How much is too much to spend on a wedding dress?

Also yes look more at local boutiques that’s what helped me!

Check your local area for previously owned bridal gown shops, non-profits, or outlets! I got my dress at a shop that only sells donated gowns, and all proceeds go towards breast cancer research. I ended up getting a $5000 Hayley Paige dress for under $1000 $2000 is definitely doable!

Being a plus-size bride who loves glitz, I just assumed I wouldn't find anything for 3000 before alteration. I was wrong I found lovely gowns in the 1900 to 2000 price range that had all the beading I wanted but I fell in love with a dress in the 2500 price range but it gave me the waterworks and I love it so I bought it. I went in with a goal of staying under 3000 before alteration and had plenty of wiggle room. when you go dress shopping don't tell them your max tell them 500 less than your max so when they bring you a dress 200 more than your max you can still afford it. I told them my max was 2000 when I was willing to spend 3000 came out in the middle. GOOD LUCK

There are plenty of dresses for under $2000. Check out Stillwhite, a lot of women are selling brand new dresses for a fraction of the cost.
Personally I didn’t want to spend over $500 including alterations. My dress was new with tags for $115 on Poshmark and I had a custom train designed for It for $350. Alterations to my dress are minor as I’ll only need It hemmed and the straps taken in a little.
I avoided going the traditional bridal salon route as I didn’t want to fall in love with something way out of my league.

I'm another Casablanca bride. My dress was a little over $1,000 with tax and a customization I did, and I paid $200 in alterations for bustle and shortening the straps.



A nice thing about Casablanca is they make the skirt to your exact height so if you know the shoes you want, hemming shouldn't be a problem.

I went into dress shopping without a budget in mind (probably not the best idea in hindsight, but this story has a happy ending!).

I went to three different bridal shops, each at a little bit different price point. I really loved Suzanne Neville dresses online and one shop had several of those. I absolutely LOVED a dress there that was about $5,000 pre alterations. The staff was great and we had an excellent experience. I though there was no way another dress could top that.

At the final shop of the day, there was a Stella York dress that was very similar to the Suzanne Neville dress that I really, really liked. My mom looked at the price tag -- $1,400, a fraction of the price of the other dress. The boutique wasn't as fancy as the first one, but the consultant who was helping me was incredible. She gave me lots of straightforward advice about pros and cons of each dress and walked me through roughly how much I'd pay in alterations, about $700.

At the end of the day, even though I liked the more expensive dress slightly better, I didn't like it 3x as much to justify the much higher price tag.

I just had my first fitting and am so happy I went with that dress. It's also allowed me to host a much nicer bachelorette party. (The dress I chose also has leaf appliques, btw!)

This is all to say that there are dream dresses at every pricepoint and let your consultant know what you can and can't spend and they'll help you find what works best for you. Good luck!

I won't spend more than $500 on my dress. I'm looking to find used or otherwise discounted dresses, as well as buying a color other than white.

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These are gorgeous and thank you for sharing!! I was also struggling with the same question! LOVE IT!

View Quoted Comment So glad you like them! I specifically looked for leafy details based on Christa’s description, let me know if there’s something specific you’re looking for!

I think it all depends on where you live and the design of the dress you want. The dress I fell in love with was on sale for $440 and I was able to get and 10% off. I think with tax my dress was around $404 total. I looked about 10 months after I bought my dress and the price had just about doubled.


Also, when you have alterations done….remember you don’t HAVE to go to the bridal store to have them done. I’m taking my dress to the same place my best friend took her wedding dress and my mom took her mother of the bride dress. Just Google wedding dress alterations or check thumbtack?

That's something you will ask yourself continuously until you find your dress. You'll tell yourself you don't want to spend more than this amount, but then you'll find one that puts you over. Originally I had this crazy idea that I wanted to keep mine under $500, but that puts a big limit on things. I then changed my new limit to $1,000. My final cost for The Dress was $925, and that was its sale price. I don't remember its original cost, but I know i would have made an exception for it. You'll know what's right for you when you find it, and if it costs a little more than you planned, then know it will be worth every penny.