Wedding dress styles

More affordable dresses will have minimal beading, lace, sequins, illusion necklines, many skirt layers, etc. These add cost to the dress and also alterations.

The various cuts/styles do not increase the price. Lower end dresses will have lots of beading to cover the sewing imperfections. Try everything on to see what is flattering. You can find simple dresses at David’s for $99 on sale all the way up to $500. Many brides are not comfortable spending a ton because you will wear it a few hours out of your entire life. Some brides don’t wear their super expensive dresses for more than 90 minutes because they change into something else. Another option is to get a bridesmaid dress in white or whichever color you want.

Use the dress finder on this app or the "shop" feature on pinterest. It'll give you a general idea of dress prices. It lets you choose a range if you want.

Honestly, the cut/style doesn't affect the price very much. I'll also say that the amount of beading doesn't make a difference either, it all depends on the designer/company and what they charge.

Sara Seven has very modern and minimal style dresses with little to no beading, and they can go for $3k+. BHLDN has dresses with a ton of beading and detailing that are varying price ranges. The store I bought my dress from has all of their dresses $1500 and under, and they are all different styles, material, beading/no beading. I purchased 2 dresses (ceremony & reception), each at $800.

It just depends on where you go, and what designer you like.

I'd go into dress shopping with a set budget in mind. I added $200 to my max budget if I REALLY loved the dress. Let your stylist know that you DO NOT want to go over your budget. The last thing you want is for them to put you in a dress that you love, but is way out of your price range.

Hi there!

The more cheaper styles would be minimal beading/ minimal lace/minimal sequins. I went to davids bridal and they had a TON of options with all sorts of price ranges. My budget was $500. I personally couldn't image spending more on that for dress being worn for a day.

It 100% depends on the designer/fabric/ how intricate the dress is. I purchased a beautiful Mikado Trumpet gown for $449. This was a David's Bridal design and to be honest Im SO incredibly impressed with the quality.. It looks like a high end designer made it.

I would keep your options open and go in with a open mind. I honestly didnt think I would like the dress i chose as much as I did! It fit me like a glove when I tried it on! I completely fell in love with the simple yet elegant trumpet style dress!

Goodluck to you!

My original budget was $500 but after realizing that I wanted a very specific dress that I didn't have to make from scratch, things go interesting. I was able to find the perfect dress for me for $1500. I wasn't thrilled at that price but it's my wedding dress that I'm marrying the love of my life in! I also plan on wearing it for our 5 year anniversary vow renewal.

Agree with the others that set a budget first, and then look for shops that meet that budget. I spent 2k on my dress, and it was one of the cheaper options at the shop I went to, and I wish I had found a shop with more options below that. Best of luck in your search!

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Thanks for the info!

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There's no David's Bridal here in Puerto Rico and they don't ship unfortunately. Hopefully I find some affordable options at the boutiques here. Thank you!

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Will definitely inform them of my budget and max limit, thanks!

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Using the dress for the vow renewal is a great idea!

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Thank you!

View Quoted Comment The trick is to still be able to fit into it haha!

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You're welcome!! Just stick to it as well because I have some friends that told me their consultant put them in dresses way out of their budget that they loved, and it sucked because they couldn't afford it!

I don’t know what your budget is, but my dress is by Essence of Australia. It has tons of lace and beading and was $2100. Good luck!

I think it depends a lot on the details, but I will say - consider the cost of alterations when you figure out your budget. Not just hemming, etc. but if you know a seamstress (or if the store has an on-site seamstress), I would check with them before purchasing. I think I'm going to end up paying more for alterations than the dress itself because the structure of the skirt was NOT conducive to bustling and there are a lot of details that she has to do by hand.