Dream dress is out of budget

knottie718e8840752bf5af

I am absolutely in love with pretty much every dress in the new collection from Ziad Nakad, but particularly these 2 . I think the first and third one (they uploaded out of order) reminds me of Sarah’s dress at the ball in labyrinth 😍😍😍 

anyway its way way way out of our price range. Does anyone know of gowns under $3k USD that might have the wow factor? I know I won’t get anything close to this but the things I love most about it are the silver color, the way the skirts drape/fold, and the sparkle. 

MesmrEwe

Look at the proportions on that dress, that is not what it will look like on a non-model image nor trying it on in the bridal shop, also, have you called actual bridal shops to find out the relative budget for this dress?  Also, you need to try some dresses on to determine what looks best on your body.  That's really the starting step.  You may find you don't like the look of the silver bling on you, or you may find it overpowering or you may love it, but you won't know any of that until you try some dresses on in your budget (remember to allow for the costs of undergarments, and most importantly, alterations!)

downtondiva

I promise you can find plenty of absolutely gorgeous wedding dresses under $3k. Mine was way under that, and while it was nothing like these dresses, it was beautiful and I loved it.

Stop looking at dresses that you know are out of your budget because it will just bum you out and make you feel like nothing else is good enough. It's fine to look online to get ideas (I did plenty of that), but you really won't know what kind of dress is right for you until you try some on yourself. And when you go, don't try on anything that you know costs more than you're okay with spending.

OurWildKingdom

And bear in mind that alterations might double the cost of your dress.

knottie718e8840752bf5af

I’ve been to try on dresses and didn’t find any that were silver. I like the ballgown style and like how it looks on my non-model body. I just want to know if there’s a place to start looking. I don’t want a white dress and the only options I saw were off white, a handful of almost pinkish, and one black dress which i definitely am not interested in. I just don’t know if maybe there’s a line out that’s not couture that is closer to what I’m looking for. 

OurWildKingdom

knottie718e8840752bf5af said:

I’ve been to try on dresses and didn’t find any that were silver. I like the ballgown style and like how it looks on my non-model body. I just want to know if there’s a place to start looking. I don’t want a white dress and the only options I saw were off white, a handful of almost pinkish, and one black dress which i definitely am not interested in. I just don’t know if maybe there’s a line out that’s not couture that is closer to what I’m looking for. 

Look for evening gowns, prom dresses, or bridesmaid dresses. You can still get the ballgown style in a wider range of colors.

Edited to add: Here are some pretty cool options at a variety of price points.

https://www.couturecandy.com/collections/ball-gowns

downtondiva

OurWildKingdom said:

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knottie718e8840752bf5af said:

I’ve been to try on dresses and didn’t find any that were silver. I like the ballgown style and like how it looks on my non-model body. I just want to know if there’s a place to start looking. I don’t want a white dress and the only options I saw were off white, a handful of almost pinkish, and one black dress which i definitely am not interested in. I just don’t know if maybe there’s a line out that’s not couture that is closer to what I’m looking for. 

Look for evening gowns or bridesmaid dresses. You can still get the ballgown style in a wider range of colors.

This is also true. If you're looking for something a little different, sticking strictly to bridal gowns may not be your best bet. Admittedly, I only went to two shops when I was looking, but the most off-beat thing I found in either of them was a pale pink dress. Finding "unusual" wedding dresses online doesn't always translate to finding them in stores. 

knottie718e8840752bf5af

OurWildKingdom said:

show previous quotes

knottie718e8840752bf5af said:

I’ve been to try on dresses and didn’t find any that were silver. I like the ballgown style and like how it looks on my non-model body. I just want to know if there’s a place to start looking. I don’t want a white dress and the only options I saw were off white, a handful of almost pinkish, and one black dress which i definitely am not interested in. I just don’t know if maybe there’s a line out that’s not couture that is closer to what I’m looking for. 

Look for evening gowns, prom dresses, or bridesmaid dresses. You can still get the ballgown style in a wider range of colors.

Edited to add: Here are some pretty cool options at a variety of price points.

https://www.couturecandy.com/collections/ball-gowns

Thank you!! There’s a couple of beautiful dresses I’ve saved to consider 

short+sassy

knottie718e8840752bf5af said:

show previous quotes

OurWildKingdom said:

knottie718e8840752bf5af said:

I’ve been to try on dresses and didn’t find any that were silver. I like the ballgown style and like how it looks on my non-model body. I just want to know if there’s a place to start looking. I don’t want a white dress and the only options I saw were off white, a handful of almost pinkish, and one black dress which i definitely am not interested in. I just don’t know if maybe there’s a line out that’s not couture that is closer to what I’m looking for. 

Look for evening gowns, prom dresses, or bridesmaid dresses. You can still get the ballgown style in a wider range of colors.

Edited to add: Here are some pretty cool options at a variety of price points.

https://www.couturecandy.com/collections/ball-gowns

Thank you!! There’s a couple of beautiful dresses I’ve saved to consider 

I definitely agree with focusing more on formal gowns as opposed to specifically bridal gowns.  When I did my own shopping, white is one of my worst colors and I also looked more heavily at buying a formal gown...also loved the ballgown style...in different colors.  As it turned out, I did buy a bridal gown.  But it had red embroidery running through it and those pops of color really eased up on the starkness of the white.

I'd also suggest speaking to a seamstress.  Show them pics of those dresses and get quotes on how much it would cost for them to create something similar.  They might come in at the right price, plus the gown would be fitted for you as part of the process so you shouldn't have to worry about also paying for alterations.

My good friend's mom is a seamstress and about 95% of her business is creating wedding gowns.  So I'd imagine that's squarely in the wheelhouse for most people in this profession.