With a wedding comes a lot of responsibility, but planning a wedding is no simple feat either. The venue, the catering, the kind of flower, the band or the DJ, the reception but most important of all; the wedding dress. For some brides picking a wedding dress can be the most exciting part of the wedding, for others not so much. But whatever the type of experience, it is the most critical component of any wedding. However, it can be the most daunting one depending on the budget. The average wedding dress cost as much as about 1000 USD with prices ranging from 280 USD to 1650 USD. A general rule of thumb is not to spend more than 5% of your wedding budget on the wedding dress. This rule works well as there are a lot of aspects to the wedding and it keeps your budget flexible. Considering this we are here to help you with how much to spend on a wedding gown.
What do you want to wear?
Photographer: Tatum Photo
Buying a wedding dress is not like purchasing an everyday piece of clothing or everyday attire. You will be wearing that dress on one of the most important days of your life, so it is likely that you will be spending quite an amount on that dress. There are certain factors that will impact the cost of your wedding dress. A well-detailed wedding dress with a pricey fabric like silk and a lot of beading will notably cost much more than a simple wedding gown. The higher the detailing in the dress, the higher it will be on the price range as it requires greater materials and labor. A grand ball gown having a lot of beadings and embroidery in detail will be more expensive than a plain sheath dress. Also, if you want a famous designer wedding dress then it will likely be more expensive.
Don’t forget the extras!
There are a number of additional costs that you should add to the budgeting of any wedding dress. They are:
Adjustments
If you have an idea in your mind that will include considerable alteration to your wedding dress then it may end up more expensive than the actual wedding dress. So try to find one to your taste so there are minimal adjustments or alterations involved.
Accessories and undergarments
Don’t forget to take into consideration your accessories like bridal undergarments, bridal shoes, etc. Since these bridal accessories will have a great impact on the look of your wedding gown and its fitting. So it is vital to add the accessories to the budget of the wedding dress as they are an important part of it.
Photographer: Kristen Booth
How to save money on the Wedding Dress?
A wedding dress will cost a lot of money, true. It might even cost more than any dress you will ever spend on in your life. Nevertheless, you can still find several ways to save money on your wedding dress and still finding a wedding gown that you would absolutely adore.
Here are some tips on saving money on a wedding dress:
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- Avoid trying on dresses that go over your specified budget. Sincerity is the key when trying on bridal dresses. Be sincere with your bridal salon on your budget and they will make sure to find you a perfect dress within your price range. Check the prices of every dress you try on and the most important thing; do not give in to temptation. Avoid trying on wedding dresses that are out of your price range.
- If you are on a tight budget regarding your wedding dress, you can turn it to your advantage as well. As mentioned before, a simple wedding gown is much cheaper than an adorned and detailed one. Considering your tight wedding budget, we recommend that you find a simple wedding dress and use a brooch or a beaded sash to give it an extra sparkle. Accessorizing is the key to making a perfect wedding dress, even the simplest wedding dress can sparkle with the proper accessories.
- We have mentioned it before and we do it again because this thing is really important! Any significant adjustment and customization to the wedding dress will be very expensive. So if that wedding dress requires a lot of big changes then that dress is probably not for you. Find a dress that you love as is.
- A lot of bridal salons have sample sales in which they offer sample dresses from the past seasons. The sample gowns are characteristically in sizes 6 to 12. So if you fall under that size category then you might find an amazing dress of your size at a low price in one of these types of sales.
- If you are set on buying a dress from a specific designer, then you must consider the trunk show and you might get a deal there. When a collection of a particular dress designer is featured by a bridal salon at a discounted price then that is known as a trunk show. It is better to research which bridal salon in your area has your favorite designer dresses and search their website for any upcoming trunk shows.
- It is better to be an early bird than to be late and pay. This situation applies easily to your wedding dress as well. It is advisable to start shopping for your wedding dress as early as you can. A wedding dress can take quite a few months to arrive after ordering, in some cases up to nine months. So it is better to be early than to shop at the last minute and end up paying rush charges which will shake your wedding dress budget.
- Buy wedding dresses online. Recently, a lot of designers sell their wedding dress online at an incredibly low price with very high quality. For this, I recommend AW Bridal Online Store. The price only ranges from $399 to $799.
Photographer: Sophie Cheverst
An average price of a wedding dress is 1000 USD and it varies upon the type of dress you want. If you require a certain designer wedding dress then it will cost you between 800 USD to 2000 USD. Though there might be some in the low 500 USD range as well. If your budget is a bit lower than that then amazon also has a lot of options from as low as 100 USD. Ultimately how much you should spend on your wedding dress comes down to your budget. 5% rule is a great rule considering there are a lot of aspects to the wedding and you have to budget accordingly.