fun of her in their clips show they did about troublesome/weird/funny brides or something. I thought it was really distasteful. I''m in touch with Sparks outside of PS and I get the impression that they totally edited the footage down to make her look nutso. I don''t believe she is like that in real life, at all.

Yet I still watch the show...

I''m in the camp with Princesss- If I actually had the money for a $10k wedding dress and it wouldn''t harm me financially, then why not?

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Oh man, if I had the money and there was a dress I LOVED that was upwards of 10K I would do it. Although a lot of the super expensive dresses on Say Yes to the Dress aren''t really my cup of tea - like the Pnina Tornais. Um...yeah I would NOT pay $10K+ for any of those...

 

[Lauren8211]

I spent about 1000 on my dress including alterations.

I would spend 10,000 if my mom/grandma/aunt/neighbor/whoever gifted it to me - sure, why not? I would NEVER EVER spend that much of my own money on a dress - I don''t care that much.

 

[4ever]

Date: 4/27/2010 12:19:32 PM
Author: Clairitek

Date: 4/24/2010 12:09:39 PM
Author: Travel Goddess
We''ve had some PSers on that show before and I believe TLC pays for 50% of the dress if you agree to be on an episode. That would almost be worth it to me! You could essentially take whatever your dress budget is and double it!

For some reason, I have a much easier time watching an established couple purchasing at 10K+ dress than some 21 year old with daddy''s credit card. I''m sure a lot of the couple''s are putting it on credit, but my guess is that for a lot of them, this is just a drop in the bucket. I''m sure the men these women are marrying won''t be wearing a rented tux either but a custom-made designer suit. It''s all relative.

I don''t believe this is true. One of the people- BlissfulBride said she got a 12.5% discount or something. This is what I was offered as well when I went to Kleinfeld''s to look for a dress. Another PSer who was on the show- Sparkalicious- didn''t even buy a dress in her appearance but they said she did when they aired her episode. Then they proceeeded to make fun of her in their clips show they did about troublesome/weird/funny brides or something. I thought it was really distasteful. I''m in touch with Sparks outside of PS and I get the impression that they totally edited the footage down to make her look nutso. I don''t believe she is like that in real life, at all.

Yet I still watch the show...

I''m in the camp with Princesss- If I actually had the money for a $10k wedding dress and it wouldn''t harm me financially, then why not?

For me, 12.5% off is just not enough to give someone full control of how the public percive me. People just don''t realise how voice over, the clips selected and the way they are edited together can completly manipulate the audiences perception of the situation being portrayed. If they want it to look really awkward or make someone look stupid or bat sh*t crazy it is very very easy.

 

[iheartscience]

I don''t think spending $10k on a dress is that crazy when you have something like a $100k wedding budget. Most of the brides on the show seem to be from the NYC area, where things cost more and people also make more $.

I ended up spending $3k on my dress. It was more than I thought I would spend, but it was worth it to me to have a dress I was in love with. And the way my mind works, if I''m going to spend $1500 or $2000 on a dress, I might as well spend $3000!

If someone else has to spend $10k to get a dress they''re in love with, so be it. Not my problem, and I love watching it on TV!

 

[E B]

Date: 4/25/2010 10:03:27 AM
Author: elrohwen

If your aunt came up to you and said 'I'll buy you a $10k wedding dress' would you take it?

I'd say, "Would you mind if we spent the $10k on an amazing honeymoon instead? Thank you so much for the generous gift!"

My dress was ~$2000 and I think it was worth it, because it was duchess silk and made me feel like a princess. And hey, when else do you get to dress like royalty?

 

[lilyfoot]

My wedding dress was $12.99, so I''m afraid I can''t sympathize with spending a lot of money on a dress

.. ok, ok, I was married at the courthouse, but still! lol

In all seriousness, I think that the cost of the dress doesn''t matter, as long as it''s within what that specific bride/couple can afford. I don''t think a bride should feel pressured to spend more than her realistic budget, I just don''t think it''s worth it!

 

[motownmama]

I didn't really have ANY budget , but I just personally felt there was a limit to what was reasonable. I'm not always sure I really see a big diff b/t a $1500 dress and a $5000 dress.

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 4/25/2010 10:03:27 AM
Author: elrohwen
If your aunt came up to you and said 'I'll buy you a $10k wedding dress' would you take it? You can't exactly ask your aunt to give you the money for a downpayment on your house. I doubt that many of those brides are paying for their dresses on credit - either they can well afford it, or it's a gift.

Nope. In that case, I would get a $5K one, but that's my personal limit -- arbitrary, I know, but I think everyone needs to define their own definition of "reasonable." (ETA: my dress was around $2K)

 

[SAPHIRINA]

I just bought my dress and it was $4,000, plus alterations, which will probably come out to around $500. The budget I set for myself before starting to shop was $5,000, though I did try to find something cheaper. After trying on many, many dresses, I fell in love with the one I bought, and it was definitely worth it to me. The others were pretty, but the one I got was perfect.

Like others have mentioned, every couple has their priorities. To us, those priorities are the dress, photography, food and cake (not necessarily in that order!), and we budgeted accordingly.

 

[Iowa Lizzy]

Date: 4/27/2010 12:19:32 PM
Author: Clairitek

Date: 4/24/2010 12:09:39 PM

Author: Travel Goddess

We''ve had some PSers on that show before and I believe TLC pays for 50% of the dress if you agree to be on an episode. That would almost be worth it to me! You could essentially take whatever your dress budget is and double it!

I don''t believe this is true. One of the people- BlissfulBride said she got a 12.5% discount or something. This is what I was offered as well when I went to Kleinfeld''s to look for a dress. Another PSer who was on the show- Sparkalicious- didn''t even buy a dress in her appearance but they said she did when they aired her episode. Then they proceeeded to make fun of her in their clips show they did about troublesome/weird/funny brides or something. I thought it was really distasteful. I''m in touch with Sparks outside of PS and I get the impression that they totally edited the footage down to make her look nutso. I don''t believe she is like that in real life, at all.
?

Here''s the link to the thread where BlissfulBride says the gown was offered at 50% for appearing on the show:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/i-am-going-to-be-on-say-yes-to-the-dress.85189/

 

[FrekeChild]

If it was within budget I would have done it in a heartbeat. If I had really really wanted, I could have pushed my dress budget to $10k.

This was my dream dress, Nina Ricci, likely over $5k and would have been custom:

This is what I wore, Badgley Mischka evening gown, $450:

I love watching Say Yes to the Dress. I hope that those girls are happy with the decisions they make. I imagine that The producers air what makes good TV, and what makes good tv as evidenced by "My Super Sweet 16", "Cribs", "Platinum Weddings", etc? M$O$N$E$Y. So yeah they are going to show the most affluent and outgoing brides they get their mitts on! I'm sure if some meek, quiet millionairess comes in to spend $50k on a dress, she's probably not going to get the airtime, eh? Or she might turn it down. But those outgoing $10k+ers? You betcha! They want to FLAUNT WHAT THEY'VE GOT and SYTTD is more than happy to oblige them!

(Yay for channeling Sarah Palin!)

So instead of pushing the dress budget to $10k, I pushed the food budget WAY over what I originally planned on spending. WAY WAY WAY over. Thanks Dad!

ETA: Whats awesome is that I can wear it again if I'd like to...and no one will know it was my wedding dress.

 

[mrscushion]

Date: 5/3/2010 1:31:19 AM
Author: FrekeChild
This is what I wore, Badgley Mischka evening gown, $450:
....
So instead of pushing the dress budget to $10k, I pushed the food budget WAY over what I originally planned on spending. WAY WAY WAY over. Thanks Dad!

And you looked amazing!

Totally the right choice in my mind BTW -- food >>> dress! I still remember that pic of the cheese cake lollipops.