How important is it to LOVE your wedding dress?

[AliceAliceAlice84]

Looking at wedding dresses, seen a Ghost one I really like for £250, it's flattering and does the job. I really like it.

Have also been to a couple of proper bridal shops and tried on some dresses between the £1000-£2000 mark . They are nicer than the Ghost dress, but as a naturally frugal person I struggle with the idea of spending that much on a dress. I could afford it without getting into debt, but I'm not so wealthy that £2000 is small change, and £2000 would definitely come in useful elsewhere in the future, ie if we have kids and I go on maternity leave £2000 would be a nice little fund for me.

WWYD?

Not that important at all IMO.

I bought the first dress I tried - I never had the 'Cinderella' moment of thinking 'wow' and going all teary eyed when I tried it on (but maybe that only happens in crappy rom-coms anyway) but I did really like it and knew it was the right dress for me.

I did feel teary eyed and think 'wow' about the fact that I was marrying DH though - that's the important bit

I do like the Ghost one, I feel good in it. But the more expensive ones have been just that bit nicer - nicer detail etc.
Might see if I can find anything half way, say for £1000 ish

oh wow thanks for this thread!! those ghost dresses are gorgeous. think i've found my wedding dress too now

For me it wasn't ever going to be 'the dress'. Mine was under £100 High Street - it fitted me, suited my shape and I felt really comfortable wearing it - and the pictures looked great.

But the pictures looked great because there was lots of relaxed looking happy people - nothing to do with what I was wearing!

Also It wasn't acres of dress that people had to work around. I never even went near a traditional wedding shop. I'm sure I'd have found something that would have been beautiful but it would have cost so much more to then have been given to charity, sold, or be sitting in my wardrobe never having been worn again.

Go with your instincts!

I didn't love my wedding dress. I really liked it, it was the style I wanted but more importantly it cost me fifty quid on ebay. I loved wearing it on the day. I still know that it was the right choice at the time. (and I would still make exactly the same decision 10 years on)

I think it depends a lot on your personality too, I'm not one to stand out from the crowd, so I didn't want a stunning dress really, just something that would be in keeping with the occasion. Being the centre of attention was not my favourite aspect of the day. However some brides love it and I can quite see why they would want the amazing dress.

Where do you live? I got mine from Davids Bridal, big american chain that has just opened its flagship store at Westfield Stratford. Mine was £325 plus about £220 in alterations as im quite short and also needed sleeves, and I loved it. I tried on loads priced between £295-1700 (they do a range by Vera Wang) but loved mine the best. I got lots of compliments and I feel quite pleased that I didn't blow £1700 on a dress that's still hanging in my wardrobe needing drycleaned 4 weeks later.

I got mine in the sale section of a bridal shop so was a 'proper' wedding dress but cost my mum just £500.

Whatever happens, however much you decide to spend or not spend, I don't think you will want to look back on your day and regret your dress. Follow your gut and do exactly as you please - you won't get to do this again
hopefully so make sure you do it with no regrets.

For the record, I am getting married in 12 weeks. The original dress I looked at cost £1800, however I had an exact replica made for about £80. I'm really in love with the dress and I don't regret not spending the full £1800 but that's just me. You may regret not spending the £2,000.

Try lots of dresses on, different budgets. Go with your gut! Best of luck.

Where did you get the replica made?

It was ebay. Took about 2 weeks to come, made to measure. Fits like a glove and I haven't needed to have any alterations. I will check my ebay now and find the name of the seller, hold on.

I loved mine the dress I wanted cost £7200 however got a exact replica for a lot less and loved it.

I didn't even see my wedding dress finished until the day I got married (I was doing second year university exams, aunt kindly making it was in London 150 miles away)

It fitted beautifully, but some of the trim details weren't exactly what I'd have chosen. It didn't matter at all, the sun shone and everyone had a lovely day.

Most importantly 24 years and two DDs later were still together even if we have a lot of grey hairs and the photo on the book case is a bit faded.