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?

I didn't have a dress at all. It wasn't important to me. Mind you, we didn't have cars, cake, flowers, photographer or any of the other wedding gubbins either.

I spent £450 plus another £50ish on alterations five years ago. Was really happy with that, could've gone higher budget wise (though didn't really want to!) so was pleased with this one. I'd say the most important thing is to try try try lots on to make sure you get the style that suits you. What I thought I wanted actually changed once I'd seen it on me

OP, that is a LOVELY dress.
Could it be professionally dyed afterwards so you could use it for a few years as a formal evening gown (do you go to many formal events?)

that would reduce the cost per wear?

My dress was reduced in a Sale from around £1K to around £400. But, I had to spend £100 on a seamstress to alter it (she eventually detached the top and I wore the skirt part - big silk merengue and bought another bodice plus a silk 'jacket' so ended up spending around £700 probably).

If I had gone for a more modern style like yours I would have looked at Monsoon as they had lots of nice dresses for less than £300.

Including alterations about £1300. Nope don't regret it, and trust me I've never spent more than £100 on an item of clothing ever. It fit me like a glove and I plan on ever having one wedding so it's a particularly special dress at the end of the day

Around £2k on the dress. It was a beautiful silk dress that I had the designer make a few tweaks to. I had a very cheap veil (made online) and my wedding shoes were high street and I paid with vouchers I got as a present. I have zero regrets. I haven't worn it since and never will, and don't have girls so it won't be passed down and won't sell it (I had a tiny back pre-kids, so the alterations won't work for most) BUT it looked incredible in the photos and is a very classic style and I'll never get bored of looking at the photos. I tried endless dresses on, all budgets and it was the only one I loved. If you try it on and love it, but buy a dress you don't love as much you will regret it.

I spent £1000 on my dress, 4yrs ago. I knew it was the one as soon as I saw it but my mum wasn't sure, I tried it on and she cried!! I couldn't afford it as was out of work and put 1/2 on credit card and 1/2 my mum paid, was so worth it. It may only be 1 day, but it's a day that you'll remember for ever and if you want to spend that much to look amazing when everyone's eyes are on you then my theory is 'you only live once so do it, life's too short to regret it after'

I decided on a rather plain 'cheap' dress that wouldn't look hideously dated and a joke in years to come on the pics. I did spend though on a wedding ring with diamonds though as I reasoned I would be wearing this for the rest of my life

£1800 for me. Absolutely loved my dress and have no regrets at all!

About £210, bespoke and exactly what I wanted.

Wouldn't change a thing about it.

£120. Local very fancy wedding dress shop donated unsold dresses to Cancer Research charity shop. Fit me like a glove , right length , style I was looking for. Fantastic.

I went to a bridal shop to find the right style and found a dress I loved but it was £950, went down the road to the wedding dress factory outlet and found almost identical dress for £300. If you have a wedding dress factory outlet store nearby it could be a way to find a similar dress at a not so similar price

I'm getting married this autumn and my dress is costing £2200 and then I have accessories and alterations on top.

When I first tried it on, it took my breath away. It's being made to measure by a British Designer and the benefit of that means where I've had a baby followed by surgery not long after, I'm really out of proportion size wise so the lead time (due to being made in the UK) means my final measurements are being taken until mid July to give time for swelling to go down, scars to heal.

Many cheaper dresses are made in Asia and my final measurements would've been taken a while ago

So we can afford this dress which is the main thing but the shorter lead time has really helped as well

I can't wait to wear it

Ok so I spent £1500 on my dress but we had an inexpensive wedding do. I'm not sure where you live but have you tried the portobello Road market? They have some amazing Boho, preloved dresses for a fraction of the price and they will definitely be unique! Just a thought

Nothing. My sister-in-law made it. The trip across Western Canada for the fitting was a few hundred though.

But that is a beautiful dress, and I think you should go for it.

Mine was 100 quid. No regrets. It was really comfy & I wore it for my wedding & my party (a different day). It went well with low heels, so I could dance all night too! Had planned on buying a new dress, as I have lots of nice clothes, but the dress found me. Spotted it one day in a little boutique, so glad I did. Although not a white gown, I felt like a proper bride in it.

Hadn't

I think for one of the most special days of your life, it is important that you feel happy with your dress and love it. I'm willing to spend a fortune on mine even though I'll be saving a long time lol, but I still have an upper limit. My upper limit is no more than £1000. Although I suspect my fiance would probably grimace at more than £600.

Mine was £499 from Wed2B and veil £120. It's sitting in my mum's wardrobe ready for next year!

Parents paid for it so I do have a bit of guilt about the cost for them but mum cried when I tried it on so I guess it's worth it :) plus I'll get to wear it twice (having the main do down south and an extra evening do up north) so cost per wear is much more reasonable...

i spend £100 no regrets :)

I spent £500 on my dress plus an extra £100 on seamstress alterations (it was a sample dress at a bridal boutique so had a few corrections to make, plus I wanted a small adjustment).

I do not regret in the slightest not spending more. If anything I would have been happier spending less, but I'd left things rather last minute and I'm a large size. I had endless compliments on the day. And when I look at photos I genuinely think that the dress and I look great!

Ergo - you don't need to spend tons to look great!

I also had loads and loads of compliments on a necklace I'd been given as a gift, but knowing the shop it came from, it can't have cost more than a tenner. One person said they had thought it was a family heirloom it looked so classy!

If you love the dress and can afford it - go for it. If you feel it would put a strain on the spending, look for similar but cheaper dresses from high street bridal ranges. Best of luck!

I only spent about £200 on mine. I found the style I liked in a wedding dress shop here (which turned out to be quite different to the style I had expected to like!) for £1,300, but then I managed to find an almost identical dress online with a supplier in China which was then tailor made to my measurements at a fraction of the price. They are called Milly Bridal I think. I told them my wedding date was 3 months earlier than it was to ensure I got the dress in plenty of time, and I had a corset back incase my weight changed slightly. I then just had it steamed at a local wedding dress shop the week before the big day.
I was really happy with this as I wouldn't have been willing to pay more for my dress given I was only going to wear it once, and I've never been the kind of girl to dream about the perfect wedding day or dress really. I splashed out a bit on my wedding ring though (it has diamonds set into it), and we splashed out on getting a really good live band for our reception - I was happy to spend a bit more on the things I viewed as more important to me personally, so if you think having that particular dress will really make your wedding feel perfect then go for it!
It is just one day BUT it's a pretty significant & memorable day so you should do whatever you think will make it perfect for you.

My now Ex husband ( we have been divorced longer than we were married) & I had to pay for our own wedding, My parents contributed nothing & spent a whole $1-75 (79p) on my gift.
Our entire day cost less than $3000- ( 1500 pounds.)
I had to plan the whole thing myself, we had one bridesmaid & a best man, I had to pay for the hire of her dress & the groom/smans suits. we had the reception in an RSL club so there was no hire fee for members, we had a choice of 3 hot entrees, a salad buffet with 7 kinds of cold meats & so many types of salad & vegetables, plus one hot & 2 cold desserts, for 60 guests @ $15- per head (7-50p) We had 6 beers on tap 3 in bottles plus the house Red & White wines with champagne for toasts (those that wanted to drink spirits had to buy their own)
I went to a local market garden the morning of the wedding & bought $40 (20 pounds) worth of fresh flowers to decorate the tables etc. we had a celebrant ( the ceremony was supposed to have been in the garden but it was so windy that we had it in the reception room. I had a friend do the photography, music-we used the Club's in house DJ & got a huge discount. My MIL made our Cake & it was beautiful.
After I paid for everything else I checked the Budget & I had $170- (85 pounds) left over for my wedding dress. I did not have time to buy a 2nd hand one from The Salvo's or St Vinnies & Alter it, I went to the only Bridal shop in town & she had only One Hire dress that would fit me (I have very large breasts) & they do not alter hire dresses. It was not to my taste at all, It was an Ivory Ballerina style all tulle & chiffon & not my style at all but it fit so that was it. I paid $135- to hire it which included a $60- refundable security deposit. 3 Days before the wedding the lady rang me, she said she had a New Hire dress in that may fit me (It did) It was not to my taste, long lace sleeves, high neck, huge full two tier taffeta skirt but it was a New dress & it was nice so I wore it. I looked lovely & a good time was had by all. It does not matter what you wear it is about starting a marriage Not about a dress, I would have got married in a pretty dress from Target if that was all I could afford.

I lost 3stone after my wedding, and really wanted our 12 month anniversary/blessing to be something special. I didn't have the confidence as a plus size bride to even GO IN to a boutique, so my MIL made my dress.
Three stone lighter, and with a church blessing to organise I have just £500. We've also bought a house, and the guttering is seriously so bad that it is causing damp. So Reader, I bought the dress, wore it for about 2 hours...then sold it on, and used the money for the guttering !! If you can afford it, and intend to sell it on afterwards, no problem, but £2k for a dress you won't wear twice is a poor investment., IMHO.
Good luck with your decision making- and be happy :-)

£2K and I don't regret it. if you love it, go for it..,

£390 the first time - a gorgeous tunic suit and a thing I sewed myself in silk that went with it.

£600 the second time, made by a dressmaker.

The first time was definitely a better call as I wore it a few times afterwards and turned the tunic into a cushion in the end. The other one was pretty much ruined and I can't afford to get it cleaned - did wear it to one other party because the dress code was 'wear your wedding dress'!

Sorry haven't RTFT so not sure if you've seen this?