Did You Stick to Your Dress Budget?

island07b2b

Having gorged myself on SYTTD shows, I noticed that maybe half the brides either stretch themselves to the limit of their budget range or just plum go over. 

Did you stick to your budget?

Did you try on gowns solely within your budget or just tried on gowns and hoped they were in your budget?

If you went over budget, do you have any regrets? 

flasweetheart

The dress I ended up getting I didn't want to try on cause it was over my budget but it ended up being on sale so I got my dress, undergarments and veil and stayed under the budget for just the dress that my mom gave me.

hatroopes

The first time, I did - I was actually under budget. But with my second dress, the budget was blown away! I love my dress, but there is still a little pang of regret spending that much money on a dress that I'll wear for only a few hours.

djscat

I watch the shows too and I tell you.  I WISH someone would offer to pay for my dress.  FI and I are paying for our wedding ourselves.  My parents can't afford it and I totally understand.  It's our day and we should pay for it.  So when  I see these ungratfule girls on the shows who moan and cry because Mommy and Daddy won't give them an extra thousand or two to get "the dress" I just wanna jump through that tv and slap them.  Heffa please!  Get over yourself you spoiled brat!!!!!  If the dress isn't in your budget DON'T TRY IT ON.  UGH!  Okay I'm sorry I guess I had that all bottled up.  Thank you for letting me vent.  I feel so much better now. 

tyboyd

I guess I stuck to mine... I really didn't have a set budget. But my mom was ok with the $500, so I was, too!

bcbsbride

No, I didn't stick to my budget and dress was on sale. But my mom and FI helped pay for the dress and veil. So I was okay with it.

mikimoto6

Believe it or not, my wedding gown was a lower priority item for me.  Food, flowers, photography and music were way more important to me than my wedding gown, so I choose to spend my money there. 

I did find a dress that I am happy with and it was under $700.  I shopped around and got pricing from the retailers in the area who sold my dress so I thought I was getting a good deal. (I didn't know about Pearl's Place at the time, probably could have saved some more money) The store is doing bust and waist alterations for free with the purchase of the dress.  

I am wearing my mom's veil and found shoes at DSW for $20.  I was more committed to my makeup artist than I was buying a wedding dress.... Maybe I'm weird because my whole MO for the wedding is to make it as simple as possible with few moving parts.  I want it to be fun, but I don't want a lot of frill and fluff.   

wallacje

I initially stuck to my budget but all the dresses I tried on were ugly/too similar/nothing dramatic, so I went up a couple hundred and got the dress of my dreams, didn't need undergarments and I made my veil  Would have been nice if someone paid for my dress, but not our case. H was fine with the final price tag because it made me happy.

I wouldn't change a thing, we had extra money once everything was all paid for so it wasn't really like I was over budget in the first place.

It would be nice if they had a show where not every bride spends thousands of dollars on their dress, not to generalize but the majority probably can't or won't spend that much on a dress.  Granted they look good, I would rather use that towards college funds, retirement or a house but to each his own.

Carla1019

My dress that was "the one" was over my budget but I had to have it. I prayed about it and stayed patient. Thank God! I found it at a sample sale and paid less than $800 for a $2,000 dress! YAY!!!!!!

faithlady

I originally had a budget of $500 dollars and then my wonderful mother offered to buy my dress for me! Even though she offered to pay, I still wanted to stick to my original budget. I ended up buying a dress I love and only doubled my original budget and mom was ok with that. I DO regret buying it so soon. About a month after I purchased it, it was discontinued and HALF off!

msktn95

My budget was a 1000.00, when I finally found the dress it was 1300.00 before taxes and alterations.  I could not do it.  I wanted to stay within budget.  I found my dress brand new from preownedweddingdress.com.  I was so excited and only paid 500.00 for the dress.

happe2gether

For my dress and veil I think I came in right at or just a little under budget. Totally happy about that and glad it is done and over with. If it were cheaper I would have been much happier but I still got my dress at a discount.

EsquireJL

My plan was to go to DB first just to try on different dresses to see what style and fit would work best for me. I knew that everything in the store was well under my budget so I could try on any and everything without being worried about the price. I tried on over 20 dresses and found one that I loved that was 75% less than my budget. I personally would never buy a dress over budget because I believe the bride makes the dress and not the other way around.

mahoganieyes

My budget was $400-500. Remember I waited 2 weeks till my wedding to get my dress. The dress was on the bottom of my list. I was able to find a dress $225 incl veil and hair flower. So yes...I stayed within budget!

chescam

My budget was $1000. I found one that I loved for $1300. I went home and thought about it some more and decided to keep on looking. I won an AA gift certificate for $600 at a bridal show and found another dress I that I loved. The store discounted the dress some more and I was able to get it for under $300. 

japonica334

My budget was 800 or less, so why did i spend 1250?lol  Oh well, I really love the dress though.

Gift928

Sure went over my budget and it was all my moms fault!!!! LOL. We went dress shopping (after i bought a dress online that my sisters and mom HATED), and my mom picked out a lovely dress that i couldnt resist. She paid half so i cant really complain.

M1ssJ

you guys give me courage to hold out

island07b2b

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_did-stick-dress-budget?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:400Discussion:e4b10e87-94e6-4c9c-80ca-2e02060ec0f9Post:e45f2114-1443-448e-840c-73f3f8591a08">Re: Did You Stick to Your Dress Budget?</a>:
[QUOTE]you guys give me courage to hold out
Posted by M1ssJ[/QUOTE]

I am thinking the same thing. :) Thanks ladies!  I appreciate all of your feedback. 

PrettyCW5

We had a total wedding budget and then I realized that my original budget for a dress was not going to work in our budget. So I figured the dress wasn't that important to me anyway and was going to try to catch the $99 sale from DB until FI offered to pay because he wanted me to feel comfortable and happy in a dress that I actually wanted and not just settling on some dress cause it was inexpensive. But the dress I ended up buying from DB was still way under budget. And I spend other people's money like I spend my own so I knew I was going to stick to a lower budget than FI gave me and was pleasantly surprised and extremely happy with the outcome!

happe2gether

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_did-stick-dress-budget?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:e4b10e87-94e6-4c9c-80ca-2e02060ec0f9Post:19432256-9ac0-4b4e-b1db-8cb739a4ba4f">Re: Did You Stick to Your Dress Budget?</a>:
[QUOTE]I initially stuck to my budget but all the dresses I tried on were ugly/too similar/nothing dramatic, so I went up a couple hundred and got the dress of my dreams, didn't need undergarments and I made my veil  Would have been nice if someone paid for my dress, but not our case. H was fine with the final price tag because it made me happy. I wouldn't change a thing, we had extra money once everything was all paid for so it wasn't really like I was over budget in the first place. <strong>It would be nice if they had a show where not every bride spends thousands of dollars on their dress, not to generalize but the majority probably can't or won't spend that much on a dress</strong>.  Granted they look good, I would rather use that towards college funds, retirement or a house but to each his own.
Posted by wallacje[/QUOTE]

@wallacje - Funny you mentioned that because when SYTTD: Atlanta first started, I submitted my name to be on the show and got picked. But sticker shock stopped me dead in my tracks.  Their dresses started above my budget and I saw no reason to put myself through the pain of not being able to afford shopping there.  But yeah, a budget bride show would be nice!

TNMurray

My original budget was 1500, dress came to 1800 plus tax. It was well worth it because I think my dress looked like it cost at least 3500. So many people think I spent a thousands of dollars on my dress. 

sheikscorpio88

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_african-american-weddings_did-stick-dress-budget?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:400Discussion:e4b10e87-94e6-4c9c-80ca-2e02060ec0f9Post:fde55a93-6de4-4d9e-8cb7-914232c63a5a">Re: Did You Stick to Your Dress Budget?</a>:
[QUOTE]I watch the shows too and I tell you.  I WISH someone would offer to pay for my dress.  FI and I are paying for our wedding ourselves.  My parents can't afford it and I totally understand.  It's our day and we should pay for it.  So when  I see these ungratfule girls on the shows who moan and cry because Mommy and Daddy won't give them an extra thousand or two to get "the dress" I just wanna jump through that tv and slap them.  Heffa please!  Get over yourself you spoiled brat!!!!!  If the dress isn't in your budget DON'T TRY IT ON.  UGH!  Okay I'm sorry I guess I had that all bottled up.  Thank you for letting me vent.  I feel so much better now. 
Posted by djscat[/QUOTE]

THIS!!! lol

latascha

I found a dress for $1000...then I started thinking...Im getting married on the beach in the Bahamas.  Do I REALLY want to pay that much for a dress that I will be in for literally an hour or two on the sand (since I have a reception dress).  Then a friend of mines told me to look at evening gowns/formal dresses/prom dresses.  I found the perfect Chiffon fabric gown for the ceremony that looked better than my original dress for $150.  Then I found my bridesmaids dresses as well as my reception dress for even less than that.  So that's what Im going for.  Me and my FH are planning on investing in rental properties within the next two years so by us having a Destination Wedding saved us a ton of money for us to use for rental properties so Im all about saving money in any way I can but still have a formal wedding.