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Wise brides have budgets for buying their wedding dress. Often brides end up spending more for their wedding dress than they intended. The industry is geared to make it happen. In a shop filled with wedding dresses between $800 and $5,000, a $2,000 price tag can look like a bargain. Determine your budget before you set foot in a bridal shop and stick to it.
What to expect in your range:
$500 and under. Brides with small budgets have more options than you might imagine. Outlets and discount houses are obvious sources of low-budget bridal wear. Brides low on funds but high on ingenuity troll vintage shops and online mail-order sources for bridal bargains. And non-traditionalists often find that a few hundred dollars buys a knockout evening gown that's better made than bridal wear at twice the price.
$500 to $1,500. The zone where what you get for your dollar varies most, depending on where you buy. At mainstream retail shops, brides will find many designer labels for under $800, usually in good-quality synthetics. Above that threshold, most wedding dresses are made of silk. Popular heavy silk satins commonly command $1,000. Discount outlets and mail-order houses frequently sell the same styles for 20 to 30 percent less. Another excellent option: custom-made bridal wear. Most brides don't realize that independent couturiers can design a one-of-a-kind, made-to-measure wedding dress for less than designer gowns of similar or inferior fabrics and quality. Why? No advertising, no middleman.
$1,500 and up. Wedding dresses this costly should be made of excellent fabrics, drape beautifully and exhibit carefully finished seams and handwork. Retail shops offer countless designer gowns in this range, but unless you crave labels, it makes more sense to have a dress custom made for you. You'll get more for your money. Full service bridal shops usually offer custom gown design. Independent couturiers - often artists of supreme skill - are an even better bet.
Three low-budget tips:
1. Embellish an off-the-rack dress. Hire a seamstress to add trimmings, or do it yourself.
2. Wear something borrowed. Have your mother's, grandma's, sister's or aunt's dress fitted to you.
3. Order a designer bridesmaid gown in ivory or white. | |
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