I have recently begun planning my wedding. As I would consider myself relatively laid-back about the whole affair, my fiancé and I have chosen a venue that will take care of most of the details for us. There is one thing, however, that I insist on handling personally, down to the very last detail, and that is my wedding gown.
Our budget is limited, as we are paying for the whole affair ourselves, so I went into planning with the intention of spending no more than $150 on my gown. As time has gone on I have found this unrealistic. There are plenty of beautiful dresses out there that wouldn’t break my budget, but they aren’t “it.” I have a specific look planned out for myself. It’s my wedding and, as cliché as it may sound, I want to look like a princess. I want the full ball gown with a long train and beading and I found the perfect one…but I can’t even see how much it costs.
The dress is beautiful and I have no doubt that it will be top quality as I can go to a local bridal shop and look at it in person before I decide to order it. The problem is that I know that if I see it in person I will insist on getting it no matter the price. The website lists the price in ranges, each range represented with a certain number of wedding bells. When I first saw the dress I thought, “well, it only has two bells! That’s not so bad! It’s almost the cheapest!” Then I read what two bells means, and that’s $999-$1399.
The truth is, I could manage buying that dress. Our budget is tight, but all I would have to do is set aside a couple of paychecks and the beautiful dress of my dreams would be all mine! My fiancé told me to do whatever would make me the happiest. I am not getting that dress.
I could buy that beautiful wedding gown and I’d be happy; ecstatic even, but weddings aren’t about the dress. If our wedding was about buying a $1300 dress then we would just elope and I’d look awesome doing it, but that isn’t what we’re doing. We made our guest list carefully because of how much it costs to invite each guest. For the cost of that wedding gown I could invite 26 more people I love to come and see me. There are plenty of shops nearby that can show me more reasonably priced dresses that have the feel of that gorgeous designer gown. I can get the feel without the extra cash; I have seen it! There are ball gowns with long trains and lace-up backs and beadwork for $300, which is plenty when I don’t make a lot of money. And those 26 extra people will get to see me in that dress. They won’t be thinking, “wow, that looks cheap…” they will be thinking, “that’s my girl!” To them I always look like a princess.
My immediate reaction was to look on the internet for cheaper gowns that I could order that were just as extravagant. There are a lot of sites out there with gorgeous models wearing beautiful gowns that look like a million dollars but cost $250. I am a bride to be; I couldn’t help but feel hopeful for a few seconds. I wanted a dress like the designer one for a fifth of the price, almost desperately. And that’s why I would like to leave you with this: that is what they want. Look online, find reviews of the website. Often, you will find that unbelievable deals are unbelievable for a very good reason. The price tag at a local bridal store may not always look as nice as those fake sites, but you’ll actually get a dress for your money, and you’ll know the exact quality and the fit.