dress shopping is not going well...

[happy in love]

I''ve fallen in love with 2. (one''s a Melissa Sweet and one is a Cymbeline) Both about $2000 more than I ever thought I''d spend on a dress.
I feel like a spoiled brat, but I don''t know if I will find one out there as wonderful as those lacey treasures!!!
Did anyone else feel like this? Did you give in and buy the expensive dress or did you keep searching with an open mind for a less expensive option?
THANKS!

 

[E B]

Date: 8/10/2007 8:00:52 PM
Author:happy in love
I''ve fallen in love with 2. (one''s a Melissa Sweet and one is a Cymbeline) Both about $2000 more than I ever thought I''d spend on a dress.

I feel like a spoiled brat, but I don''t know if I will find one out there as wonderful as those lacey treasures!!!

Did anyone else feel like this? Did you give in and buy the expensive dress or did you keep searching with an open mind for a less expensive option?

THANKS!

Have you checked this website?

Preownedweddingdresses.com: Melissa Sweet

I''d google the names of the dresses and keep my eye on ebay in case anything pops up. Also, it doesn''t hurt to keep looking; you may just find something else you love within budget!

 

[Mandarine]

Well...I felt that way too!!!.

Try on more designers just to see. Pronovias and San Patrick (part of Pronovias actually) is a very well known designer in Spain. My dress is by them and they THE nicest lace I ever saw in any dress I tried on!!!!. Their fabrics are just spectacular. They have some gowns that are more reasonable and then you can buy from a store with discount prices (like RKBridal, House of Brides, Pearl''s Place).

I found my dress on RKBridal for more than 50% less than what they were asking at the store!. Try logging on to the dress forum on the knot....those girls are pretty helpful too.

The website that ebree gave you is also a great tool! not all the dresses are used. There actually tons of dresses that are brand new (either from stores or a bride that changed her mine and got a different dress!).

Hope this helps!!!! Good luck!!!!

M~

 

[Independent Gal]

I''m a huge fan of www.bridepower.com. I found the $4000 dress I liked at Saks on there for $500. no, really. You could also check if there are bridal consignment stores in your area or stores that sell samples. Finally, most bridal salons will have samples from previous collections they''d be willing to sell you at a discount.

 

[SoCute]

i''m super huge fan with http://www.valcollections2.com/

eventually i''ll order my dress from there for now still waiting for her to drop down the price ihhii i hope

 

[happy in love]

Ooohhh, thank you guys for all your suggestions. I''ll definately check out all those sites.

 

[neatfreak]

Another fan of preownedwedding dresses! It''s amazing the prices on those designer gowns and many haven''t ever been worn!

 

[ephemery1]

I won't be of much help since I DID splurge on my beloved Melissa Sweet gown....

But I can honestly say I have no regrets... it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I loved every minute of it!! I'm usually a bargain shopper so it took some time to come to terms with it, but in some ways that made it even more special... stepping outside my own boundaries and treating myself to something wonderful.

Good luck making your own decision...

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Hey, Happy,

I would keep looking around to see if you can get a deal on one of the two dresses you want. When is your wedding? You might be able to wait until the end of the season and get a discount when MS and Cymbeline come out with the fall line (unless this is from the fall line, then you''d have to wait for the spring line). Or you could go to a sample sale. MS has quite a few all over the nation, but Cymbeline doesn''t have as many.

This same thing happened to me. I fell in love with a Monique Lhuillier and a Cymbeline. The Cymbeline was a little bit cheaper and I came thisclose to purchasing it. I went to another boutique and found a very similar gown (made out of the same dupioni silk) that was just a tad bit more detailed. It was only $500 less than the Cymbeline, but at that time I was in some weird wedding dress zone where anything less than $2,000 was considered "reasonable" to me.

What I didn''t take into account was how much more the alterations were going to cost because of the hand-beaded details on the slightly cheaper dress. The Cymbeline alterations would have cost about $200 and the alterations for the dress I got came to about $700 (after visiting THREE seamstresses), so in the end I didn''t really save anything.

If I were to do it all over again I''d either go for it and get the dress I love or I''d save a significant amount of money and have the dress made for me. I didn''t have any discount stores around me when I bought the dress (I was living in Kansas City and now live in Boston), but I''d definitely go there if possible. Time was an issue for me because of a short engagement.

If you have time, keep looking around, but if not and you can''t find anything that you like as much consider either going for it or having it made for you.