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If you’ve started shopping for a wedding dress, you’ve probably already discovered that wedding dress prices are ALL over the place.
Ahead I'm share something helpful wedding planning advice for those brides-to-be who are bridal fashion lovers. I’m breaking down what wedding dresses really cost, why one bridal gown can cost hundreds while another costs thousands and what you actually need to know about wedding dress prices before you start shopping.
Shop the 'Alluring' style lace & something blue wedding garter heirloom
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After more than 20 years in the wedding industry here at The Garter Girl, hand making wedding garters and creating custom bridal heirlooms from wedding dresses, veils and other family materials, I’ve worked with everything from simple satin to intricate lace, beading and hand embroidery. And I can tell you firsthand that not all wedding dresses are made the same.
So, let’s talk about the money.
This is probably the question you came here to have answered, and I’m going to give you a slightly annoying answer: It depends.
You can find wedding dresses for a few hundred dollars. You can also find designer wedding dresses that cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.
That’s a HUGE range.
Which is why I’m always cautious about articles telling brides what the “average wedding dress costs.”
An average might be interesting, but it doesn’t necessarily tell YOU very much.
Where you live, where you shop, the bridal designer, how the wedding dress is made, the materials used and the amount of detail involved can all affect the price.
And most importantly, what another bride spends has absolutely nothing to do with what you have to spend.
Wedding dresses can be expensive because there can be a tremendous amount of material, construction, design and labor involved in making one garment.
Notice I said can be.
Not every wedding dress is handmade by a team of artisans who spent 700 hours sewing on individual beads. And not every wedding dress needs to cost thousands of dollars to be beautiful.
But there's a lot more happening in many bridal gowns than you might realize when you look at the finished dress.
Think about the layers underneath a full wedding dress skirt. The structure inside a fitted bodice. The lace that's been placed across a neckline. The buttons running down a back. The beading, embroidery, appliqués, pleating or draping.
Someone has to design it. Someone has to source the materials. Someone has to make it.
And depending on the wedding dress, some of that work can be incredibly detailed.
Two wedding dresses can look almost identical at first glance and still have VERY different price tags based on how they’re made, what they’re made from & who designed them.
This is where wedding dress pricing gets especially confusing. You can look at two strapless A-line wedding dresses online and think:They look basically the same. Why is one $800 and the other $4,000?
Because you're looking at the finished product, not necessarily everything that went into making it.
The fabric may be different. The lace may be different. One dress may have significantly more internal construction. Embellishments may be machine applied on one wedding dress and involve more handwork on another.
Where and how the bridal gown is produced can also affect the cost.
Then there's the designer itself. You're sometimes paying for the design, brand, exclusivity and experience in addition to the physical wedding dress.
That doesn't automatically make one dress “good” and the other “bad.” They're just not necessarily the same product because they look similar in a photograph.
Shop this Satin Corset Wedding Gown made by Mirenlace Wedding →
Ahhh...the “wedding tax.”
You've probably heard some version of this online: Tell them it's for a wedding and suddenly it costs twice as much!
Wedding dresses can absolutely cost more than other dresses, but it’s not simply because someone put the word “wedding” in front of them.
I’ve worked in the wedding industry since 2004, and I think this idea gets oversimplified A LOT.
A wedding dress isn't expensive simply because someone put the word “wedding” in front of “dress.”
Wedding dresses can involve specialized fabrics, multiple layers, internal structure, detailed construction, embellishment and skilled labor. Bridal shops also provide a very different shopping experience than grabbing a dress off a rack at a regular clothing store.
Does that mean every wedding dress is worth whatever price is attached to it? Of course not.
It means you should understand what you're comparing before deciding something is overpriced simply because it's for a wedding.
A more expensive wedding dress isn’t automatically a better wedding dress, and spending more definitely doesn’t guarantee that you’ll love it more.
A higher wedding dress price can reflect more expensive materials, more complicated construction, more handwork, a particular designer or any number of other factors.
But that doesn't mean the most expensive wedding dress is automatically the best wedding dress for YOU.
You might put on a $6,000 designer wedding dress and appreciate every gorgeous detail...
...then put on a much less expensive bridal gown and think, OMG. THIS IS IT.
Buy the wedding dress you love and can comfortably afford.
You don't get extra points for spending more.
One reason wedding dress prices are so confusing is that we're constantly comparing things that aren't necessarily comparable.
A ready-to-wear wedding dress purchased online isn't necessarily the same product or shopping experience as a made-to-order bridal gown purchased through a bridal boutique.
A sample wedding dress isn't necessarily comparable to a brand-new gown being ordered from the designer.
A simple bridal gown isn't necessarily comparable to a wedding dress with extensive beading, lace or handwork.
And a national article on a big box wedding website about the “average cost of a wedding dress” doesn't know anything about YOUR wedding, YOUR priorities, where you live or what kind of bridal gown you're shopping for.
This is why I don't want you getting too attached to a number you saw on social media, found on a big wedding website or got from your friend who bought her wedding dress three years ago.
Use those numbers for research if they're helpful. Just don't mistake them for rules.
Shop this Satin Off The Shoulder A Line Wedding Gown made by Madmire Handmade→
The price of a wedding dress doesn’t always include everything you’ll need, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re paying for before you say “yes.”
If you have any questions at all: ASK.
Seriously, this is something you want to understand before you buy your wedding dress.
The price on the wedding dress may be just that: the dress.
Depending on the bridal shop and your particular purchase, there may be other expenses or services to consider separately.
Ask about alterations. Ask about shipping or rush fees if either applies. Ask whether there are storage or steaming services and whether those cost extra.
You should also understand the deposit, payment schedule and when the remaining balance is due.
Don't assume something is included. And don't assume it isn't.
Ask the bridal shop exactly what you're paying for so there are no surprises later.
Wedding dress alterations are not always included in the purchase price of a bridal gown, so this is another question to ask before you buy.
The amount you'll need to spend on alterations can also vary considerably depending on the wedding dress and what needs to be done.
A hem is different from significantly restructuring a wedding dress. Adding a bustle is different from changing a neckline or adding sleeves.
This is one of the reasons I want brides thinking beyond that number on the wedding dress price tag.
The dress is a big part of your bridal fashion spending.
It isn't necessarily the only part.
Yes, you can absolutely find a beautiful wedding dress for less, and spending less doesn’t mean you have to settle for a dress you don’t love.
Spending less on your wedding dress does not mean you're doing bridal fashion wrong.
You can look at sample wedding dresses, off-the-rack bridal gowns, ready-to-wear wedding dresses, pre-owned dresses and bridal retailers at many different price points.
You can also simply choose a less expensive wedding dress because that's where you want to spend your money.
Maybe THE dress is incredibly important to you and you want to make it a major part of your wedding budget.
Maybe you like wedding dresses but would much rather put that money toward something else.
Neither bride is doing it wrong.
That's the part that gets lost when we spend too much time talking about what a wedding dress “should” cost.
Shop this Minimalist Deep V-Neck Wedding Dress made by Pink Crafts 1967→
HowmuchYOUshouldspendonyourweddingdressdependsonyourownbudget,priorities &howimportantthedressistoyou,notwhatsomeoneelsesaysabride “should”spend.
I'm not going to tell you that your wedding dress should be a certain percentage of your wedding budget.
Your wedding dress budget should make sense for YOUR finances, YOUR priorities and the rest of the bridal fashion you're planning.
If the wedding dress is one of the most important things to you, you may decide to spend more there.
If it isn't, don't let an internet average convince you that you need to.
There isn't a magic amount you have to spend to get married in a wedding dress you love.
Your wedding dress may be the biggest bridal fashion purchase you make, but it probably isn't the only one.
That's where I want you to think beyond the dress.
There may be alterations. Wedding shoes. A veil. Jewelry. Undergarments. Hair and makeup. Other wedding outfits. And whatever else matters to YOU.
I'm intentionally not going to give you another generic list and tell you exactly how much to spend on each one.
Instead, I created something to help you figure that out for yourself.
The Bridal Fashion Fix helps you plan your wedding dress, alterations, accessories, beauty and other wedding looks while keeping your bridal fashion budget and actual spending organized in one place.
You'll get my best bridal fashion advice, planning tools, the BFF Budget & Spending Tracker and a customizable Bridal Look Book so you can decide what matters to YOU, spend accordingly and keep track of it all.
This is the part of wedding dresses I know especially well.
For more than 20 years, I've been hand making wedding garters and bridal heirlooms, including completely custom bridal garters made from mothers' and grandmothers' wedding dresses, veils and other family materials.
I've transformed lace, satin, tulle, beading, embroidery and sentimental little pieces of wedding dresses into something a new bride can wear on her own wedding day.
So if you have a family wedding dress tucked away somewhere that you don't necessarily want to wear, but you can't imagine leaving packed in a box either, I'd love to help you turn part of it into your own wedding heirloom.
GET INFO ON A CUSTOM WEDDING GARTER →
P.S. Some of the above product links are affiliate-connected and purchasing through these links helps to support the blog.
