How much is "too much" for the dress??

I dislike the only one day line of thinking. Lets say you have a t-shirt you wear to the gym 3 days a week, 52 weeks a year. So this t-shirt you wear 156 times in a year should you spend $800 because you wear it so much? Will you hire a photographer to take pictures of you in the t-shirt? Will you display pictures of you in the t-shirt in your home? Will your kids want to dress up in Mommy gym t-shirt?

Your wedding dress is important part of your wedding experience. If you have the cash it is ok to splurge! Do not feel guilty because you want to wear a pretty dress on your wedding day that you have the money to pay for.

I went over budget for my dress. My budget was $1,000 with alterations and I ended up paying $1,400 without alterations. I am also changing it into a sweetheart neckline so I'm assuming total including alterations will be around $1,800-$1,900. And I think it will be worth every dime. I offset the cost by taking from my floral budget. I'm going to DIY the centerpieces which will save me around $1,000. If you can find other places to cut I would do it. I guess it depends on where your priorities are. For me the dress was worth cutting other places.

Did the dress at the salon fit? ask them if you can buy the sample at a cheaper price.

I think it depends on your overall budget, not the dress budget itself. What are you willing to cut so you can have it? You might decide it's not worth it.

My budget for my dress was $1200, including alterations. The dress I fell in love with was $1250 before alterations. Because my dress is a gift from my father, it was up to him whether or not I could go for it. Since my wedding is so far off, we are able to make payments so he allowed me to do it. Like everyone else said, it all depends on your financial situation. If you can do it, then go for it. I have also seen dresses very similar to that one by other designers. Maybe price around and find something similar?

Have you looked on once wed or other resale shops?

The bustle can be a very pricey alteration. DB is not a horror story everywhere, though they are overpriced with alterations and you could easily find a seamstress for less.

It's a huge over expense, and only you and your fiance can decide if that extra $500 plus bustle is really worth it.

This problem isn't about the dollar amount cause everyone has an opinion as to what they think is too much....

@Jessie Lyn put it best when the math was done..63% over your budget. I agree cause I am a numbers person and if I had a an amount I wanted to spend and then someone told me it would be 63% higher I would have choked. regardless if it was $500 or $5,000...it's still 63% higher.

I went through that with my flowers and it being Mother's Day weekend...30% higher then budgeted. So I changed my plan cause I personally wasn't comfortable with paying an extra 30% even though I could afford it.

So if you are fine with the 63% increase then that is all you need to know. But yeah... don't skimp on the food...or alcohol...or dancing...LOL

Do you have an extra $500 to spend? Is the dress more important to you than other upgrades to your wedding or HM, or something that costs $500 in your non-wedding real life? If the answers are yes, then it's not too much.

If you can't come up with $500 without charging it, cutting something essential for your guests or digging into your savings, or if you think about what $500 could buy on your HM or for your house and that seems more important than the dress, then yes it's too much.

Another thing to remember is that all brides should have some cushion in their budget for last minute expenses, IMO. Unexpected charges crop up. Taxes, gratuities, fees add up to more than you think. You might forget something and have to go out and buy it last minute, paying more than you would have if you'd planned ahead. Nobody's perfect. Stuff happens. You need a cushion for those last minute things. If you're spending your cushion on the dress upgrade, then I would also say it's too much.

I actually just went through this same thing. I fell in love with the very first one I tried on. It was absolutely stunning, perfect, just what I always dreamed of. But I chalked it up to it being the first ever wedding dress thing and went about my day. I ended up buying a dress from David's bridal for $800. I loved it but I couldn't stop thinking about that first dress, and I couldn't bring myself to delete the picture of me in it from my phone. I talked to my fiancé, and he told me to go get the first dress because he could tell how much I loved it. It was $1300, so about $300 over budget without alterations. But it's so worth it to me. My mom can do alterations for me, so hopefully I won't need to spend too much extra. Honestly, though, I literally could not stop thinking about that first dress. I feel so much better now that I have it! Honestly, if you're in the same position, just go with your heart and get the dress. You'll be looking at the pictures for the rest of your life, and your children will, and your grandchildren, and so on.

David's Bridal was great about the situation, btw. I explained everything to them and they're giving me store credit in the amount of my original dress. That should perfectly cover MOH, BM and FG dresses. Phew!