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?

[gillyweed]

About £180 from Monsoon, I did love it and looked good in it, simple, classic and timeless I hope. I wouldn't have paid more than £300 for a dress I would only ever wear once (I would for a coat or shoes though!).

I'll probably get slated for this, but... think very carefully before you spend a huge wedge of your wedding budget on a dress (or any single item for that matter). Good weddings tend to revolve around food, drink and entertainment (and love of course!), if your guests are happy you'll have a great day irrelevant of what you're wearing.

I was bridesmaid at a wedding 5 years ago, the dress cost 2k; there were no drinks on arrival and no food/canapés for guests until around 5/6 hours after the start of the ceremony (church at 1, dinner at 6), people left the hotel to go and get food etc. during the afternoon (rather than let the couple see they were starving!!!) The dress looked lovely but I just could not believe they had prioritised that over a glass of fizz and a sambo! My sil did the same last summer, 2k dress, tea and coffee and bourbon biscuits to sustain the crowd for 6 hours!!!!

If you have the money of course you should spend it, but if it is at the expense of your guests enjoyment I'm not sure I would!

[Ineedmorelemonpledge]

What about a pre owned op?

Love this site

www.preownedweddingdresses.com/london-wedding-dresses

[MozzchopsThirty]

£1200 and regret every penny (now divorced)
But I look back and it's dated terribly, i don't even like it now on pictures
I wish I'd have spent the money elsewhere

If I marry again it will be in something reasonable, classic, timeless and simple

[JuliannalovesCliveBixby]

Try needle and thread or bhldn for more reasonable boho type dresses. I also think you'd like Claire Pettibone and Jesus Peres but you could find bargains on preloved.com

I spent £700 on my dress, but once I tried it on, I would have spent more. It was perfect.

You definitely need to try your dress on before you buy.

[Mrs9C]

£330, I kind of wish I spent more as it looked cheap. But I couldn't afford it at the time, and only wore it for 5 hours, so didn't see the point. The one I preferred was around £650/700

[Nuttypops]

It's a beautiful dress. If you can afford it, in some ways I would be inclined to just go for it. I imagine you could find something similar or have one made more cheaply though.

I spent £199 on my dress 5 years ago, £90 on alterations on top of that so £289 in total. I had a budget of up to around £1000, but I found the perfect dress is an end of line sale in the first dress shop I looked at and after running around a few more, I went back and bought it. I still love the dress just as much today and was pleased not to have spent too much on it.

[LadyAntonella]

I spent £50 (it was from eBay). I bought it a size up, had it altered and it fit me brilliantly. I was delighted - it felt like a total bonus that I got it so cheaply. That said, I did miss out on the whole bridal boutique experience, but I did take the dress with me to try on when I shopped for bridesmaids dresses and veils, so I did get to twirl around in my dress in a boutique. I (controversially) always said the bride always, always looks lovely. You'd have to go badly wrong with a dress for you to look bad on your wedding day once you've had hair and make up done as well, so I really wasn't fussed about my dress. I spent just under £200 on the bridesmaids dresses as I wanted them to match, so we kind of had to go to a boutique or else a high street shop and at the time all the high street dresses just didn't look as good quality.

[LadyAntonella]

How many times did I say "did" in that post?

[LadyAntonella]

Also that was "just under £200" on each bridesmaid dress.

[LadyAntonella]

Last post (honest). Of course if you are in love with an expensive dress then do what you think is best, but my dress was RUINED after one wear and even if it hadn't been, I am not going to wear it again. I wouldn't get into debt over it or anything, but if you can afford it then go for it.

[ItsLikeRainOnYourWeddingDay]

£600, 6 years ago. I had a budget of £3000 but the dress I fell in love with was the cheapest one. I don't care about brand names and labels and what not. My shoes were £30 from JL in the sale.

[Noodlebetti]

I paid £125 for mine and don't regret not spending more at all. We went to dress shops and tried loads of styles on, some I liked, some I didn't, but none felt 'right'.

We then went to a shop that sold 'last season' dresses, and didn't have prices attached, I tried lots on, still none jumped out, then as soon as I put mine on I just knew that was the one. I had no idea how much it cost but was buying it regardless. Imagine how over the moon I was when the sales assistant told me the price!! I shouted 'you are kidding' and she actually said 'I can speak to the manager and see if we can discount it more maybe?' As she thought I was complaining it was too much! Hahaha!
It was perfect and I still get that lowly feeling when j look at our wedding pics. I say you know THE ONE as soon as you try it on, so try on lots and go with your heart

[duckyneedsaclean]

£200 from monsoon. It was perfect.

They do similar styles to that one, op.

[Noodlebetti]

*lovely feeling

[Katelocks]

I think it's a lovely dress too.

I spent about £2500 on my first wedding dress. I loved it and don't regret spending this. It was made by a well known designer in my home country and the whole experience of the designer sketching out my ideas, choosing the fabric and the fitting was amazing. Even the toile fitted like a glove. I think the whole wedding cost about £30,000 (my parents paid).

Second marriage, I spent about £200. The dress was much simpler and off the peg but I loved this one too.

[pod100]

Although it may look like your dream dress, you never know until you try it on (I had a nightmare finding my boho style dress and tried 120 before I found one 😩)

Mine was something like £750 in the shop where I tried it, but I got it for £475 as I shopped around for stockists and found it cheaper in a store down south who posted it up to me. Having tried so many dresses I just knew that it wasn't realistically priced at £750. But to be honest, I agree with all the people saying try Monsoon and Phase Eight etc first. I tried some GORGEOUS ones on in Monsoon. They were beautiful in photos and in the flesh, but sadly none that were "the one" for me, but their ranges were beautiful and average at £200-300. Also, to add, I got married in a park and though it hasn't rained for at least 5 days beforehand, the bottom of the dress was left filthy by the soil. Worth thinking about for beach weddings and wet sand X

[Stillwishihadabs]

£145 I loved it and still love it ( Coast 2005). Total wedding cost £800 ( registry office, home made canapés in the garden with champers bought on a booze cruise then a massive bbq) no regrets we had an 18m old. :)

[PumpkinPies38]

I spent £4K on my dress but it was the one I waned and the one day where I didn't want to compromise on what I was wearing. No regrets.

[Grizzer]

I spent £750 on having a dress made. It was lovely but has hung in my mum's spare room ever since (8 years!)
I agree with Lizard, try the dress on. You might find it doesn't suit you at all. I saw dresses that looked lovely on the hanger but not great on.
I took magazine cuttings of bits of dress I liked (the back of one, length of another etc) to a local dress maker & she put all the elements together for me. Could you take the picture to someone & ask for something similar?
As an aside, my aunt loved a particular dress & wanted it as mother of the groom. She had it made without trying on anything similar. Turned out the style didn't suit her shape at all & she was really unhappy with it.

[MyFriendsCallMeOh]

About 100 quid in Monsoon 14 years ago for a cranberry red strapless floor length sheath (think it might have been a bridesmaids dress). Don't suit white, adored the dress but only wore it for one day. You can find something you feel just as good in for less.

[LadyAntonella]

Oh sorry just clarifying one more thing! definitely will shut up after this.

My dress was a bridal designer dress which I bought second hand from someone who had got it in a sample sale. I probably wouldn't have risked one of the brand new ones from China tbh. I have heard they can be very hit and miss.

[NiteFlights]

I spent £250 on my dress and a similar amount on alterations. Don't forget you will need shoes etc as well. I spent £200 on my veil and £400 on a gorgeous pair of sandals which I have worn several times since and £50 on a Spanx slip. So although my dress wasn't expensive, it all added up.

[BlueEyedWonder]

£250 15 years ago.
It was a very simple ivory dress with a scoop neckline and spaghetti straps. No frills, no sticky out skirt, no great long train. Our wedding was a relaxed occasion with close family and friends. The dress suited the style of wedding and me. As it was such a simple style, our wedding snaps don't look especially dated.

[minipie]

Yes, agree the accessories do add up. And they are more likely to be worn again.

If budget is limited I think it's better to spend less on the dress which gets worn once and more on, say, jewellery or new make up which you would get lots of wear out of. If you 'save' £1500 on the dress you could get some wonderful jewellery with that money for example.