Wedding gown budget

Dress, headpiece, undergarment, alterations were $1326 alltogether
Shoes and handbag were $82.00

And I also think it is a personal choice how much you spend on your dress. If I found a dress for $100 that I loved or $3000 I would have bought it. I was glad that it wasnt $3000 though, more money for other things!!

I honestly do believe that the bride makes the dress. While I choose to spend more money than I should have on my dress because I truly love it, it doesn't mean that I think dresses less than that are not as pretty. Quite the contrary. While i think it is true that sometimes you do 'get what you paid for', it is also true that sometimes you are paying top dollar for really just a designer name when the workmanship or material is crappy. Likewise there are less expensive dresses which look like they cost a helluva lot more and again there are also inexpensive dresses which look like well, inexpensive dresses. It's a matter of preference and really loving what you buy for your own reasons. I do not think Sonicstef was posting anything in a cruel or mean way. Girls who have been on this board I am sure have seen her name a lot and by reading her previous posts on other topics you would know that she is usually helpful and unbiased in her opinions. I guess that I just want to point out that it is really hard sometimes to only READ a person's comment when you can't really see the facial expression or person behind it. Everything looks a lot more harsh in print than it does out loud. I also just want to point out that sometimes when you spend a lot of money on something you're not always proud of it either for the sheer fact that you KNOW you shouldn't have spent so much and people will only look at you bug-eyed. I certainly wouldn't walk around wearing a sign saying how much i spent on my dress but posting it on the board is easy to do as it is 'faceless.' I think money is a very touchy topic wedding-wise. I can't count how many times someone has asked me how much i spent on this and how much i spent on that... Other brides or close friends/family asking is one thing but I mean people i barely know have asked me this stuff and I KNOW they have nothing better to do than talk about it when i am gone by saying to someone 'Psst... did you hear how much she spent on blah, blah, blah... Can you believe it? blah blah blah... That could be a down payment on a house or feed a small poverty stricken nation, blah, blah blah.' That kind of stuff makes me feel bad too, like they think I am spoiled or something and I am definetly not. It's not like we have all the money in the world, far from it. Growing up i never even wanted a wedding and always thought i would just elope or something. Now that I am a gulp.. bride to be... i want to do it as pretty as i can and yes i go alittle overboard on somethings. Wow, this is getting long, sorry. To close, i really don't think Sonicstef was saying anything cruel or wrong and everyone has there own opinion. Again, i think we shoudl remember that it is really hard to just read something in print without seeing who or what is behind it.

Hi Karen! I've been off the boards a little and thus, a late entrant into this discussion , but I just really wanted to see if you'd made a decision yet. I know it must be driving you crazy, because I had a very similar situation to yours...found one dress I liked at David's for $500 and another (Couture Bridal Collection) I really loved for $1600. I must have gone back to the store with dress #2 about 6 different times...twice in one day with my mom, and three separate other times with each of my MOHs and another bridesmaid. Each time I tried it on, not only did the people I was with say how wonderful I looked, but other people in the store (strangers) commented likewise...and I am not the kind of person who usually gets such comments just off the cuff! One comment my MOH made was 'it didn't matter what I (MOH) think...I liked both dresses (she had also seen the one at David's)...but it really seems like when you put this one on, YOU know what you want.' And I think she was right. Even though I went back and forth 100 times, asking if the extra $1000-plus was worth it, in my heart, I knew this was the one. And, my mom actually CRIED when I first put it on! Needless to say, I bought dress #2. Can't wait to see my fiance's face when he sees it for the first time...

Anyway, Good Luck, and let me know how it turns out!!

Alison
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Jennbaby: First off, 99% of dresses are made of either two materials - silk or polyesther. If your dress is made of satin - its made of either polyesther satin or silk satin. If your dress is made of organza - its made of either poly organza or silk organza. If you dress is not silk, its probably made of polyesther.

Secondly, I didn't say YOUR dress or anyone else's dress was made of polyesther. In fact, I didn't address my posts to anyone in particular.

As I have said before - if it is okay to say that spending a lot on a dress is INSANE, why is it NOT okay to say that I (my personal opinion) would not wear polyesther? My original post was to illustrate the irony in the above situation. I don't think there is anything wrong with spending less on a dress at all. I just think people should not attack brides who spend more on a dress - which this thread (as other threads in the past) was becoming.

Thanks to everyone who has defended me. I have been on this board for a while and I think I have contributed positievely. I appreciate your support.

sonicstef? how do you know what my dress is made of??! you DON'T. so your polyester comment was WRONG and uncalled for. Maybe my dress is made of cellophane--thats not polyester!
Its cool to brag about your dress (if anyone does), be proud of what you got and what you spend, why not, its the most important thing (or one of) of the day (to me) I bragged about my E-ring on another post because it makes me happy and not because it's mine but it's the most prettiest and most expensive and best quality ring I know of, but I wouldn't put down other girls diamonds ever! An e-ring is a symbol no matter what it costs.
So stef, you may not have put down other girls dresses intentionally, but your choice of words were poor!
P.S.-I could afford ANY dress I wanted but my $900 one is THE one for me!
As for everyone else, I am sad to see this post got out of hand due to one comment and how as i said before, we should be helping each other, not putting each other's comments down!
Happy Planning & Good Luck to all

P.S.
sonicstef-i wish you nothing but the best, your wedding is 5 months away-relax and enjoy!

This is my comment: Stef's comment about polyester, did hit me as you did not pay top $$$ for your dress so it is polyester!!! I did not even know they made wedding dresses from polyester. I had to go to my designer's website to find our what the material on my dress was. That is how insignificant the material was to me.

I did not think she meant that my dress or any other bride's dress was made of polyester, but it could have been taken that way. I think sometimes we do write certain things here w/o thinking, but we must remember we are here to help each other. Stef if I took your comment that way, and so so did a lot of other people. But knowing you personally I know you did not mean it that way.

I thought this was rather appprpriate, seeing that this dress thing is getting to be this drawn out.

Her post begins here:

Just returned from a memorial in Brooklyn for the 14 Police Officers of the NYPD Emergency Services Unit who lost their lives on September 11th. I had the honor of being present as my brother in law who thankfully was off duty at the time is a member of the NYPD ESU. I sat at a picnic table today with three fathers who lost their sons in this terrible terrible tragedy. Lets all be thankful, that we were not among those young, or old like me, future brides, wives, mothers, fathers, children, friends, and whoever I may have left out in my haste, who lost their loved ones on that horrible horrible day. We are sooooooo very very lucky. And let's remember....because we can never ever forget....Thanks for letting me share

shamma,
you are right 100%. lets all be grateful and thats it!

Alison,

I'm going this week to try on the dresses again. Hopefully, I will make up my mind.

Karen