How much did you spend on your wedding dress? Any regrets?

[flanjabelle]

As the title says.

I ask because this is my dream dress:

annacampbell.worldsecuresystems.com/dresses/spirit/madison-silk-tulle

The wedding is going to be a boho sort of ceremony abroad and I just love this dress. I am not sure I want to be spending nearly two grand on the dress though as that is the same price as the wedding package!

Did you spend a lot and find it was absolutely worth it? Or more importantly, did you spend a minimal amount on the dress and feel amazing?

Any links to cheaper alternatives for a boho kind of feel would be great. I am a size 8-10 but I have a mum tum so skin tight would not be great. Temperature is going to be about 30 so not even sure on what fabric I should be going for. Help?

About £250 I think. I could have spent more but don't think I would have enjoyed it.
My only regret is that I didn't try on more dresses-mine was the second one I tried on (the first being a £80 debenhams one!). Only because I think my mum was looking forward to a bit more of a day out than 'that one's great I'll have it'

eloped and didn't buy anything special.got married in a £10 HM dress. no regrets.

The dress you posted is beautiful, OP.

I spent a lot of money on my dress (Vera Wang) and it's sitting in a preserved box in the guest room waiting for a day for me to open it, I have no regrets. You needn't spend a lot of money, but neither should you settle for a dress you don't love.

I spent £214 as it was actually a bridesmaid dress! I got married in the desert so I needed something lightweight and would allow me to ride a camel 😆 I did however spend £850 on my shoes which were far more important to me!

I had mine made for me, £150 plus material in 1999. I would still wear it now , hasn't dated at all and I still love it.

I can't remember what I spent - under £100, it was a rush purchase, had planned to wear my jeans....I don't really love it but it was fine, I felt good and I don't regret the decision. We were wildly in love and the wedding wasn't white and churchy - more crazy and impulsive.

£500 plus alterations - it was the sample. The dress caused a vast amount of drama, mum and sister hated it, best friend loved it, I lost weight then gained it so two lots of alterations and when I had it cleaned before wearing a load of the beading came off the front! Mum painstakingly sourced new beads and repaired it, fell in love in the process. In the end I adored it, looked and felt fabulous and even mum and sister said it was perfect - phew.
It was definitely the biggest cause of stress in the entire wedding though!

£300, discounted in a sale. Because it was a red dress (Spanish designer), I have worn it again as a ballgown. Could you do that in the future, OP? Alternatively, shop around for a similar style - it reminds of the vintage dresses you can pick up from etsy and Oxfam now do wedding dresses that have literally been worn once and given away.

You do need to feel like a million pounds in your wedding dress - but it does not need to cost thousands to do so.

£9.50. 40 years ago. Laura Ashley in her hey day. Loved it then ...love it now. MIL said I looked like a pregnant bridesmaid !

I had quite a big budget but ended up falling in love with something that was about £500 more than half price in the sale of a boutique wedding shop. I loved it then and still do and got so many compliments. It was 17 years ago. It's beautiful, a classicly simple design and doesn't look dated.

I worked for a bridal salon growing up, so got a really really good deal. I wanted a dress which was discontinued, and they sold the sample to me for £200. The RRP was £1150. Tbh I would regret paying more now. I regret a lot of the money spent on our wedding!! I haven't sold it on, only because it cost so little so I want to keep it for my girls to play in when they are bigger.

The dress is beautiful. If you can afford it and you love it, go for it.

I spent £300 me not a shred of regret. The dress was very 'me' and I wish I could still fit into it

Mine was a lace dress from la refute it cost £10...

I did buy a new pair of flower dm boots to go with it

I agree Beverly

I kept mine (although not designer) in the hope dd might want it. 25 years on, even though it had not a frill, now, bauble or fuss to it, just a classic princess line gown, it looks incredibly dated. It has a train, which was unusual 25 years ago. I am 5'7" and dd is a tiny 5'3" and with the best will in the world, it wouldn't work for her.

Is it an outdoor wedding, OP? I spent £750 on my dress for my outdoor (albeit English countryside rather than foreign beach) wedding, and the dress was completely ruined. It was fithly almost up to my knees!

I wasn't bothered at all on the day as I was having way too much fun. i paid about £100 to have it professionally cleaned afterwards and the guy told me beach wedding dresses are the hardest to get clean. Mine scrubbed up pretty well but still has a grey tinge!

I think if I'd spent more money on the dress I'd have been very cautious about ruining it, which could've stopped me having quite as much fun. Something to bear in mind!

I spent over a grand on the first one, and two hundred quid on the second one, but I paid to have it adjusted which was nearly £100. Priorities had changed and sadly, the dress became the best bit about marriage one....I sold it though and recouped quite a lot of the cost. Mostly because it took up half the wardrobe!

Mine cost a couple of grand. No regrets at all. I had it made into my dd christening gown so it will hopefully now stay in the family for generations

I recently went shopping with my friend looking for her dress - she was looking for a similar style.

Jenny Packham do lots in that style but they are also expensive - she does a cheaper range for Debenhams that may be of interest. Or depending on If you are close to London Betty McCaul is a bridal outlet and had loads of that style dress when we visited (many Jenny pack man)

Ghost also had some really pretty ones.
And phase eight - www.phase-eight.com/fcp/product/phase-eight/wedding-dresses/hope-wedding-dress/202813106

Asos also have some in a Similar sort of style that would look fab on a beach -
m.asos.com/mt/www.asos.com/ASOS/ASOS-BRIDAL-Iridescent-Flutter-Sleeve-Maxi-Dress/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=5954039&cid=21606&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=50&sort=-1&clr=White&totalstyles=270&gridsize=3&un_jtt_v_frompage=0

m.asos.com/mt/www.asos.com/ASOS/ASOS-BRIDAL-All-Over-Embellished-Cami-Maxi-Dress/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=5992813&cid=21606&sh=0&pge=1&pgesize=50&sort=-1&clr=White&totalstyles=270&gridsize=3&un_jtt_v_frompage=1

m.asos.com/mt/www.asos.com/The-Jetset-Diaries/The-Jetset-Diaries-Tuscani-Maxi-Dress-in-Ivory/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=5842559&cid=21606&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=50&sort=-1&clr=Ivory&totalstyles=270&gridsize=3&un_jtt_v_frompage=0

£700 in 1990

Half for the fabric (off-white Thai silk & Nottingham lace) & half for the making of it.

Can't believe I spent that much - it was gorgeous though shame DH is an ever-increasing arsehole

£190. Which felt like a lot of money!

It was a slinky number from Jigsaw, but I have worn it many times since (it wasn't white!), so I definitely got my money's worth.

Have you tried it on? I tried mine on as a joke as I thought no way would anyone wear that! It was totally me when it was on and all the others I had fallen in love with just didn't look like me when they were on. Paid £1700 for the dress. Wore it for our 10th anniversary get together. Though it was a much snugger fit. If I can still get in it, I'll wear it for our 20th as well.

£600. I do wish sometimes I'd looked at more styles and been more adventurous - I'm toying with splurging on something for a significant anniversary coming up soon, if I can persuade DH to have a suitably grand party...

Just under £400 - a Phase Eight wedding dress. I ebayed it a month later for £350! Between that and the cleaners trashing DH's suit and paying for it, we ended up with practically free wedding clothes .

£1000 total waste of money. I wish I could go back and buy the £100 dress I originally wanted.