Wedding dress prices!

Honestly mine was regular over 3k , and I got it for 350 because it was “off the rack” and the previous seasons style ! And it was the opposite of what I had in mind for my dream dress ! It is most definitely possible to find something in ypur budget !

You should check out Blue Bridal in Unionville, Markham. They always have off the rack dresses under $1000 on sale especially now during covid.

View quoted message I bought my dress in Sarnia, Ontario 🙈

View quoted message Thank you! Any chance you bought your dress at a store in southern Ontario or Ottawa area?

If you can buy off the rack you can save a ton! I found an essence of Australia gown for $500 it’s the only one of that design ever made. It’s going to cost $400 to do alterations. My dress is a size 10 and it has to be made a size bigger. They said that 10 is the standard stocked size for samples... I hope that helps

I think that budget is realistic (my budget was similar). My recommendation is ask before you make an appointment. When I emailed a local bridal shop (Blush Bridal in Newcastle) I asked about their price range for bridal dresses. I wanted to support a local shop but I didn’t want to get into the shop and find out there were no dresses in my budget. Similar to others mentions my dress was “last season” so was less expensive and came in under budget!

View quoted message Awesome! It seems a lot of people are recommending her for my budget. I'll check it out.
Thanks!

View quoted message I got mine at a bridal boutique called Lockhearts. My dress was by Maggie Sottero.

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Thank you for the tips about the accessories. Where did you get your dress?

I have expensive taste and wanted a particular designer but just in case I didnt like any of their dresses, I knew the other brands I liked were more expensive so I set my dress budget at $3000-$5000. I didn’t want to fall in love with a dress and not be able to afford it because I didn’t budget enough. Luckily, I did end up buying a dress from the original designer I wanted and it was $2500 with no alterations.

It's doable! I bought my dress off the rack (it was a sample from last season) for $699. By the time I had it altered and accounted for taxes (which I totally omitted in my original budget...) I spent about $1100 and my budget was $1000ish.


One piece of advice for budgeting: don't automatically buy your accessories at the bridal salon. I found an almost identical veil on facebook marketplace for 1/4 of what the salon wanted.

Yes! It’s doable. Look for a local tailor shop that you trust. Usually bridal stores charge double to alter your dress.

I definitely think you can! The wedding dress store where I live starts at $1000 for dresses. Also look at 2nd hand dress stores if possible! My friend got her dress for like $800 from a 2nd hand store and there was less than $200 in alterations

View quoted message I’m definitely not an expert but generally I believe corset backs should be more forgiving than zippers or buttons. Something ballgown or A line will also have more room for error than something fitted. If you can get away without hemming your dress that will also help so if you can find something that works with your height or up to 4” or so more then you can buy shoes to go with the length.

View quoted message Thank you so much!! Do you know which dresses are easier to alter?

That’s absolutely achievable but you’ll need to do your research before shopping. Look for trunk shows and sales. I know you said you want a new dress but there are lots of second hand dresses that are practically new. And I’m sure there are lots of brides selling brand new dresses because they’ve cancelled their wedding due to COVID.
Also keep in mind that certain styles are easier/harder to alter and less alterations means you can spend more on the actual dress itself.

View quoted message Hi! Yes thank you so much! It would be great to know about some of the (relatively) affordable designers. Helps me narrow my search a little.

It honestly depends on what kind of dress you're wanting to wear for your big day. You can definitely can find dresses for less than $1500 and they look amazing. You need to set yourself a budget and you gotta feel comfortable spending whatever amount you choose. Every designer is different in their own ways as well as cost for each dress

I can't say for myself since my dress was $2500 but everyone is different on how much they want to spend for their day. Whatever dress you choose will look amazing!

It depends on the designer, style and fabric of the dress. My dress is by Enzoani, and I got it for $2400.00 (It’s a lace appliqué with a really long train) ... I found other comparable dresses which were around $1500 to $2000 but I didn’t like the fabric or the design... you can probably get dresses for under $2000 if it’s on sale, but it all depends on the above mentioned factors. Also, if you get something off the rack, then you can get it for under $1500. The more affordable designers (during my search) were Stella York, Essence of Australia and Maggie Sottero) . Hope this helps

I don't know about a new dress ie. one made for you from scratch but definitely doable if you buy one off the rack.

I don’t know much about dresses either, but I know for sure you could find something in that budget at David’s Bridal if you have one near you. They have lots of options that would be within your budget. I had a similar budget when I looked for my dress. I only went to one other place which was more of a wedding boutique place and the boutique didn’t really have much luck there...most dresses were more than I wanted to spend.