Wedding dress price

fits

I have posted about this a couple of times, but it is becoming increasingly clear to me that my options are limited

I have tried on 50-60 dresses in the last few months. I have ordered dresses online, in second hand shops, advertised on adverts, sample sale dresses, and in boutiques. The only places I haven't gone have been the higher end boutiques in Dublin. Unfortunately I know exactly what I want. A very simple silk dress.

I have tried on several dresses that I was so sure would work out only for them to come up short in some way.

However, I have found a dress I love. It is double our original budget. Now I wouldn't be taking out a loan to buy. I can afford it. But can it be justified??? I have also priced with a dressmaker, and its not a huge saving over the designer dress and quite risky.

I am really getting tired of searching now.
Do any of you regret spending a lot of money on the dress?

bee06

I spent €1000 on my dress and I still can't get my head around that fact to be honest. I tried to find cheaper but this was the cheapest in that I liked that I could find. I plan on selling it though when I have a chance as I don't feel overly sentimental about keeping it to be honest. I have photos to remember it. Would selling yours after to recoup some of the money be an option for you?

fits

I'm not sure if I could sell it after. I am quite short and wont wear very high heels, so the market might be limited. The designer could possibly repurpose it afterwards, and that might be an option. She has done that for other brides.

Freddie Mercurys Bolero

I spent 350 on mine, I got it from monsoon. I sold it afterwards,for the same amount. Would selling it be an option?

eviltwin

I spent 100 on my dress. I didn't want to spend any more on something I would wear only once. I did see a fab dress that was 600 and was very tempted but it would have been unfair and wrong imo to hog so much of our budget for something that was just for me. Looking back I'm glad I didn't give in, I only wore the dress for a few hours and I personally think its nuts to spend so much money on a dress that you'll never ever wear again. If its something you can reuse then I would maybe consider it seeing as you have the funds, if you'll get your moneys worth then its an investment.

fits

eviltwin wrote: »

. Looking back I'm glad I didn't give in, I only wore the dress for a few hours and I personally think its nuts to spend so much money on a dress that you'll never ever wear again.

You see I would be of same opinion. But it also appears that I am un believably fussy about what I wear. You wouldn't think it to look at me I suppose. I don't wear make up day to day and have a very small capsule wardrobe of nice things. I have two pairs of high shoes (for example just to give you an idea of what I'm like - and I'm thinking of wearing one of them at the wedding.)

The dress is unbelievable. minimal in style but fantastic cut. When I put it on I just feel amazing but I also feel like me. It has a silk satin lining against the skin. Aaagh Im tearing my hair out here

Pistachios & cream

Would you be able to dye the dress or shorten it after and wear it again? As you are someone with a small capsule wardrobe then a beautiful silk dress could be useful again if you are attending other weddings or evening events. As the material is silk i would think you should be able to dye it but perhaps check with the designer.

I'm spending 1245 on my dress and this is the cheapest dress i tried on that I liked. I had seen a lovely silk dress but decided that as I have a lot of children at my wedding that I wanted a material that would forgive a couple of stains. My dress is a pearl beaded silk chiffon dress and i do adore it. However i can't see myself wearing it again. But I don't mind that as I will be looking at my wedding photographs for many years to come and it's important to me that I feel like me in the dress. I don't want to be looking at my dress in photos and being disappointed with the choice.

Milly33

How much is a mad price then!! Not too sure now haven't got a dress yet but id say feck it, go for it..If it makes you happy and you love it then why not...

fits

Re dyeing and shortening, yes to both. Designer said dyeing process could shrink it slightly though. it is a style that could be reworn for sure.

fits

Milly33 wrote: »

How much is a mad price then!! Not too sure now haven't got a dress yet but id say feck it, go for it..If it makes you happy and you love it then why not...

1900

lazygal

You'll find simpler styles can cost more because silk is difficult and unforgiving to work with. I was dress shopping with someone recently and she got a very simple dress in Coast for under €500.
I would not borrow for a wedding dress. I know people who spent mega money thinking they could sell it on or dye and wear it again and it never happened. I would think long and hard about it if you can't afford to pay in cash.

tinkerbell

I'd just go for it if you can afford it - can you cut back on other unnecessary stuff so that you can up the budget for the dress instead? You've done enough searching at this stage to justify the extra cost.

Re price - there's no point asking opinions on price though. Some people will think €2k is crazy expensive, average or quite reasonable. It completely depends on your own personal circumstances.

Milly33

mmmm it is steep alright but then if you want it and have tried your best to find others then, it isn't too bad a price to pay for happiness on the day... I was thinking more like €3,000 or something, and if you can reuse it then sure how much would you pay for a designer dress now a days, I am sure you would save

Just Janice

To each their own. Personally I preferred to put the money saved on a less expensive dress into other parts of the wedding such as upgrade to an exotic honeymoon or beautiful wedding rings or paying for special guests/relations travel. After all is IS a dress that I did wear for one day. A dress for €200 euro can be made look just as elegant and beautiful as a 3k to 5k dress (really it can). It all adds up so very fast. It's all relative I suppose. If you feel confident and are happy this reflects in everything you do and make all around you happy. Congratulations and good luck.

eviltwin

fits wrote: »

1900

What does the OH think?

fits

eviltwin wrote: »

What does the OH think?

He did up the budget and budgeted 1000 for it initially. He doesn't object. He knows im not gonna do anything on impulse and think it through properly.
(he also knows im fussy as ..)

Faith

Just go for it!! You've said this dress is pretty much The One, and that you can afford it. It's your wedding day! You've tried to find cheaper and it hasn't worked out. Don't agonise over this decision endlessly. If you think it's The Dress, then buy it, love it and get the utmost pleasure out of wearing it.

Unless your on a seriously restricted budget, buy it. If you have wiggle room/can still have the wedding you want by going over budget on the dress/can increase your budget if needs be, then go for it.

Honestly, I would think spending less than €1000 on a dress is the minority, despite the demographic of this thread. Mine cost €1300 because it's a sample (that's another option - could you get a sample?) but mine retails at €1800 and it's totally worth it. I know people who've spent up to €4K on their dress, who'd think €1900 was an absolute bargain. It's all relative, in the end.

January

Buy the dress. You've said yourself that after trying on over 50 dresses that this is the one you love. Life is too short to be trying on that many wedding dresses!!

eviltwin

fits wrote: »

He did up the budget and budgeted 1000 for it initially. He doesn't object. He knows im not gonna do anything on impulse and think it through properly.
(he also knows im fussy as ..)

Buy it, once he's happy with the additional cost and you have the money then don't feel bad.

jc11

hi Im getting my dress made at Jasmines bridal.. google them , they are based in China but they are amazing..

fits

jc11 wrote: »

hi Im getting my dress made at Jasmines bridal.. google them , they are based in China but they are amazing..

doesn't even remotely interest me. ( and yes, I have looked at the website) they don't even bother describing their fabrics properly imo.

Pistachios & cream

€1900 for a silk wedding dress isn't bad. Any silk dresses i tried on were €2500 and up. Funnily enough the simpler dresses were generally a lot more expensive. I'm assuming it's because you are paying for better quality material and design as it's harder to work with silk.

The way i see it is you have 2 options. Either compromise on the material quality and get a simple dress that's not silk or else buy the dress you love.

If i i were you i'd buy the dress. Yes the whole wedding dress industry is an absolute racket but it is a day when you should feel your best. Going by your previous posts you clearly prefer to buy quality items so i don't think you would be happy if you compromised.

I'd love to know the price of a similar silk dress in a non bridal colour. I'd say the price would drop drastically!

CaraMay

Seeing as you can wear it again, I would go for it

You have put in the work and are entitled to feel happy and beautiful on your wedding day.

jaja321

If you love it that much, and have tried that hard to find something up until now, id go for it. Enjoy wearing it too and don't feel guilty :-)

Liam McPoyle

Oh's dress is €1800 plus a bit extra for alterations.

We had budgeted for €2500 so it's well below.

The guy she bought it from told her when she first went out looking that when you find the one you want that you will know.

Burd went to 5 or 6 different places but returned to the original place twice and tried on the same dress again, that's the one she went with.

It sounds like you have found yours too, go for it I say.

pwurple

It's 900 euro above budget. If you have it, and you want the dress, then I'd say go for it.

900 euro in the great scheme of things probably isn't a whole pile. It's maybe another month of working off your mortgage, or 3 weeks longer working before early retirement.

You could cut tighter in other areas to make up the difference.

Pure silk, full length, in a simple cut is going to be that price. You can't hide any fabric flaws with that, so it has to be top quality. You could make savings by going for polyester obviously, but if you want the real deal, that's what it is going to cost.

I wouldn't be able to bring myself to re-use something of that quality by shortening it, or recolouring it to be honest, it would feel like butchering it!

sillysocks

Is it made by a designer that'd be well known in America? My dress was 1,700 here, and I was able to get it direct from the US for 700 delivered. If you're looking online be careful of the chinese knock offs though - I ordered one of those just out of curiousity to see what it'd be like and it was awful - coudln't even give it to a charity shop!

But if you look up the designer and look up if they've registered stockists in America worth checking out their website then. I had tried mine on here so knew exactly what it would be and saved 1,000 eur.

fits

No, its a small European designer and a new design. I think I'll just go for it. Thanks for all the input.

Milly33

Great stuff let us know how it goes. Just incase tis any good JJ's House online might have something similar. They seem to have loverly dresses for half nothing, im very tempted

fits

Had a look on jj's house alright but their stuff really wouldn't be my style at all. The nicest 'value' dresses I have seen have been bhldn and j crew. I even ordered a j crew dress but it didn't quite work when I tried it on (set me back 40 quid in postage altogether for shipping and return which isn't too bad for big box from US and custom duty was included at purchase.). Monsoon seem to have good ranges too, but nothing in there for me at the moment.

Still dilly dallying. Wondering when the summer 2015 dresses will be released on above mentioned websites.

carolinespring

fits wrote: »

You see I would be of same opinion. But it also appears that I am un believably fussy about what I wear. You wouldn't think it to look at me I suppose. I don't wear make up day to day and have a very small capsule wardrobe of nice things. I have two pairs of high shoes (for example just to give you an idea of what I'm like - and I'm thinking of wearing one of them at the wedding.)

The dress is unbelievable. minimal in style but fantastic cut. When I put it on I just feel amazing but I also feel like me. It has a silk satin lining against the skin. Aaagh Im tearing my hair out here

Hi Fits, for what it is worth. My advice to you would be to go for it. Buy it and wear it and enjoy it. While I would always say to someone to not spend a bomb on a wedding dress, it is (hopefully) your one and only wedding day and it is one of the most special days in your life.

I didn't spend much on my dress. It was €220 and I was made feel guilty by some for spending so little (early days of the Celtic tiger..) I felt amazing in it.

So you have looked and looked and this is the one dress you feel amazing in, then once you can afford it go for it and enjoy every second of wearing it.

Best of luck with the wedding.

CaraMay

Would love to see a photo of it op

LynnGrace

I'd say go for it.

uli84

Go for it and give us a pic after

fits

CaraMay wrote: »

Would love to see a photo of it op

And id love to post it but Ireland is far too small. I'll pm you.

CaraMay

Fair enough