Wedding Dress Price Range?

View Quoted Comment Pinterest, Instagram or just a google search is how I got started. Some times on a designers site there’s a button that can help you find a shop with a specific dress if you find one you like.
If you find a designer you particularly like try and go to one of their trunk shows. The shop will carry more of those dresses and often time offer a discount.

My dress is $1,900. Budget i was aiming for was $1,500, but I looove it and am paying for it myself so I went for it 😁 If someone else was paying, I would have stuck more to the budget when trying things on.

I set a budget for $500 and I ended up spending $650.

I set a budget of $4k with alterations and found a dress for $3,1 + tax + alterations. Keep in mind, the store may ask you to put half down for deposit, and the final payment will be at pick-up/ first alteration fitting (months later). When you call to book an initial appointment with a bridal shop tell the store your price range, and ask them if this matches the inventory in the store so you have enough options.

If totally open style-wise, try looking at dresses on pinterest, brides.com, etc. Some dressmaker websites also have filter options for easy sorting. Try to copy some pictures of dress styles or even pics of your venue for your appt. With your stylist's help, you will probably try on 3-6 dresses, and through process of elimination find what you like. They do not expect you to buy on your first appt.

I wish I waited on finding options for veils, as those are unbelievably expensive. Some have to be ordered and may take the same shipping time as your gown. My mother bought my veil. But a part of me wishes I just asked a friend for hers. Last, leave room in your budget for shoes and accessories, and don't forget your partner has his/her own attire also.

Best wishes, Bride!

I budgeted 2.5K for dress/shoes/accessories and I believe with alterations I should come in right under budget. Had I not gotten sucked into the excitement and bought a veil at the salon too, I probably would have come in more under budget. We’ll see how much alterations cost.

I had budgeted 1000 to 1200 for dress and accessories. I forgot to budget for alterations.

I ended up spending 700 for my dress (plus tax), 10 for shoes, roughly 250 for accessories (veil, sash, hairpiece) and 300 for alterations.

I'm allowing $1,200 for my dress, but my fiance told me I don't have a limit. I really hope I can find one in my desired range. I told him I'm willing to go up to $3,000, but don't really want to.

Hi there!

It looks like I may be the oddball on here lol! But my budget was $500. With alterations, I hit it right in the spot! I would say yes to my dress 1000x's over! It's a beautiful simple satin trumpet style with a sweetheart neckline with buttons that go all along the back to the end of the train.. needless to say, I'm in love with it! I honestly could not believe it was only $449! I personally couldn't imagine spending more than that on a wedding dress especially when there are SO many gorgeous gowns out there within that price range. At the end of the day it's ultimately your choice on how much to spend.... also keeping what you can realistically afford without it being a financial burden is crucial! Everyone is in different finanical situations so it's a bit hard to ask others how much to spend on a wedding dress.

Also, keep in mind alterations. Most dresses need alterations, the more intricate the dress(ex: layers, lace, beading etc.) the more alteration cost will be, I feel many get so wrapped up in needing to have a dress that is expensive (when it doesn't have to be) I've read many posts with brides saying they had purchased a dress at the top of their budget (if not over) with not taking the cost of alterations in consideration and get an even greater sticker shock-needless to say there are many regrets with those posts.

Goodluck to you!

Sam

It depends on the look you're going for. My original budget was $500 and I could've bought a dress in that range. But I didn't want lace, tulle, etc. And long sleeves that weren't sheer or lace. So I ended up spending $1500 on my dress but got everything I envisioned and so much more!

View Quoted Comment That’s a big win for you! I’m probably around the same price for in US I don’t know the price difference tho

View Quoted Comment Very good to know - I know none of this right now 🙈. Thank you !

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If you go to a bridal shop, when they ask you your budget you can specify your total budget including alterations, and you can ask them if they do alterations in house or not. Regardless, they should generally have a ballpark idea of what the specific alterations you want will cost, so they can usually factor that in when showing you dresses within your budget. If you don't mention your total cost sometimes they will show you dresses all the way up to whatever dollar amount you specify, and then doing alterations on top of that will put you over budget.

Also don't forget to calculate in sales tax if it exists for clothing or luxury goods wherever you are purchasing. My state is tax free, so I sometimes forget how much tax can add on to the total cost, especially of an expensive item.

If you are looking to spend less money, I would consider Lulu's, ASOS, or BHLDN for new, low cost, decent quality wedding dresses. You can find dresses in the $80-$300 range pretty easily through those retailers (and can order online). BHLDN also has more expensive dresses but I think the prices are still super reasonable. I would also recommend consignment/resale sites if having a brand new dress is less of a priority - you can save a ton of money buying a dress that has only been worn once. My favorite is StillWhite, but Preownedweddingdresses.com, Poshmark, Mercari, and Tradesy are good options too. SW and POWD are both wedding dress only sites, but Posh, Mercari, and Tradesy are general clothing consignment sites and have a bit of everything. From time to time you can also find new, unworn dresses on those sites as well. Even if you do decide to purchase online, I would recommend going to a bridal boutique to try on some dresses to get a better sense of the styles you like, how different silhouettes fit you, materials, etc. It's a fun experience and will help you narrow down your options more than just window shopping!

My budget was 1k. I fell in love with a 3k dress, which I couldn't bring myself to do. So I lucked out and found it on Stillwhite (second hand - with tags still on it) for $1,100.

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It was! I decided to give myself a bit of room in case I fell in love with a really heavily embellished dress covered in 3D flowers and whatnot, which I knew would be a lot more expensive, but I ended up going with something a lot more simple which had always been my dream dress, so it cost a bit less

My budget was $2000 for the dress itself but most of the dresses I found and loved were about $1599 USD. I also liked a few that were beautiful and a super on sale at like $600 at boutique shop.

The budget I set for my dress was $2,500-$3,000, I got super lucky to where my dress was was on sale for $2,500 when it was originally $4,000. Alterations cost a little over $500.

My all in budget for attire was $2k. I went to one bridal boutique and found a dress I loved, which was $2,300 new. I ended up purchasing basically the same dress from another bride on StillWhite less than 1/2 of that. Alterations will be $500. I bought a simple veil for $40 on Etsy, and I'm wearing nude heels that I already owned and are broken in. With the money I saved with buying a dress on consignment, I decided to splurge on my jewelry, by renting real diamond earrings for a rental fee of $525

When I thought I'd be buying it myself, I was gonna spend like $300 for a dress that wasn't a wedding dress. Then my aunt and uncle offered to pay and were willing to put up 1k. Ever the smart shopped, I promised I'd find something for under $800 and I found a dress online for about 600 which would be made to my measurements. Haven't received it yet so hoping my penny pinching pays off x_x

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OMG SO LUCKY!!

I intended to cap it at $1200, but the one I love is $1800 without alterations so... I blew that budget a bit 🙈