Wedding dresses - do people usually pay retail??

[Carats]

I''ve been watching "Say Yes to the Dress" at Kleinfeld''s and honestly, I''m really surprised at the prices people pay for these dresses. I always wonder if most people pay these retail prices or if they find places with discounts or floor samples or even sales. Just watching the show, seeing some of the dresses people try on and then actually seeing the price tags..i can''t help but wonder if they are being ripped off? For the simplicity and the very ordinary look of some of these dresses, I can''t see how people are paying 4-6k. My aunt got married, albeit 9 years ago, in a gorgeous elegant gown that she got as a floor sample with significant discount for 1k, much less than the retail - have prices gone up that much or is Kleinfeld''s kind of similar to Tiffany''s in the inflated prices?

 

[caribqueen]

I don''t have any personal experience at Kleinfeld, but based on what my mom said was the budget for my dress, they didn''t have many choices online that appealed to me. We went to another boutique and may have paid more than we should (just under $4K), but in my personal experience, the fit was so much better than other dresses I tried on and we could afford it so we didn''t opt to continue shopping to find it elsewhere at a better deal.

 

[katamari]

I don''t think there is a "usually" that can be generalized, but I think some do and some don''t. The dress is just one of many elements of a wedding. Couples will compromise elements of their weddings due to budgets, and I think that for some couples the dress will be a place where money can be saved and for others it won''t be. If I did have to generalize, it would seem that more posters here set a budget and use strategies (like sample sales, Pearl''s Place, ebay, etc.) to get the most mileage out of that budget.

The thing about Kleinfeld is that they sell very high-end designers whose dresses are much more expensive than other bridal salons. And, from what I have seen from the show, they seem to me to always be knocking down prices and having sample sales. It is just that their dresses start off costing more than other salons.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

They carry higher end dresses. There are plenty of other stores with smaller price tags.

 

[Clairitek]

I think that their prices are slightly inflated, but no where near the mark-up that Tiffany puts on their diamonds. When I was there they offered a 12.5% discount to me due to the fact that I lived out of state so that would eliminate the NY tax (state and city I guess).

 

[Pushin40]

Carats - I''m right here with ya. I''m shocked at the prices for gowns as well.

I plan on looking till I find something I love, under $1500. I just can''t see payignga lot for a dress.