Wedding dress cost concerns from Mom

Hi, ladies...


I was discussing and showing my Mom ideas for what type, silhouettes, etc. of wedding dresses I want to try on and consider. Those who have seen my other prior dress posts know that I’m a girl that wants a dress that goes against the grain, isn’t traditional, has some unique style and edge, things like that. So far, the ballgown is my number one pick. I know I won’t know what I want “for sure” until I try dresses on but all of that aside, I need some input on cost issues. I plan to get married on the beach at a gorgeous Oceanside hotel (it’s been my dream for a long time). My parents have kindly offered to pay for the wedding and have been planning on it for a long time, even before I became engaged. My fiancé and I plan to have a very small wedding party with probably less than 50 people in attendance, so it will be very small. Still, I know that a beach wedding isn’t on the cheap side. That’s why I would like to pay for my dress myself since I don’t want to “tack on” any additional Costs for my parents even though they said they could pay for my dress. This is the issue... with the types of dresses I’ve been looking at (Hayley Paige, Pnina Tornai, etc.) And the beautiful textured/layer skirts and detailing, they aren’t going to be cheap. My mom is adamant that I keep the cost around $2000 - $4000, but I am budgeting for a gown at a higher price. The very least that I would let my parents pay for is maybe a veil and contributing to alterations costs (assuming I’ll need some). My wedding day will only happen once (hopefully lol) and I want to feel like a queen/princess on my day. It’s not like we are having a huge, extravagant wedding with a ton of guests! I also never thought the day would come where I would get married, there are a lot of emotions flying around for me. Anyways, how would you ladies handle this? I explained my points to my mom and she just said, “Well, we have time to talk about it.” My mom is also very frugal and doesn’t spend a lot on herself, so I think the fact that I would be willing to spend so much on myself is something she doesn’t understand since she doesn’t do much for herself. That part I do understand. Any thoughts? Am I wrong for wanting to “treat myself”?