The Fashionista Lab

For Brides on a Budget

Over the past few years more and more of my friends have been getting married. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from listening to their stories, it’s this: everything is more expensive when it’s for a wedding. A recently engaged friend looked at a venue where renting the space for a photo shoot cost $150/hr, while getting the space for a wedding cost $5000. Just for the space. She still had to bring in her own caterer, decorator, etc. Whether it’s for catering, flowers, or sending out the announcement, the same friend said “as soon as it’s a ‘wedding’ and not a party – there’s a mark-up.”

And of course, there’s the wedding dress. A married friend told me that she found plenty of affordable white dresses, but as soon as she said the W word, the price jumped to thousands of dollars. She had a low-key wedding and wore a white cocktail dress from White House/Black Market. Another friend echoed that sentiment, and found a cute and elegant vintage white cocktail dress on Etsy. Personally I’m 100% single so wedding planning isn’t in my universe right now, but I got curious about what the options are for today’s brides-to-be. Using the cost of a wedding dress from Anthropologie ($600-$4000), Vera Wang for David’s Bridal ($600-$1400), and J. Crew ($350-$3000) as benchmarks, what are the options for a bride who wants to save money on her dress?

DISCOVERY #1: White House/Black Market does actual wedding dresses!

DISCOVERY #2: You can buy a regular white “long dress” from Halston Heritage, and it’s still expensive.

DISCOVERY #3: If you’re not wedded to a traditional look (pun intended) there are several brands that offer a cool wedding dress for under $500.

Aidan Maddox

BCBG Max Azria

Graham & Spencer

Halston Heritage

Thread

Max Azria

Ok, so that last one is over $500, but is the detailing on the top not super cool?! As it turns out, no matter where you go a white dress will run the gamut of prices. But if you don’t like the choices at a wedding shop, at least there are other options. Brides and brides-t0-be: what do you think? Is it blasphemy to get the dress for your special day from a regular retailer?

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Credits (from top): White House/Black Market, Shopbop, Bloomingdale’s, Bloomingdale’s, SSense, Shopbop, Shopbop, Bloomingdale’s.

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14 responses to “For Brides on a Budget”

  1. Rachel Avatar
    Rachel

    Those are some lovely options, especially the ones from Max Azria and Aidan Maddox. As someone who is getting married in July, I think buying your dress from a regular retailer is fine. What’s silly is spending thousands on a dress you’ll never wear again. Even hundreds is too much for me, which is why I’m going to wear an altered vintage dress that I bought at a flea market. I plan to use the money that others would spend on a dress on designer shoes that I can wear on other occasions.

    Reply
  2. Jenna Avatar
    Jenna

    Another good option is to look at (pretty!) bridesmaids’ dresses. Almost all of the styles can be made in ivory or white and sometimes in various fabrics. I wanted to wear a short dress for my ceremony and needed it in a fairly quick time frame (6 mos.). There are very few wedding dress options that fit what I was looking for, so I went to a very classy bridesmaids’ dress store, which would have been way out of my price range for my wedding party but was extremely affordable for a wedding dress.

    Reply
    1. The Fashionista Lab Avatar
      The Fashionista Lab

      6mos is quick?! wow.

      Reply
      1. Jenna Avatar
        Jenna

        In the wedding world, unfortunately, yes.

  3. shopsweetthings Avatar
    shopsweetthings

    I think it’s absolutely fine to get a wedding dress from a retail shop. The most important part is to find a dress that the bride is most comfortable in. I spent $750 on mine and was completely happy with it… not too sure if I would be too happy if I spent 7K.

    Reply
  4. kim Avatar
    kim

    I’m glad there are more choices out there for brides who don’t want to go into debt (or spend a small fortune) on their wedding dress. Ann Taylor, The Limited, and more are coming out with lovely dresses and I love the shops-within-a-shop that places like Nordstrom, Net-A-Porter and ShopBop have opened. I actually bought a dress from a consignment shop before deciding on one from J.Crew that was under $400. I think you should get a dress that looks great on you and makes you feel beautiful, no matter where it comes from

    Reply
  5. missphd Avatar
    missphd

    A friend of mine got a slip gown from J. Crew for $200 as her wedding dress, reminiscent of the middle Halston Heritage dress for $1195. Now she’s looking to get it dyed so she can wear it again without feeling bridal – that’d be TWO dresses for $200 🙂 Another friend bought a traditional, basic wedding dress that looked great on her for $600 then we hit up Michael’s craft store and spent $50 on all the flowers and beads she wanted to add. She had the seamstress sew them on when the alterations were being done and it turned out great!

    Reply
    1. Annie Avatar
      Annie

      I was just gonna say, get a dress you can dye and wear again!

      Reply
  6. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    I visited a bridal shop in May 2007, and when the salesperson found out that my wedding was in August, she just about had an apoplectic fit. When she found out that I didn’t intend to spend more than $500 on a dress, she stopped speaking to me.

    Then I stopped at David’s Bridal, whose staff were slightly more sympathetic, but it seemed to me that
    1. every dress looked the same (white strapless ballgowns, which happened to not be the look I wanted), and
    2. every dress looked less than a wedding gown than it looked like a Halloween costume of a wedding gown (even the $1000 dresses, while undeniably pretty, were 100% nylon and felt like plastic to the touch).

    Completely demoralized, I went home to buy a dress online. Within half an hour, I found three I liked on Nordstrom.com. I ordered all three, and they arrived three business days later (just like any other item of clothing!). I tried them on, picked out the one I liked best, and sent the other two back. It fit perfectly: I had it hemmed so I wouldn’t trip over it, but no other fitting required. (Unlike designers, Nordstrom designs dresses to fit actual human beings?) And, at $300, while it was the most expensive item of clothing I’d ever bought, it’s also undoubtedly the nicest, and I have worn it a few times since then.

    Near the end of June Morgan went to Joseph A. Banks to buy his suit. While he was trying it on, the salesperson was chatting with me and praising Morgan for how far ahead of time Morgan was getting his suit, and how on top of things he was.

    He was right, of course: six weeks is plenty of time to get a suit altered so it fits. So why isn’t that plenty of time for a dress?

    I could go on about the wedding industrial complex, but I’ll spare you.

    Reply
  7. The Fashionista Lab Avatar
    The Fashionista Lab

    All of these comments are so encouraging! It’s nice to know that there are women out there refusing to let their weddings – or at least their wedding dresses – be taken over by the overblown wedding industry. Huzzah! And I think it’s great when you can take some part of your outfit – whether the dress or the shoes, and wear it again. It seems ridiculous to spend so much money on something you’d only wear once!

    Also, I’m surprised you’re supposed to figure out the dress thing so far in advance.

    Reply
  8. Danna Avatar
    Danna

    I attended my cousin’s [ultra-religious Jewish] wedding and found out that in that community, renting dresses rather than buying them is completely acceptable! They kind of have to do it, since they need a specific style (long sleeves, floor length, high neck) that isn’t common, and many large families can’t afford to splurge. The result? She had a *gorgeous* gown, which probably would have been 5k+ had she bought it (she also wore sneakers under it so she could dance & jump for hours, which was awesome). Her sisters also had beautiful bridesmaid dresses, also rented.

    Another friend of mine (not religious, just frugal) is sharing a dress with a good friend who is the same size and has similar taste.

    Reply
  9. Danna Avatar
    Danna

    But…. I still think http://www.maggiesottero.com/ are completely gorgeous.

    Reply
  10. Annie Avatar
    Annie

    I kind of want to get married in a white bikini on a beach somewhere. But failing that, I’d probably either rent something, or get something super simple from a retail store. Even $500 to me seems like a lot for something I’d only wear once.

    I had a friend who was in fashion school who got contracted by someone to make their wedding dress. I think that would also be an awesome thing to do; it’d be bespoke, but you could probably negotiate a very reasonable price as they’d be so grateful for the experience.

    Reply
  11. Annie Avatar
    Annie

    Alternatively I’d try and find something second hand/vintage- two of my favourite outfits for formal occasions were found in charity shops for less than $20. Unique and cheap!

    Reply

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