Attire & Accessories Forum

Say yes to the cheap dress?

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Re: Say yes to the cheap dress?

  • I bought a beautiful bridesmaid dress for $220 and just ordered it in an off-white (which is really more white than "off"). There are many options out there that are affordable and won't make you look like you're "skimping". Dress it up with accessories (which you'll have plenty of extra money to play with) and you're set!


    Good luck! Smile
  • Fortunately, saying yes to the "Cheap Dress" is not such a bad idea! Nowadays you can get a STUNNING dress for under 2k from fabulous designers! The Knot is a wonderful resource for the budget conscious bride, and you can specifically search for dresses in your budget from $ to $$$$$! While it is absolutely true that the dress is such an important element of a wedding, it is not because of fashion. It is because a wedding is a ritual, and in my faith (Judaism) a wedding is considered the most important of life's rituals. The outfits we choose to wear to our wedding are therefore viewed as the most important thing we will ever wear. Listen ladies, you don't need a designer label, or high price tag to have the most perfect and wonderful dress for you. It is about what you are comfortable in, and feel amazing in, it's not about who designed it, and what kind of fashion statement you are making! Remember if you are a bride on a budget (like me), you don't want to enter your marriage with all kinds of debt, just over the wedding! That's just crazy girls! Nothing stresses couples out more then MONEY! With our economy the way it is, why splurge on a dress for a designer label, or fancy fabric? Be married in something that makes you feel beautiful, and good, not something that makes you wonder " Did I spend to much on this?" I ca almost guarantee your Fiance is not concerned with the label on your dress, or what fabric it is made out of. As long as you feel beautiful, and happy, he will be totally happy!!
  • I would say so. its not really skimping if you get the right dress for you that looks beatiful and i would suggest what i am doing for my june wedding buying a knockoff because the only person who is going to know the designer or really care is you. so save the money and headache.
  • My budget for a dress was in the category of the "Say yes to the Dress" Brides.  Even though budget-wise the sky was the limit, I still couldn't see myself spending so much money on something I would wear for a couple of hours.  I ended up get a dress for $399 with a Sh*t load of bead work and detail. (sorry the only words that came to mind to explain) it is also a satin dress.  You don't have to spend 2k just to get Good details and bead work.  But your mom is right.  She wants you to be happy so I suggest you get the dress you want and forget the price.  Because as many on this board have said you are lucky to have the budget you do.  

    It just so happen that the dress I loved was inexpensive.  (Well one of the dresses I loved, I'm wearing a different dress for my ceremony)  
  • My dress is one of the new 2010 Maggie Sottero's. It was $1500 in the store I found it but Im getting it for $1068 at another store and it is a gorgeous dress. I tried on at least 70 wedding dresses when I was looking and I dont think any of them were more than $2,000 and I liked alot of them.

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • You can always take a plain dress to a seamstress/costumier and get them to add beading, lace, crystals etc without breaking the bank.

    My friend spent a fortune on her dress $3000 + and only wore it for like 5 hours, it was a gorgeous dress but it put the cost into perspective for me, no way could I spend that now, and she would have looked gorgeous in a $20 dollar dress.
  • I think that unless you have a really fat budget, it is crazy to spent 2K and up for a dress. You know, most of your guests will only remember that you wore a big pretty white thing. Seriously, to at least half of your guests one wedding dress looks a lot like the other, plus or minus some skin. Even to those of us who have looked at them intensely, one strapless gown with a pick up skirt vs another of the same style look, well, pretty similar! Yet depending on fabric and a bead here or there, the price difference can be huge.

    Also, when you buy a dress keep in mind you have a lot more to buy that you will be wearing that day. My total cost with dress, hair comb, shoes, under garments and bag has been $775.00 and the dress was $550.00 on sale. I go for a final fitting March 2, and so far it has not needed any alterations but if it does now you can add $100.00-200 to that cost. SO a 2K dress could actually end up costing you much more, and all for what?
  • I bought my dress for $75!  Although I am a size 16, it was a sample dress that fit beautifullly and has everything I wanted-silk, embroidery, lace, ribbons, flowers and beading.  (It sounds awful when I write it like that, but it's gorgeous!)  And honestly, unless your wedding is going to be written up in a society page or something, no one is going to know whether your dress is from David's Bridal or Vera Wang.

  • My dress was just over $600 and I absolutely LOVE IT!! find what makes you happy!
    Anniversary
  • Please tell me you didn't base your dress requirements on the show < "Say Yes to the Dress."   That show is a joke.   It's not reality.
     OK, with that said, let me tell you this.   You don't need a $2K wedding dress.   No one will see the price tag unless you advertise what you spent on it.

    When I went dress shopping I had nothing in mind as to what I wanted.   I wanted what would make me look fabulous.   I knew I wanted something with a little color. That was my requirements.    I did not have a dress budget and my fiance' told me that he would not be surprised if I came home with a 1000.00 dress or a 15,000.00  dress.    I came home with a 350.00 dress and it is more beautiful than most of the dresses that I tried on that were in the 3-5K range.  

    If you want to Splurge... Get an amazing photographer.   You will have those pictures forever and have them on display. 

  • Cheap dresses are great!  Not only are there a lot of good outlets, but in larger cities, you can find upscale second hand boutiques with designer wedding dresses for a fraction of the cost you would pay for a new one.  Plus, you can always buy a cheap dress and add some embellishments yourself - then it becomes an heirloom.
  • My daughter bought her dress at one of the nicest salons in our city. There were many dresses there way out of her price range, so she didn't try any of them on. We "missed" THE dress on the first salon visit, but the second time she tried on the least expensive dress in the store and it was the one.

    As others mention, don't forget to add shoes, undergarments, headpiece/veil, etc. Those do add up. And alterations could easily be $250 or more. Don't let a pushy saleswoman show you dresses out of your price range.
  • I would also start looking at lower priced dresses- who knows, you might find one you love for $500! If you don't find one you like at that price, then move up. I think that if you set yourself up for only a 2k dress will look good, that's how you'll view the dresses. But that's just a suggestion! Good luck and have fun!
  • I actually just picked out my dress last Friday:)))  There are so many designers out there that still have all the wow factors depending on what that means to you.
    Casablanca, Alfred Angelo, my dress is a Maggie Sottero but I found they ranged from $550 - $1500.  Yes there were $2500 dresses that caught my eye but when it was all said and done I found my WOW dress for way less.
    Good Luck!Laughing
  • In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_say-yes-cheap-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:15Discussion:583c55eb-14a7-4b84-b7ee-fcbd1be02e45Post:46c8cf8b-bb17-4be2-ab67-c6b3501f3785">Re: Say yes to the cheap dress?</a>:
    [QUOTE]most girls on here would kill to have 2k to spend on a dress. Just some food for thought.
    Posted by mmort06[/QUOTE]

    No kidding!!! My dress cost $75 before tax/shipping from David's Bridal. I absolutely love it, it looks gorgeous.
    $2,000 just for the dress though? That's only a little less than my entire budget! You don't have to spend a lot of money to make your wedding/reception beautiful and memorable. If you have the money, sure go ahead, but in the long run I think it's more worthwhile to save the extra money for other important things in your life.
  • You have to check out Maggie Sottero. I didn't end up with one, but I probably tried on 10 or 15 of them and not one of them was over $1500. They are so beautiful, we were shocked when we saw the prices. I tried on one (Rhianna Royal) and it was so detailed it looked like it should have cost thousands! My parents paid for my dress, and they set a budget of $2000. I thought that it might be hard to stay within budget, but it was not hard at all. I went to some very fancy salons, and tried on about 30 dresses total, and only one or two were over my budget (and not by much!) Definitely check out her website, www.maggiesottero.com.
  • Wow!  I cannot imagine spending $2000 on a dress...after watching a few episodes of "say yes to the dress"  I knew I was in for a price shock. and planned $1000 for a dress  I've tried on a few, and yes, I've seen some $1200 $1300 dresses.  But the ones that I've loved so far (I've got a year and 1/2 to go, the nearest bridal shop is 1 hr. away, so I'm going to wiat for a bit, but look at and try on as many as I can between now and then.) are in the $700 - $800 range.  Letting me know, I was right on!  Not to mention, I figure I shouldn't budget anymore than what can be handled in one paycheck.  I mean, let's face it... the morgage doesn't wait for you to get married.  The bank doesn't say... get married and we'll wait for you to come back!  Cool  That being said, Find a dress you fall in love with.  If it's pretty close to your budget.... then that's awesome.  If not... then what else are you willing to sacrifice in order to get it?
  • I 00% agree with the posts recommending Pronovias.  My wedding gown is Mercadal by Pronovias, just under $2,000, and absolutely amazing.  All of my vendors, when shown the picture, have had nothing but positive compliments about how gorgeous it is.  It is high quality fabric and a designer label, certainly nothing cheap-looking about it. And I don't know if this helps, but I've seen that a good rule of thumb is spending about 10% of your budget on the dress, my budget was 20-25,000, so this is what i went by.  Good luck to you and have fun dress shopping!

    Photobucket OMG...I'm MARRIED! :)
  • My dress cost me $900. I would have been willing to pay more for it if I had to, but the entire thing is not lacking in detail at all. I didn't get it on clearance or find a sale, I purchased from the dress shop's 'private' line. The entire thing from my neck to my knees is done in lace, and the bottom has a very unique fan fold fabric underlay. I think it's all in where you look for your dress. I was very adamant about wanting to by from a small shop, not a big commercial place and in the end I think it worked out for me. I think you should find the dress that you love and work out the details of cost later... you may be surprised at how little your dress ends up costing you!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • If you have the time, why not look at multiple stores with the under 2K budget and if you find something you love, great, if not, go back and try again with the larger budget since that is an option.

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