I finally found my dress this weekend. I absolutely love it, and the service that we received at the shop was fantastic. They were so helpful and it was not at all intimidating like the other shops I've gone to.
So here's the issue. In the shop, the dress costs $1300, $1469 with tax. That includes the bustling, which is great. From netbride.com, it costs $772 including shipping. That's about $700 difference.
Is the service in the shop worth that much? How much should I be budgeting for alterations and steaming? I'm still losing weight, so I'm expecting fairly significant alterations even though the gown has a corset back. Here's the dress (it will be all ivory, no red):
I've asked the owner of the shop if she's able to be flexible with the dramatic price difference and she said she'll consider it - she's going to let me know in a couple of days. Assuming she can't come down in price - what do you think? Is the money worth the trouble of finding a reputable seamstress and having it steamed?
We also will likely buy bridesmaid dresses and faux-fur shawls at this shop, so I don't want to have a bad relationship with them, but $700 seems like a lot...