Help! How Can I Justify The Price Of My Wedding Dress?!

Knottie1447703222

Hi all!

I found a gorgeous gown yesterday that had everything I was looking for. My FMIL, Mom, MOH, and sister all loved it so I said "YES!" to my dress.

I've been having major anxiety since then about the price. It is $650 (with tax closer to $700) and I cannot stop thinking about what else I could use that money for! (Rent, car payments, groceries, honeymoon...)

How can I justify the price for a dress I will only wear one day?! I have 3 days to cancel with a full refund and I am seriously considering that. I do love the gown but I do not want to be stressing out over the cost on our big day. 

Anyone else out there feel this or have advice?! 

charlotte989875

How much over your budget was the dress? Can you make up the difference by cutting back in other areas? It may be your dream gown, but if you're going to feel anxiety over the price, then it might not be the perfect dress. No one can tell you how to justify the price, some people on here have spent many, many more times that on a gown, some people have spent less than $100 or worn something they already owned; its up to you how you feel about that money. If it's in your budget, or you can rework your budget to make it fit, and the dress is really important to you, that's perfectly fine. If it's not, that's ok too. There is no one "right price" for wedding dresses, it's about what you can afford and are comfortable paying. 

geebee908

Is there a consignment bridal shop in your area? Those shops can be a fabulous source if you have a limited budget. You do need to shop there with an open mind though.

ernursej

Price point and budget are very specific to the individual. I think you need to decide what your budget is (best to have done this ahead of time, but deal with it now) and where you can find money from other areas to assign to this dress.

If you think about it, a wedding that goes beyond the officiant and witnesses (if required where you live) is money that can always be used somewhere else but you've chosen to put towards a wedding. I think you have to sit down and figure out how much money you are willing to spend and then work out a budget for each part of the wedding so this same situation doesn't happen again.  

CMGragain

$700 is still a modest budget by today's standards.  Consider selling the dress after your wedding.  You will still have the photos.  I don't know why I kept mine.  It is just taking up storage space.  You can sell the dress for about 60% of its original cost.

Knottie1452565096

It may not be a possibility, but I fell in love with a dress out of my price range, then bought it on ebay for half the price (it was a used "floor model"). Might be worth a look! I do feel kind of bad about it--the bridal shop wouldn't give me the designer or name of the dress, so a friend took a photo of me in it and stalked the internet to find it. I feel less bad since I told them I only wanted to try dresses $600 and down and they brought me a $1,200 dress to try on without warning me. You could try to find it used. I totally understand the price anxiety--good luck! 

JediElizabeth

Knottie1452565096 said:

It may not be a possibility, but I fell in love with a dress out of my price range, then bought it on ebay for half the price (it was a used "floor model"). Might be worth a look! I do feel kind of bad about it--the bridal shop wouldn't give me the designer or name of the dress, so a friend took a photo of me in it and stalked the internet to find it. I feel less bad since I told them I only wanted to try dresses $600 and down and they brought me a $1,200 dress to try on without warning me. You could try to find it used. I totally understand the price anxiety--good luck! 

This salon sounds horrible. There's no way I would have given them any business, either!

kvruns

what was your original dress budget? When is the wedding?

Do you have time to cancel now, then look around at other options and if you still love this one and only this one in 2 weeks order it again? "Major anxiety" over a dress isn't worth it in my opinion, but I think that taking some time to think about it longer might help you realize it isn't that big of a deal and shouldn't be causing stress.

ShesSoCold

When I was 14 and got my first actual job with an actual paycheck, my mom asked me a question that still pisses me off. I wanted to buy something and said, "how many hours do you have to work to pay for that?" I still think about this every time I want to buy something stupid and it helps me justify (or not) purchases.

I did a similar thing with my dress. I LOVED a dress that was over budget. I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it and then did the math. It was going to cost me about $400 PER HOUR to wear that dress. Nope. I moved on with my life and bought a cheaper dress. I will admit that I didn't like it as much, but I do not regret not buying the more expensive dress.

kvruns

ShesSoCold said:

When I was 14 and got my first actual job with an actual paycheck, my mom asked me a question that still pisses me off. I wanted to buy something and said, "how many hours do you have to work to pay for that?" I still think about this every time I want to buy something stupid and it helps me justify (or not) purchases.

I did a similar thing with my dress. I LOVED a dress that was over budget. I thought about it and thought about it and thought about it and then did the math. It was going to cost me about $400 PER HOUR to wear that dress. Nope. I moved on with my life and bought a cheaper dress. I will admit that I didn't like it as much, but I do not regret not buying the more expensive dress.

I do that all the time! heck I never understood by so many people in my office order delivery from Jimmy Johns when it is so close and then I did the math (I was paid hourly at that time) that it actually cost me more to clock out and pick it up myself than a delivery charge would be. I still would never order for delivery because I like to get away for a bit but it was an interesting calculation.

ernursej

I also do that calculation with all my regular clothes. I did not apply that to my wedding dress as I don't think I would have ever found something that felt right.

MesmrEwe

Considering what I just spent on a prom dress for my (ungrateful) niece - IMO, your budget doesn't sound bad at all for the dress (and hers was cheap by comparison to others attending) - ways to help buffer it - DIY or purchase a tiara & veil from a place like JoAnn's or online...  Remember you don't need overpriced wedding shoes to go with it - you really can wear a modest shoe that you can wear in the future...  Cut your budget all around - look for ways to go UNDER your budget from here on out.  You don't need $200 bouquets for each of your BM, work with your florist to pull off the look as simply as possible for as low as you can go, same for your baker - the simpler your design to pull off for the baker the more reasonable the budget.  Your meal choice can be a simple way to cut your budget, you don't need to have steak as an option, you can have the chicken and pot roast.  Skip the favors.  Skip the personalized napkins.  Having a dress you love sets the tone for everything else, and by bridal standards, that's an incredibly reasonable dress to have purchased.