Expensive gown - was it worth it?

[TravelingGal]

Judging from the stories here, I think you won''t regret the splurge. For me personally, I would have felt lame spending tons of money on a dress...it''s all white to me. I got a $350 dress for $50 and felt gorgeous (and cost effective!

) I got a lot of compliments afterwards from women afterwards that my dress really fit the wedding locale and was very pretty and airy. My husband got a lot of compliments from the men saying he was smart to pick a woman who would never make him broke!

 

[Rosebud8506]

I wouldn''t say my dress was overly expensive, but average (according to knot.com and others). It was about $1200. I was debating about another gown, but went with this one since it was more "me". Try to not let the price of a gown get in your way of decision making. If it makes you happy and you feel like the most gorgeous lady on the planet, then you''ve pretty much made your decision

 

[KristyDarling]

I fall into the category of having gone with an inexpensive dress.....and regretting it. It was made of polyester satin, and although it didn''t wrinkle, you could TELL it was polyester. It didn''t have the same sheen or richness of silk. If I were to do it all over again, I''d do a silk dress, which of course, costs more. I regret that when I look back on my wedding pictures, I LOATHE my gown. It was not flattering, nor was it particularly beautiful. At the time though, that was just fine because I had prided myself on how "laissez faire" I was about the whole wedding thing. Now (5 1/2 years later), I could just kick myself! The pictures are the main artifact of that special day, and looking at those photos I''m sad that I hadn''t taken the time to find my dream gown!

 

[sarie_j]

YAY Deco !!! I''m so happy that someone else did what I did, and it sounds like we bought the same dress -- Talked to the dress shop where I ordered my watters and she''s going to try and return it as no alterations have been done, if not she''ll try to resell it in the store, thanks for mentioning that in your post because I wouldn''t have even thought of it otherwise!

Basically what all of this should tell you is that the price of the dress doesn''t matter at all - cheapie or break the bank - what matters is how you feel in it... But you definitely don''t want to spend forever thinking ''I wish I''d had the ML'' or ''I wonder what the ML would''ve looked like'' every time you look at your wedding pics

 

[dtnyc]

I bought 2 dresses- both samples. The first I got a v. good deal on, but it was too traditional, and I bought it based on the fact that it was the same designer as a dress that I tried on at k-feld. I just sold it last weekend for what I paid for it through craigslist- I would definitely check out your local and nearby craigslist to see if someone is selling "your" dress there.

The dress I ended up wearing retailed for more than 8k- completely outrageous, but I got it at a sample sale for about 25% of the original cost- still not a cheap dress, but it was amazing fabric and SO unique, fit me perfectly etc.

I would say look around- don''t fall in love w/ one designer- try anything on and buy the best quality you can afford.

 

[Scooba]

Well I haven''t worn my expensive Melissa Sweet yet, but we are getting married and having the reception on the beach in Mexico so it''ll probably get trashed, I didn''t want to spend alot of money because I''d rather spend that kind of money on a shopping spree or vacation or something and because I am pretty sure the dress will get ruined. But then I fell madly in love with this dress and I am so obsessed with it, I know if I hadn''t gotten it that I would be obsessing over it everyday and probably frantically trying to get it now, so for me it has definitely been worth it so far!

 

[Scooba]

Also, if you choose a popular style or designer and you are a popular size, you really can get alot of money back selling it, not just 10 or 20%, I''d say 60% and up for popular dresses based on what I see on the knot, girls are desperate for them and just want to save a little bit of money

 

[diamondfan]

I think the actual dollars are not the issue but the workmanship and fabric and how the style looks on you. Usually that means more expensive to be sure, but if you feel great and it looks great in the pictures, in the long run price is not going to matter.

I happen to be a bit of a what iffer type, so I would absolutely go and try on the one I think is my "dream" dress just to be sure. If I put it on and I flip out over it then that is my answer, If not, I have at least satisfied my urge and can move on. Of course you eventually have to decide and there might be more than one perfect dress or more than one really great one, but you can only wear one at a time unless you do a mid evening costume change...which I know brides have done in the past!

 

[repartee]

Well, I think widget was right. If you don''t want to spend $x,000 on a dress, you better not go try any on!

I went on Monday to try on Scarlet and Miranda...the "good" news? I didn''t love either of them...the bad news? They had another Monique Lhuillier that I fell for. Hard. I never thought it would happen, but I got *that* look on my face. I should''ve figured the jig was up when I kept putting it back on when she brought out other dresses for me to try. For the first time in my life, I felt almost...stunning. Apparently, I was lucky (or not!) as that particular style was an exclusive for the salon I was at.

So, ladies, I went back today and bought it! *gulp* Talk about an expensive lunch.

My poor fiance (literally now, haha)! He''s basically a thrifty Midwesterner...I don''t think he knows what he''s getting into. He was a little stunned when I told him, but he''s slowly coming to terms with it. He''s so funny - he''s now thinking up ways to keep the dress clean so we can (potentially) re-sell it and keeps asking me things like, "What do you think about coming up the aisle in a Segway?"

I''m absolutely thrilled!

Grace

 

[snuga]

YAY! Congrats on getting your dress! It sounds like you won''t have any regrets, and that''s great! Do you have pictures??

 

[anchor31]

Congrats on the dress! If it''s the one for you, then so be it!

 

[Trelala]

oooo! A ML exclusive to the that salon? Do you have pictures? would love to see you in it.

Congrats on your dress!

 

[flopkins]

I guess I am too late on this thread, except to say congrats!!!

Personally, I think the bottom line is, if it makes YOU feel like a freagin PRINCESS... it''s worth it. And judging from your post, I think it is!!!

Besides, if you can afford it, it''s not a huge deal IMO. I stressed so much when I was wedding planning about the sheer amount of money we were spending in total, for a single day. But when I look back on it now, I almost regret not spending MORE... if that doesnt'' sound insane...