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Wedding dress prices?

BreMRBreMR member
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Okay so all of you shared your lovely dresses in the dress porn thread, but I'm curious... do you have to spend a ton of money to get the perfect dress?  My mom said she'd love to buy my dress, but because of that I feel like anything over $500 is too much.. .is that too low of a budget?  I think I'd rather throw in money than have my mom pay over that.  

I know that David's Bridal has cheaper dresses, but I am so annoyed by how much spam and PHONE CALLS I get from them already because of ONE stupid list I ended up on, I hate to give them business. 
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Re: Wedding dress prices?

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    loves2shop4shoesloves2shop4shoes member
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    I paid $100 for my dress, which was from DB.  I hated it.

    My dream dress was around $7k.

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    phiraphira member
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    My dress is an evening gown from Jovani, and it cost $690 after tax, pre-alteration.
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    KeptInStitchesKeptInStitches member
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    My dress was about $1400 after tax, pre-alteration. But it was on a mild sale that about washed out the tax.
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    Peaseblossom55Peaseblossom55 mod
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    My dress my $2500 including alterations.

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    kaitlynmichellekaitlynmichelle member
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    My dress was originally $1300 but I paid $450. I haven't had alterations yet. My budget was $500.
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    BreMRBreMR member
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    Thanks everyone!  I guess it seems like I'll just have to shop and see what happens :)  I think I'm shooting for shopping in the fall, so I'll just see what my budget gets me and then up it if I have to!
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    lilacck28lilacck28 member
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    my dress was $700 from a little bridal boutique, pre alterations. The belt was another $165 (robbery!) I think the veil  and head piece were each $95, but I haven't purchased those yet. My budget for the dress alone was under $1000, the lower the better. However, my mom spent about $100 on her wedding dress, didn't really like it much, and always regretted it, so I knew that spending the least amount of money possible was not my goal. 
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    BreMRBreMR member
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    lilacck28 said:
    my dress was $700 from a little bridal boutique, pre alterations. The belt was another $165 (robbery!) I think the veil  and head piece were each $95, but I haven't purchased those yet. My budget for the dress alone was under $1000, the lower the better. However, my mom spent about $100 on her wedding dress, didn't really like it much, and always regretted it, so I knew that spending the least amount of money possible was not my goal. 
    I went shopping with my cousin and she spent about $350 on her dress at david's and it was sooo pretty, but I couldn't believe how much the headband she purchased was, I think it was $150.  I mean, really an entire dress for $200 dollars more than a headband?  

    I know I probably won't wear a veil because it's awfully windy in Mexico, so I'll save a few bucks there!
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    ShallowSeasShallowSeas member
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    My dress was on sale at DB for $550. I don't think it was much more than that originally. My budget was $800 and there were a lot of dresses at DB for under that.
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    Blue & WhiteBlue & White member
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    My dress was $250 from DB on clearance and it was perfect for me.  I also gave them a spam email address and the wrong phone number.  I did eventually have to give them the right number when I got my dress and proceeded to bitch out any wedding salespeople that called.  I must have done a good job, because I only remember 2-3 calling.

    My alterations were like...$200 but NOT from DB (that's where they get ya!)  I used this tailor shop downtown and she did a great job.
    I guess, to tell you the truth, I've never had much of a desire to grow facial hair. I think I've managed to play quarterback just fine without a mustache. - Peyton
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    Blackbird230Blackbird230 member
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    My friend got her dress at DB for $1,000 including veil. When I stopped by a bridal boutique to look, she had Allure Romance dresses for between $875 and up.

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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
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    My dress was just over $1000 and I paid around $130 in alterations. My veil was IMO expensive ($350) but I LOVED my veil! I bought everything from a bridal boutique in my town.
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    Dignity100Dignity100 member
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    My original budget was $800; my dress cost $2000 - I had a couple discounts from the bridal shop though that at least covered the taxes.  The other area shops sold my dress for $2175-2400; the shop I bought my dress for worked on commission.

    There was a shop near me that would buy samples and sell them (she only bought samples with tags still on as some shops will cut them out).  All of here dresses were under $1200, most of them in the $300-800 range. She was great but she just didn't have anything that I felt 100% confident/comfortable in.


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    Hummingbird125Hummingbird125 member
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    If you want to stick close to that budget, DB's is probably your best bet. Yeah, they can be super annoying with the spam and phone calls, but I've fallen in love with two different dresses there already that were under 1k. One was $499 and the other was $699. I haven't bought anything yet, but I definitely want to stay below $1300.
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    SwazzleSwazzle member
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    My dress was $1600 and alterations were included except for the bustle which was $75. There's no sales tax on wedding dresses in New Jersey. My budget was $2k and my mom paid for my dress.



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    KeptInStitchesKeptInStitches member
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    Oh, a couple more details: my mom paid for my dress (think the consummate cheapskate over here would voluntarily have spent that amount of money?) and I didn't shop at DB in my area. Bad experience there in the last wedding I was in. Nothing compares to being called fat in a bridal shop, whether or not you're the bride. I made it to the car before I broke down.

    So I already knew that if I ever got engaged I was voting with my wallet.
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    Peaseblossom55Peaseblossom55 mod
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    tuarceatha said:
    My dress was around $1,200 after alterations and such. I did not pay for it, but if I had, I think I would've kept my budget to $600ish max.

    I also really want to host a wedding dress only party to have an excuse to wear it again. Maybe next year....

    I would totally go!

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    labrolabro member
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    My dress was $1040 after taxes ($900 something pre-tax). I haven't had alterations done yet so I don't know how much it will be. I paid $50 or $60 for my headband off of Etsy. There were cheaper ones but you could definitely see a quality difference. I purchased mine from a local boutique. I shopped at three boutiques before buying my dress and their dresses all started at around $650 to $700 and went up from there. They had sample dresses on sale as well that you could purchase for way less.



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    Peaseblossom55Peaseblossom55 mod
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    I paid for my own dress too, my mom cringed when she heard how much the dress was, but luckily she really had no say.  The veils they showed me in the salon that matched my dress were $300-$350.  I found one on etsy that I loved for $50.

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    500days500days member
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    I haven't bought a dress yet, but I hope to stay under $800. I just can't see myself spending more money on a dress for one day. I did go to DB and tried on a ton of dresses, but I only really like one that was $399 and another that was $750. I hope to find a dress in either chiffon or lace for a decent price.
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    Dignity100Dignity100 member
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    I paid for my own dress (yay for tax refunds!). FI and I are paying for our wedding without any help from our parents.  I have even went as far as to give specific orders to the restaurant that nobody other than bride/groom is to pay for the meal.  FI (and now you guys) are the only ones that know how much I paid for my dress, nobody else needs to know since they did not help pay for it.


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    doubleSS07doubleSS07 member
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    My dress was either $1300 or $1400 (can't remember) and the belt came with it.  The cathedral veil was thrown in free by the dress shop because I tried and purchased the dress the same day!  I had to spend $50 to ship it from CA where I ordered it before we moved to Texas to have alterations done.  Alterations were $300.  I didn't really have a budget I just knew that I was going to spend under $2K.  I spent $35 on my hair flower that was done custom from an Etsy vendor.  I cannot recommend using that site enough for accessories like that.  Stuff in the stores are SO expensive for what you get.


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    emmyg65emmyg65 member
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    My dress was actually a bridesmaid dress. It was $220, plus $75 for alterations, and it was perfect. It had pockets!
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    jenna8984jenna8984 member
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    I paid for my own. My "budget" was 800. It wasn't a hard this is all I can afford budget, it was more of a I don't think it's worth it to spend more on a dress for one day budget. The one I ended up buying was $1280 and alterations are $250. More than originally thought I wanted to spend but I figured screw it, I've got the money, I worked hard for it and I love this one! I refused to try on anything over 1400 though, that was my absolutely cutoff.

                                                                     

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    buddysmom80buddysmom80 member
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    My dress with taxes was over $1100. The state I live in, if you spend over $1000 on a piece of clothing or accessories, they hike the sales tax up. I should've been patient and just bought a dress in NJ.

    Our budget for my dress was $2000 right now I have $450 left for alterations and undergarments, fingers crossed it'll cover it. The dress budget included shoes, belt, and earrings. My veil and headpiece were a seperate budget ($150) and I only spent $80 on that budget.

    I bought my own dress. My mom said she wasn't paying for a piece of clothing that expensive that I'm only wearing for a few hours and I should just elope at my age (thanks mom...)

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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
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    My dress was $300. I was lucky enough to find a brand new, tags still on dress at a consignment shop here in Denver. It was a DB dress, but it was perfect for me. I didn't purchase a veil or any accessories...so just alterations which were about $250. In total $550 for my "look". H and I paid for our wedding ourselves and I just couldn't justify spending a ton on a dress that I would wear one time. Then again, I am the kind of girl who HATES to spend over $30 for any one piece of clothing ever.

    You might try looking at a few consignment places to see what you can find. I would never have found my dress if my MOH hadn't surprise attacked me with "there's a shop just around the corner"...but I couldn't have been happier with my cheapie. 

    Also - I don't think there is anything wrong with supplementing your mom's contribution to get the dress you really want if it costs a little more. Just be sure to set a max with her ahead of time so you don't have to worry that she goes over what she wants.

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    tuarceathatuarceatha member
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    Peaseblossom55 said:
    tuarceatha said:
    My dress was around $1,200 after alterations and such. I did not pay for it, but if I had, I think I would've kept my budget to $600ish max.

    I also really want to host a wedding dress only party to have an excuse to wear it again. Maybe next year....

    I would totally go!
    Great! I will put you down as a yes. ;)
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    GoldenPenguinGoldenPenguin mod
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    I bought my own dress, at DB, and it was $500 (and it's actually on sale for cheaper than that now, which is annoying).

    I know people have a "thing" with David's, but I have never had anything but good experiences there. I didn't INTEND to buy my dress there, I went because they have every style under the sun, and I figured I could get a good feel for what I liked - and ended up finding the one that I loved, and it was far more inexpensive than I had hoped for. 

    I am not going to do a veil, but I am going to get a belt & shoes (customized Chucks), but I'm looking on Etsy for belts, because they're SO much cheaper than in the store, and there's a shit ton of variety (which is actually harder than it sounds, because I can't make a decision). The shoes will be about $100. 



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    PepperallyPepperally member
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    I got harrassed with phone calls DAILY when I scheduled an appointmet at DB and then decided to cancel because I found my dress elsewhere.  They just have all of these loopholes to harrass you that you have to figure out how to opt out of.  I don't appreciate it!  Otherwise, I was planning to get mine there.  Glad I didn't just because of the phone calls. 

    I got mine for about $939 - err, I guess my mom did, and that was with a 10% discount for buying off the rack.  I was planning on something cheap, informal, but boy that all changes once you try some on!

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