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How much did you pay for your dress?

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snow_happy

snow_happy

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
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546
Hello all :)

I was wondering what you all paid for your wonderfully fabulous wedding dresses. I found a dress that I *LOVE*
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and is about $4k. It''s not a "wedding dress" and can definitely be dyed and altered to wear post-wedding to other gatherings. (I mean for 4K I''ll be wearing it until I''m 80) There are so many bargain dress websites out there but since mine isn''t a wedding dress, they don''t apply. :/ I''m going to keep looking for dresses but I wanted to get your opinions because I love PS people! :)
 
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I set my original budget low (as far under $1000 as possible) but then when I tried on a dress that a saleswoman brought me in an "I''m just trying on dresses because everything here costs too much" salon, I fell in LOVE and knew I had to get it no matter what. I figure, my wedding is over a year away, I can save the difference between now and then if I REALLY try.
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BUT since this was at Kleinfeld''s in NYC, I knew there was a good chance it was $10,000 or something...(I also lied to the woman about my budget since I had no intention of buying there so I wanted her to let me try on all the fancy dresses.
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) But I had really made up my mind and it was just pure dumb luck that the dress was only $1700!!! (Their website says prices START at $2000) So, with alterations and tax it''s coming to a bit over $2000. Which is way more than I WANTED to spend, but I don''t regret it one teensy bit. I never thought I would have a "moment" with a dress, but all the other dresses I tried on I thought, "Wow this is really pretty," and when I tried that one I got tears in my eyes and really felt like a bride. Cheesy, I know, which is why I was shocked enough to realize I needed to go with my instincts.
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there was an old thread on this as well i think, maybe more info in there for you too!

i bought a store sample model because it fit me perfectly (size 8, talk about an ego boost, here i thought i'd end up in a larger size from all the 'dresses run small' talk!!) and it had hardly been tried on because of the style of it, so i got it for $1000 when retail for a new one was more like $1400 i think. but with tax and all that it was like $1200.

i totally fell in love with a christos gown that i just ADORED and it looked so great on me, very flattering. but it was smething like $2600 without tax, so it would have been more like $3k when all was said and done and i just could not justify that! our whole wedding cost about $15k so the thought of spending like 17% of the budget on my DRESS that i'd wear once just didn't work for me mentally. i wanted to spend under $1k so even spending the $1200 was a little over what i wanted.
 
Well, since we are eloping, I just couldn''t justify spending an arm and a leg on a dress that I will wear once, even though it IS my wedding dress. We are having a beach side cliff wedding and I wanted something simply, classy and elegant, but not too over the top. First because my DF doesn''t like "poofy" and secondly because where we are marrying is...ummm...breezy to say the least and I have visions of my skirt flying over my head. Ha!

After looking at 5 bridal shoppes, I found THE DRESS at MACY''S!!! Cost: $250. It is ivory satin with an empire waiste and drops heavily to the ground where just the right amount of satin collects at my feet. PERFECT! I love it and it is what I was looking for.

So my total for dressing items so far is:
Dress: $250
Shoes: $80
Veil: $60
Jewelry: $100 (bracelet, earrings, necklace)

Total: $490

I still haven''t found my garter or my "unmentionables" yet. :)

-Janna
 
Oh I looked through an old email and my dress was $1k out the door. So better than I remembered. I tried to find old pictures of me in the Christos gown which I KNOW we took some but I don''t know where they went.
 
Dress: $250
Veil $125
Tiara $125

Total $500.

Yes my headband and veil together were the same price as my dress.
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My dress was originally $1800, but when I first saw it it was reduced to $1000. That was still more than I wanted to pay. I wound up coming back months later (it was the first dress I tried on, and I loved it), and it was reduced to $500. I offered $300 and got it. It was all silk, and I remember a lady at a fabric shop said, "You couldn''t buy the material for $300!" It was reduced because it had been in the store for ages, and was so totally different from any dresses that are out there now (or then) - very unique. After alterations it was probably between $400-500 total.
 
Mine was 1600 before tax and alterations (it was originally around 1800, but it was on sale). Alterations were about 100, and my veil was around 50.

That was WAY more than I was planning on spending, but when I saw the dress, I just fell in love. And I figured, what is a couple hundred dollars over the rest of my life anyway!? Hehe...
 
I can''t remember the seperate prices but for everything, dress, alterations, veil, shoes and strapless bra thing (that goes to my waist) was just around $1,000. I did NOT want to spend a lot on something I knew I would never wear again.
 
I''m so glad someone started this thread, I''ve been wondering this too. The thought of spending over $1k on a dress I''ll wear once just kills me. I mean, I could get a gorgeous pair of diamond studs for that much. I''m very hesitant to spend even $500, because I know after alterations, veil, headpiece (if I get one), shoes, jewelry, lingerie, and all that goes with it, it''ll end up being over $1k. Though, I''ve found one I love for $450 that I''m going to try on this weekend. I''m hoping I''ll find something cheaper, though I doubt I will.
 
Mine was $399 - but I had a coupon for $100 off (david's bridal) so it was actually $299. My veil was $115. However, the alterations will probably cost more than the dress itself - I ordered the smallest size and I'm still swimming in it. I don't think I am going to wear any undergarments - other than some bra cups that will be sewn in (strapless sheath dress covered in lace).

However, I would have spent considerably more (I just happened to like this one), especially if it were a dress I could wear again.
 
About $300. I love the fancy designer dresses but just couldn''t justify even $1000 on a dress.
 
$269 for the dress for LA
$108 for the dress for Slovenia

$30 shoes
$25 veil (made my own)
$20 tiara
$ 5 barrette
$30 bra
$30 slip

**priceless**: all the running around and internet surfing to get all this stuff!!!!
 
$50 dress for the Vegas wedding
$750 dress for the destination wedding in Puerto Rico

I''m going in for alterations for the DW dress soon and I don''t have shoes or anything else, so who knows how much the whole thing will turn out to be
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Does being able to wear this dress after the wedding for several dozen other occassions justify the 4k price?
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IMHO, no, $4K wouldn''t be worth it unless you truly believed that you would wear it 12 more times in your life (equally $333/wear which isn''t a bad value). But hey, if you make or have a ton of $$ and expect you''ll continue making a ton of money so $4k is no big deal, then go for it. And also, won''t it take away from the "specialness" of it being your wedding dress if you wear it a whole bunch more times in your life? Who''s the designer? Maybe that would change my opinion...
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For $4k I''d rather have something sparkly I can wear every day, but that''s just me. If you have that much to spend on a dress and you can buy it without feeling guilty, then go for it.
 
It's from a boutique store called Morgane LeFay. I found it in Soho while on vacation in New York this past week and they also have a store in Santa Monica on Montana. Thanks for the price breakdown... I bet I would wear it 12 times. The dress is super comfortable and fashionable but not "wedding"-y (no sequins. beading and has a removable petticoat). I don't think wearing it several times would take away from the specialness of it. Maybe each time I wore it I would remember what a fantastic day it was?
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Date: 4/4/2006 3:49:36 PM
Author: snow_happy
I don''t think wearing it several times would take away from the specialness of it. Maybe each time I wore it I would remember what a fantastic day it was?
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With the way you''re talking about it, I really think that is how you''d feel! And if you dye it it really won''t look too wedding-y so I bet you''ll have occasions to wear it to!

It sounds as though even though you think/realize that is a LOT of money, it is not entirely out of your means. I would think about what percentage of your overall wedding budget it would end up being, and if that sounds acceptable to you, then try to decide if you would really be heartbroken if you didn''t get it. I knew when I tried on my dress that if I didn''t get it, I would ALWAYS think back on how I COULD have had the absolute perfect dress if I was willing to bend a few hundred dollars. In the end for me, even though I criiiinged at the final amount (& percentage of budget) spent, I don''t feel guilty because I know that with ANY OTHER DRESS I would just be having negative thoughts about how I didn''t like it as much and wished I had the other etc. If the dress I fell in love with had been $10,000 then I would have gotten over it, but the difference between my comfort level and the amount I ended up paying wasn''t THAT off, so it was worth it (for me) for the peace of mind. I think you just need to figure out if this is really the ONLY dress for you, and if it is, go for it! If you think you could be happy with something else...shop around for a while and see how it goes.
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I''m having my dress made- corset bodice, A-line skirt and detachable organza train. It''s coming out to roughly $270. If I get the train longer it may be an extra 20 bucks or something. I''m making my veil since I have the tulle and that will be like 10 bucks.
 
Hmm...I like your idea of having it dyed - I''m thinking of doing that with mine too, although I wouldn''t be able to wear it to anything that wasn''t super-formal. I would look really hard for other options, but if this is IT, then that''s just the way it is.

Here is mine so far:
Dress: $700 base price, about $825 out the door with taxes and a custom-length hollow-to-hem (which means it doesn''t have to be hemmed!).
Veil: $30 (including shipping)
Tiara: $15
Earrings: $15
Shoes (1st pair): $20

So total so far $905, and then I''m figuring about another $100 to put a fancy bustle on (no other alterations needed, hopefully), so total will be about $1000, although I may decide to get several more pairs of shoes, but they would be re-wearable if I do.
 
my dress was roughly $350 -- i found it on bergdorf''s for nearly double the price and then tracked it down on bluefly
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it''s a designer label (though not a wedding gown).

i
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my dress.
 
well i couldn't even stomach 2500 for a dress, so 4k would be totally out of the world for me...i think part of it is how you look at it. for me i never wanted to wear my wedding dress again. it's a wedding dress not a sundress that i wear to random events. i wouldn't want to dye it either, esp if it was a 4k gown! but some girls don't care how much the price is if it's THE dress and it will really mean something special to you. if i were one of those girls, i would probably have bought the 2500 dress. but honestly, to me, it's just a dress you wear for the wedding, 8 hours and i would never have worn my dress again (it's already cleaned and stored in one of those special boxes) because for me the memories are more fun the way it was. so that's also kind of why i didn't want to overpay for it, because it was just a dress. even if it is a little sentimental. and for me dyeing it and wearing it to other events would kind of cheapen it. just my honest thoughts! if you can afford it and LOVE IT, then get it. but i wouldn't put the kind of pressure on yourself that you HAVE to wear it again, you can do whatever you want with it if you do get it. hope that ramble made some sense. good luck!
 
I paid just under $1k including tax, but I got it online at a discount, it retails for $1500.

My budget was $1k, and when I found this dress I was so happy to be able to order it for 1/3 off online... !!
 
THanks for all your inputs. They really helped :)
 
I paid $350. My SIL paid $3500.
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DH and I paid for our own wedding, so we had other things we needed to spend the money on. (Plus, spending $3k on something I'm only going to wear once is crazy to me.)
 
Ebay is my best friend . . .
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Dress - $490.00 MC Bridal that I bought through an Ebay reseller - the dress retailed for $1,500.00
Alterations - $84.00
Shoes - $59.00 from David's Bridal
Tiara - 5/$29.95 - I wore one of those that I accidentally bought in a lot.
Veil - $59.00 from David's Bridal
 
I paid about $2500 with alterations. The funny thing is in LA all my friends that I told thought I got such a great deal and my parents were proud of me for not going overboard, sheesh....don''t ever let them read this thread
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