Has anyone negotiated their wedding dress price

Bridal shops will negotiate with you. I told my bridal shop I had a specific budget in mind and wouldn't go over that. When I found the dress I wanted...the price tag was almost double what I wanted to spend...needless to say, I walked out of the shop with my dress AND at the price I wanted it.

Bridal Boutiques jack up prices...if you're willing to take the sample gown, you'll get a much better deal and have a better time negotiating the price down

I dont know if I negotiated very much since they already had a 10% off sale in Sept but when they suggested to an extra dsicount to buy the dress off the floor (fit perfectly and was never tried on previously) I made sure they didnt forget to take the discount off the dress.

We didn't so much negotiate as we got our boutique to price match with a store that was 45 minutes away. It saved us about $200 off the dress and our maids about $50/dress.

I bought my dress at a boutique and I negotiated the price as well as # of cleanings.

Thanks! Just seems to me that anything that has the words Bridal or Wedding are super expensive. And since this is our special day and every single item has an emotional tie to it everything seems to carry ridiculous mark ups. I'm appalled that candles with packaging that says Wedding cost 5x's more than the same candle that is packaged for regular old retail use. I'm trying very hard to keep my purchases "unemotional" and remember that at the end of the day it's a business transaction for the seller and that many try to capitolize on my emotions for their financial benefit. My wedding budget is 30k but my plan is to actually have a 55k wedding at the 30k price. So far I'm on track. I just bought 200 votives w/ candles for $20, 500 yards of unused tulle for $5 bucks, 12 pew bows for $10, and a nice bird cage for $5 bucks - all off craigslist. The dress is killing me though - the dress I really like is about 3500 and I can't bring myself to spend that amount

They have trunk shows, or sample sales. You still have time to try to use those.

I didn't negotiate the price of the dress, but I bought mine off the rack so it was acceptable price.

I'm interested in this topic as well. I have found a dress online that I have absolutely fell in love with. It is beautiful, elegant, intricate... without being over the top, everything I want in a gown. It also turns out that I'm pretty sure due to my research online that it is about 500 dollars over my budget that I have set for myself.

My top pick bridal shop that I am visiting in a couple weeks when my mom comes up here has confirmed that they have a sample of the model that I want (or samples? i dunno) for me to try on (though I'm not sure what size), and I have kinda been hoping that they would have a sample closest to my size and I could maybe cut a deal by buying the sample instead. About how much of a discount could you expect from buying the sample rather than ordering your own?

FutureMrsOhler, stores usually only have one sample of each dress. They typically have them in a size that they think that the majority of customers will be able to fit into (size 12-14). For smaller girls, they fasten the dress up so that they can get an idea of what it would look like in their size. I have no idea what kind of discount you could get on buying a sample.

I didn't negotiate the price of my dress, but I did get it discounted. When I first went into the salon, I told the saleswoman that I had seen one of their dresses at a wedding expo and that I would like to try it on (I didn't like it). I tried on a ton of other dresses, and wound up being torn between two of them. When I asked for the prices, the saleswoman told me that one was $600 more than the other, but that she would give me a 15% discount on any dress for having had gone to the bridal expo. I wound up choosing the less expensive dress, and getting 15% off of that one.

My dress was under my budget, on sale, and included free shoes, so I didn't negotiate. Although even if it hadn't been such a good deal, I'm not sure if I would have been comfortable enough to negotiate it anyway.

Thanks - anything else you've negotiated? I'm considering a wedding planner who says she can either get prices reduced or have them throw free stuff in on just about every vendor we'll need. She says do not buy a dress or sign a contract without her reviewing and talking to them first.

With tax, my dress was $400 over my budget and I was going to have to pay an extra $200 because I'm short and the dress had a bottom that couldn't just be trimmed, they had to specially-make it from scratch. My mom said she could help out with $250, but I was still not sure I wanted to go so far over budget. The dress store said that they'd cover the $200 extra fee for the length and that did it for me. I could justify the extra $150 over budget for my dream dress.

Oh, and I have to admit - I didn't ask for a discount. I was just obviously uncomfortable with going so much over my budget and I think they could tell. They also could probably tell that I loved the dress and didn't want to lose it.

Yes, you should let the salesperson know that you love the dress, but the price is an issue. In my case, I just asked "Do you offer any discounts?" They said yes, and offered 10% off, which I took. It's worth asking for, plain and simple.

Wow, this is so new to me. I can't help but compare it to walking it Macys and asking for 10% off, in which case without a coupon or something they're going to laugh in your face.

My consultant asked my price range before I even started picking out dresses. I told her $500, my sister chimed in and said up to $1,000, my aunt then said unlimited lol when I found the dress, even though it was for $850, she snuck me a note that her manager would give it to me for $675. Closer to $500 than 1k!

A bridal shop as costs to run, just any other business. The samples you are trying on are not free. Every dress has been purchased. Not every style that we buy sells. Some never get many try ons or repeat sales, and those dresses are a loss. Dresses are discontinued at random by the manufacturer and we can no longer take orders from them so they become dead weight. The cost of running a bridal salon is staggering. The usual mark up on a wedding gown is less than an article of clothing that you buy at Kohls or Target, unless you are shopping at David's or Alfred Angelo. There you are buying directly to the manufacturer. There is no manufacturer, to wholesale to retail.

It is strictly the manufacturer making all the profit. David's makes a huge mark up from its inventory.

Most bridal salons are small businesses, not large corporations like Kleinfelds or Lori's Bridals as you have seen on "Say Yes To the Dress". Many owners don't even take much of their own salary. We are

That crazy about what we do.

Altering dresses is an art. Finding seamstresses to do the fine work is getting harder and harder. It takes a lot of talent to alter a gown and have it look like it has never been touched. Most of the work is done by hand and takes a lot of skill.

Many shops will offer incentives when new styles are coming in. Samples will go on sale, discontinued gowns will go on sale. If you are looking for a bagain, ask to see the gowns that are discontinued. Please be nice about it, and don't assume that the shop is going to be there to rip you off. We are there because we love this kind of work, the creativity, and love weddings. That is why many of us have been in this field most of our working lives. It certainly isn't for the money.

Jamie T. - when I go into Macy's, Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor's I ALWAYS ask for a discount even when I have the coupon. If the cashier says no then I ask for a Manager - and in my most polite super sweet way explain that I am a frequent shopper and was wondering if you could reward me for my time spent here today with a 10% bonus and I'll be happy to mention you by name when I fill out my customer survey online. Most of the time it works but you have to be super duper nice about it.When I'm at Kohl's I'm even more tenacious and will ask the manager when is this item going on sale or clearance if it's within a few days I'll ask to have that price now - then I use my 30% off coupon or Kohl's Cash and call my mom to brag LOL I have to negotiate everything otherwise I don't buy it -I can't imagine buying anything for what the price tags says - house, car, groceries, clothes and now my entire wedding too! Don't worry Damselfly I won't be makin' the 9 hour trip from Philly to Eerie :-)

When I found my dress it was $325 over my budget after telling my mom this in front of the sales lady she told me she'd be right back. While she was gone my mom told me not to worry about the extra that she'd pay for it (we're paying for the whole wedding ourselves). When the lady came back she told me her manager approved free shoes, free veil and $50 off towards a head piece. I didn't even ask for it but heck I have to problem taking it!

Thanks for all the help ladies - going to two salons today to start the dress process :-) Really looking forward to it