How much to spend on a dress

The answer is as difficult as long as a piece of string. You spend what you can comfortably afford without sacrificing other aspects of your wedding but making sure you love it at the same time if you can't justify this amount perhaps a similar is available cheaper? I only spent 320 on mine and I did this because I loved it but wanted my wedding venue as my priority so didn't want to spend too much that I had to sacrifice other areas.

Well the dress is £1,860 ouch..... and yes we both have good jobs with good wages and can afford it, but I am of the disposition and I am crucified for it, I will spend on others or anything that is not directly for me, but if it comes to myself I am stingy.. and not sure if I can justify that much money on a dress for one day...

Have a look on tailorwedding.com and see if they do anything similar, if not email them photos and they wll make you a similar dress for a very reasonable price

Gosh that's a lot of money by a lot of people's standards. Just to put it into prospective my actual wedding venue including reception sit down meal etc was 2500!!

I guess you should fast forward 5 years or more would it be "the big regret" if you don't see yourself in that dress in your photos?

If it's stole your heart and it won't be cutting back on the event maybe you should :- does it include everything? Alterations etc add that into your calculations X

I say go for it if you can afford it as if you don't you may regret it and a second choice will probably never come close to the first. I asked for discount on my dress and I got it, maybe a bit cheeky but then I was buying my hoop, tiara, veil too. If you don't ask you don't get! Xx

Depending on your location and of course size - there's one on preloved - think it was Wakefield for £550! If you're not precious of proud you might pick one up used.

You should only get a dress you're comfortable paying what it costs. Any more and you might love the dress but you will beat yourself up over the cost. Mine's about 4 times my original budget mainly because I had no idea what I could get away with wearing and what it would cost. But we can just about afford it and OH reckons I'm worth it - so do I - lol - so if you can justify it to yourself then go for it. x

Definitely consider pre loved and similar sites. I found my dress on there, brand new at HALF the retail price. The lady had changed her mind about the dress, but was still required to pay for it by the shop. The dress was in Ireland though, so I had to have it shipped over- i'd already tried it on at a bridal shop and knew how it looked and fit, so that wasn't as much of a risk.

One of our brides also had similar luck finding her dress after the lady she bought it from fell pregnant.

There are some fantastic bargains to be had. If you're not in a rush for the dress, keep an eye on sites like preloved and ebay and you never know, something might pop up.

Blimey, that's rather a lot of money! Can I ask why you tried it on if you couldn't justify the cost? I didn't try any dresses over my set budget so i couldn't fall in love with one that I couldn't afford. If you really can't justify the cost, perhaps try another shop. If nothing compares then you might have to accept the cost! You could always sell it on afterwards

I was in a similar situation. I really really loved the dress called June by Amy Kuschel. However, it cost $3,000USD-ish. Yeah, we could easily afford it, but I could not spend that cash on a dress. I got a lovely Priscilla of Boston dress from a discount shop outside of Boston where I Found the Gown is filmed. It was $699USD, fit perfectly, and was very similar.

Honestly, I look at my dress and still love it. I look at the June dress and have no regrets.

Go with what you're comfortable with.

Right lets try to answer everyone's questions

So Lalac - yes to alterations etc, 5 years time I do love it but my accountant head comes into play.. my H2B says 'when do you spend any kind of money on yourself get it.

Pink and Glitz - I have asked and she said she would take £300 off the price...

Pammy - I keep scouring preloved ebay etc... I am not fussed if its new or used 'its one day' and I not too sure I could slim into a size 12 by August, I measured at a 18 in the shop (bearing in mind my clothes size is not that), but in 2 weeks I have lost 2.5inches on waist and 2inches on boobies, through exercise and diet.

Mrs Shep - I made the mistake of just looking on the rails for what I liked and just tried away and I think if I could sell it after for 500-1000 could be justified spend (so only I can be blamed)

I did like one in another shop, and would love it if they added sequins to the skirt, but alteration costs would be on top of the dress.

For information too dress is Hollywood Dreams - Valentina versus Justine Alexander 8762

Could you ring around the shops and see if anyone has it in a sample sale? Mine is a designer dress which originally cost £1295, there was no way I could ever afford that but luckily it was in a sample sale. After further haggling, I got my dream dress at £595! (Alterations cost £100) Good luck!

If it's the one & you can afford it then go for it! You don't want to regret it & feel you settled for a second choice x

If you can afford it then go for it. Try cutting back on the wedding in other areas if you can. Someone on here spent £6000 on a dress so this is cheap in comparison!

That is a lot of money to spend on a dress, but I am actually of the opposite opinion to a lot of people. I don't ordinarily spend a lot of money on myself and I don't go for designer shoes, bags, clothes etc. But I decided, a long time ago, that when I got married I was going to be a princess for a day. to me that meant spending money on what I wanted to wear. So I have bought everything for me without too much thought to the expense - my dress was £1000.

What I'm trying to say is; IMHO if it is the dress for you and you can afford it - then buy it. You can always sell it on afterwards and recoup some of the moneny.

Why don't you ask your OH to buy it for you on the condition that you're buying suits, bridal party gifts etc. up to the value of the dress?

That way, you're spending your money on other people and he's buying you the dress of your dreams without you feeling guilty...?

Psychologically, you won't feel like you're splurging on yourself, but the same amount of money is being spent - and you know you've got to buy those other things anyway ?

That is a lot of money, mine was about half that and I had to swallow hard to justify it - even though we could afford it. What will you do with the dress after? A friend of mine paid £3500 on a Vera wang - she said she'd sell it straight after. Three years later and she still has it - Says she can't bare to part with it!

So I suppose what I am trying to say is it depends where your head is at. It's a lot of money, but you may get half back if you sell it - or if (like my friend) it means the world to you - it's a small price!

For me that is a lot of money to spend on a dress but that is because of my personal circumstance. It should be completely up to you! If you can afford it, spend it. I would never reccommend anyone going into debt to buy a dress but if like you say you are both in good jobs why not treat yourself?

I would rest on it for a couple of weeks, have a look somewhere else and if you still cant stop thinking of that dress then it is the dress for you!

My mum set me straight on this at the weekend. I've always said 'no I don't want to spend a ridiculous amount on a dress, it's only for ONE day, I'd rather spend it on the rings, they're for life!' And my mum (who has her own dress regrets) said that the dress may be for a day, but the photos are for life.

I think I found 'the one' at the weekend, it was my maximum budget x1.5, and I haven't finally decided yet but I'm coming round. It's silly money, it would pay for half our honeymoon, but I'm only doing this once so why not feel like a princess? It's my day, and I want to look at my photos and think 'wow, I really did look fantastic) in a not big-headed way! I'm even altering the dress so I have a slightly different day/night look, being a complete diva haha, and I was saying I wouldn't spend more than few hundred in monsoon just a week ago!!

Well I have decided.... spoilt brat dress as I keep referring to it as.... I am having it, we live once and I have tried on another 10 and still like not love.....

So Hollywood Derams Valentina it is

Hehe, good for you!!

Glad your getting it

In my opinion it might be "one day" but it's probably going to be the most photographed outfit you will ever wear and you will probably have to look at it in most houses you go to (pictures on walls/in frames.....your marital home, both sets of parents homes, grandparents homes....The list could probably go on).

People will forget what the food tasted like, forget what wedding cars you had, forget about what what the dj played and how good/bad he was but they will always remember your dress and there will always be memories of it so if you can afford it why not spend a little more on it

I am a bit late with my comment but I agree with other people on here, if you can afford it and it is what you want, then you should go for it. It would be different if you couldn't afford it and it would impact significantly on your future plans.

I had a bit of a dilemma with wedding dresses too. Moments of clarity occurred when I heard my OH friends talking about cars, spending £10k minimum (cars depreciate quickly) and I saw a guy in a fancy BMW sports car. I thought to myself, if you guys don't give a second thought spending thousands on a car, then why I am struggling with the thought of spending £1k-£2k on a dress.

It is ok to treat yourself from time to time.?

Really glad you've gone for the dress you love. Good for you xx

Thanks guys..... Need to decide on accessories now veil length etc.. giddy giddy

There's no need to feel guilty if you can afford it and it is something you love! Most dresses I tried on cost between 1500 and 1800 ? although none were quite right, so I'm getting mine made for ~£800. If I had absolutely fallen in love with one of those dresses I would have made it happen

Well one of my values in life is generosity and funnily that generally applies to everyone around me and never to myself and for one I have applied that value to myself...

Good for you!

If you can afford it & you love it - then buy it!

If you love it and can afford it get it. After you can always sell it to get some of the money back. If you kept going back to it and not the Justin Alexander one would you feel as good in it on your big day? I never splash out on myself but I paid £1400 for my dress