monique lhuillier

I have not bought my dress yet but I'm looking at Kenneth Poole and Paloma Blanaca dresses which are on the pricey side $3000 and up. There is a HUGE difference in the look and material of more expensive dresses (in my opinion). If you put a dress say that's $300 next to a $2,000 you will see a huge difference with the way it fits, photographs and looks! We usually get married once might as well go all out!!!

I compare everything to a cruise.... (or vacation of your choice)

Would you rather have a dress or a 7 day cruise upgraded balcony suite...

floral centerpieces that will die and be seen for 4 hours - or - a honeymoon

Yes, I agree with Hayley. Heck I'm not even planning on wearing a dress, instead wearing clothes I already have. And I saw a white dress at Goodwill yesterday for $20 & some other dresses at my local flea market for $20 and thought "Hmmm.....". Heck they even had an actual wedding dress at my local Goodwill for $100!

My dress was $3400. It was gorgeous raw silk and it was the only that said "pick me!!!" lol However, now I wish I hadn't spent so much money on a dress for one freakin day.

Katie is correct . . . couture / designer dresses are of a completely different quality from the design to the fabric to the fit to the craftsmanship.... not to say that a less expensive dress is not good quality - - i am just saying - completely different level.

i happen to have some personal knowledge of monique lhuillier - as she is a client of ours, and i can tell you that every dress is literally handmade. the fabrics are highly allocated and of course - when you are buying designer you are also buying the name.

my dress is vera wang - and i can tell you it is absolutely unbelievably amazing. i am so totally in love with it!!!. i definitely "had a moment" when i put this one on - and i just knew, this was the dress i would get married in.

every bride is different and priorities and circumstances are different... in the end is about what makes you feel beautiful that is also attainable. so many brides and so many gorgeous gowns... )

It depends on who is paying for it. If you're not paying for it then why not by a $3000 dress. Since we are paying everything, I chose to buy a dress that was within my price range. I also think girls get tied up in the name of a brand so they wont try on a dress of "lesser quality". You will find that just because its expensive doesn't mean it looks good on you. I see it all the time on say yes to the dress, girls that spend so much money on a dress they are going to wear for a few hours and it looks awful on them. Really, how many people are you going to go running around telling them who made your dress. BUT, like I said it depends if it is not going to set you back to buy this dress.

I spent about about $1700(which isn't a ton in compared to a monique lhuillier) on my dress and it is now sitting on the hanger in the bag waiting for me to bring it to the cleaner to have it preserved (which is going to cost me more $&dollar It honestly gets in my way every morning. I loved my dress and I also know I rocked it and looked hawt! I am sure if I was more of a bargin shopper I would have found a beautiful dress for less and still looked amazing! I think it is a decision each bride has to make and it also depends on your budget.

I think it probably depends on your overall budget and how much money you have to throw around. A super expensive designer dress will probably look it-at least to those know who fashion. However, there are still lots of more inexpensive gown that still look fantastic.

frankly, if its normal for you to chuck away a thousand or two on random purchases without needing a lot of forthought or have saved because you want a huge big budget wedding, then you might appreciate spending the money for the designer dress. If you are more of a penny pincher and struggling to find money to spend for your wedding ingeneral, my guess is, in the end youll wish you had spent the money on better food, decor, better venue, honeymoon, etc

I would like to say everyone is different. I have heard many people for a lack of a better term, condemn women who spend more money on their gowns. I have been in and been to many weddings where they spent money on the dress and it was totally fabulous and everyone was drooling over it, and have friends who didn't spend the bucks and yielded the same affect. I get where many are coming from.

As for me, I spent money on my dress but it doesn't mean that I just throw money around like some may say. In my culture, the dress is one of the most important details of the wedding and someone's personal decision to spend whatever they choose shouldn't be frowned upon in my opinion. My dress was worth every penny and I have no regrets.

But yes, to answer your question Michelle there is a big difference in the quality of material, construction, fit etc. But no matter what you spend on your dress your gonna look beautiful.

@ Katie R. I totally agree with you, the quality of the dresses are much better ob designers such as Monique. I habe always loved Phina Tornai's gowns but her gowns are very expensive. It depends on your budget, some people settle for gowns that look cheap but you can honestly find non top designer gowns that are pretty but the quality is very different; you only habe one day to be a princess so if you have it go ahead and tray yourself. My mom is purchasing my gown and she hs very expensive taste. But we were lucky to find two beautiful Kenneth Poole dresses that both were gorgeous but very different in their own way that were originally over $6000.00 for only $2200.00 and $2500.00! Don't settle; and don't rush into a gown because had I done that and got what everyone else wanted me to geti would've missed out on those deals!

My dress is an Oleg Cassini, which isn't super expensive. The regular price is about $1,100. Anyways, as I was searching for a dress, and I searched alot of different places (without payiing much attention to price), that is the dress that stayed on my mind no matter what I compared it to. Imo, no dress even comes close in comparison to the one I picked. I do agree that the more expensive dresses are obviously made with better quality materials and whatever else. Whether you fall in love with a $3,000 dress or a $400 dress, go for it. Everyone has different taste and all that really matters is that you love the dress that you get. Just don't go broke over it. In the end, though, I doubt anyone at the wedding will know what brand your dress is unless you tell them.

My dress was $4K and I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world! Do sometimes say "you probably shouldn't have spent that"? heck yes! But if I could do it again, would I pick something different? heck no! For me this is a once in a lifetime thing!

This is the only time in your life when it will be acceptable to spend that much on a dress. Unless of course you win the lottery or somehow else become filthy rich and always buy couture.

Hayley....You go girl! That is exactly how I measure things. I am the travel junkie.

@Michelle....Everyone has different priorities. If a dress is one of them, than go for it. I never judge a bride who chose to spend $3K or more on a dress as everyone's is different. Obviously, one gets what one pays for.

As a wedding guest, the only time I have an opinion is if the bride skimps on areas of being a good hostess so she can fit that dress into her budget. But everyone knows that I am a serious flag waver on the issues of open bar/beer/wine bar.

@Brandi...My dress was an Oleg Cassini for the first wedding in 1982. It was a lovely victorian style with no train. I wore a wreath of flowers in my hair.

Thank Ladies! i went into this thinking i was going to buy a dress for like 500 bucks...whelp turns out that is not going to happen. i never knew what a realistic price was because i never dress shopped before.

now im thinking that 1300 is not bad for a dress...

i have fell in love with this dress by allure Bridal. the first thing i asked was how much..lol

im not cheap just frugal..

i may be getting this one!!!

My dress was only $1200 and as Haley put it, I rather chose to have a 2 week honeymoon on a beautiful cruise with a balcony suite and our very own butler. We were VIP and were spoiled the whole time. So worth the money!

Oh Michelle...that gown is gorgeous!

I will be buying my daughter's gown. I spent $500 for a Holy Communion dress in 1993(It was so Lady Di fg dress.) It was raw silk. I am all about quality, but she has a budget, and it is less than $3K.

@Michelle: not only is that dress absolutely gorgeous, we are date twins. yay

Thanks carole!

amee! we are date twins! thats awesome!

are you trying to get as much done as possible since we have a good amount of time left?

im trying, just makes me wish it was sooner!

I agree with posters who said it all depends on your budget and circumstances. I agree no one should judge because you spent 4K, just as we wouldn't judge anyone on here who spent $100 on their dress.

I bought my own dress, it's hanging in the closet. I loved it on the day, but after the wedding your priorities change a little. I could have 2 pairs of louboutins instead