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RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

carolyns — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:10:20 GMT

Yes the cost definitely influenced the dress!! I told the girl that I didn't want to spend over $500, but realistically I knew that it may be hard to find a dress for less than that. She said "look on this rack and that one and don't dare go downstairs!" (downstairs was all the $1000+ dresses). The most expensive dress I tried on was $750, but I ended up with a dress that cost $395. And I love it!! I do not feel like I settled for an alright dress b/c of cost!!

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

huntertobe — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:41:08 GMT

[quote][b]BellzBride (6/3/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]nsanterre (6/3/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Newbie2008 (6/1/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Belram (6/1/2008)[/b][hr]Bridal and Beyond in the Toronto area was fantastic[/quote]

There was a long post before (I think it has been erased because of the server problems) about B & B and how terrible the service and quality was. Personally, it was the worst experience I've had in any bridal shop.[/quote]

I just read this...it was me that started the post and YES I think the majority of us agreed that Bridal and Beyond was TERRIBLE. Good Luck to anyone going there.[/quote]

I personally haven't been there, but I have heard negative feedback about them. Most of the negative feedback I've heard is about the attitudes of the employees.[/quote]

agreed! i had a horrific time over the phone with them - they were rude, put me on hold forever, etc... i found the location hard to find and they were so condescending over the phone to me. so i really wasn't looking forward to my visit there.

but i was already on my way there so i went. the girl helping me with my dresses was OUTSTANDING. she totally changed my perception. so i went there with my bridesmaids and the girl helping us that day sucked ballocks.

i think that's why there's such different reviews of this place....it all depends on who you get! and the prick on the phone definately needs to be fired :D

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

huntertobe — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:38:09 GMT

[quote][b]saraht76 (6/3/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]huntertobe (6/3/2008)[/b][hr]the cost did and didn't influence my choice....

i would have LOVED my dream dress - but it was $6000 :w00t: so i went, tried it on, and cried myself to sleep that night.

but i did try on whatever i wanted regardless of cost...but i knew deep down i wouldn't go over $2000 - i just couldn't stomach more for a dress i'd wear once. but i knew i had to love it...i refused to get just an "alright" dress to stay in budget

i figured i would find what i loved and try to find it cheaper - and if i couldn't find it cheaper then try to find a way to make it work.[/quote]

That's how I am feeling. I looked but didn't try on dresses at David's Bridal because I thought it would be cheaper to just get the dress there. I have poured over their catalogue and out of all the dresses in it, I like 2. Like, not love. That actually is what prompted this post. [/quote]

then keep looking! there are so many options for you out there - don't settle!

do you have a "dream dress" ? post a pic of it and maybe we can help you find something more affordable?

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Jennabella — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:19:41 GMT

I was trying to find a dress second hand on craigslist, until I visited some bridal stores and found Maggie's Cindy. I fell in love and I couldn't find it used anywhere in my size. Then I searched every online store to get the best quote, until my Grandma told me that she wanted to buy my dress. It came to $1000 including all taxes. But the thing that got me was the $400 alteration bill. I didn't even think to budget alterations into the whole deal, and I certainly didn't expect to pay a whopping $400 for them.

If I had known my dress would come out to $1400, I think I would have stuck to my original plan....finding a great dress on craigslist for much much less than buying brand new.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

BellzBride — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:15:41 GMT

[quote][b]nsanterre (6/3/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Newbie2008 (6/1/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Belram (6/1/2008)[/b][hr]Bridal and Beyond in the Toronto area was fantastic[/quote]

I just read this...it was me that started the post and YES I think the majority of us agreed that Bridal and Beyond was TERRIBLE. Good Luck to anyone going there.[/quote]

I personally haven't been there, but I have heard negative feedback about them. Most of the negative feedback I've heard is about the attitudes of the employees.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

BellzBride — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 23:10:34 GMT

When I was looking for a dress, I budgeted myself to spend anywhere from $1000-1500. The majority of dresses I saw were in that price range anyways, so it wasn't really a problem. It didn't stop me from trying on the more expensive ones though- it was just fun to try them on (even if I couldn't afford them).

To be honest though, one thing I noticed about most of the expensive dresses though.... they really aren't anything THAT special. They may be made of fancy fabrics like French silk, but they don't look any more spectacular than one at a lower price.

I got very lucky with my dress. It just happened to be a much smaller sample size, so I was able to buy it off the rack at a 25% discount- no alterations needed! It was originally $1400, less the 25%, which brought it down to $1050. Right on budget, baby! :D

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

nsanterre — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:54:30 GMT

[quote][b]Newbie2008 (6/1/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Belram (6/1/2008)[/b][hr]Bridal and Beyond in the Toronto area was fantastic[/quote]

I just read this...it was me that started the post and YES I think the majority of us agreed that Bridal and Beyond was TERRIBLE. Good Luck to anyone going there.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

saraht76 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:30:53 GMT

[quote][b]huntertobe (6/3/2008)[/b][hr]the cost did and didn't influence my choice....

i would have LOVED my dream dress - but it was $6000 :w00t: so i went, tried it on, and cried myself to sleep that night.

i figured i would find what i loved and try to find it cheaper - and if i couldn't find it cheaper then try to find a way to make it work.[/quote]

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

melissa85 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:30:08 GMT

I went to Beckers Bridal and The dressing room in Toronto and tried on a bunch some were in my range and others were not. I didnt end up liking any of them, but decided the next place I look I will ony try on dresses in my budget.

Likely when I went to Davids Bridal and everything was $1200 and under plus $200 off :)

I bought my PERFECT dress, bra thing, and slip for $900 CDN.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

MrsSept07 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:24:23 GMT

The sales girl was a huge help, she asked right from the start what I didn't want to go over, and she let me know as I picked through the dresses. I definely kept it in mind while shopping, I didn't look at anything over because I knew I was not going to spend more.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Bron — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:40:47 GMT

I didn't really look at prices before trying on dresses and I guess I got lucky because the dress I loved was less then I thought I was going to spend! :)

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

missdish — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:17:49 GMT

I set my price and didn't try on anything that wasn't in the budget

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

KatherineR — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:05:14 GMT

I tried on Maggies and cried when I saw the price tag. Couldn't rationalize that much money for something I would wear once.

So, I looked for a 'feel good' option. Ended up at 'The Bride's Project', found a pretty dress, bought it and went home. It was $500, came with a veil, and needed no alterations.

Have to go with your gut but like other girls on here, I'm pretty strict about watching where dollars were spent for the wedding.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

huntertobe — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:55:11 GMT

the cost did and didn't influence my choice....

i would have LOVED my dream dress - but it was $6000 :w00t: so i went, tried it on, and cried myself to sleep that night.

i figured i would find what i loved and try to find it cheaper - and if i couldn't find it cheaper then try to find a way to make it work.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

beaniebaby — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:43:53 GMT

[quote][b]Newbie2008 (6/1/2008)[/b][hr][quote][b]Belram (6/1/2008)[/b][hr]Bridal and Beyond in the Toronto area was fantastic[/quote]

I have to disagree! I LOVED my experience there! My dress came in on time as expected, my BM dresses were WAY early.. my alterations were DIRT cheap and I LOVE my dress!

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Nicotina — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:20:08 GMT

I had no particular budget in mind when I set out. I thought that I would just try stuff on and see what styles I liked. It was through trying them on that I figured out what they cost. I'm paying for my dress myself and the $1000. for my maggie did seem a bit high for my frugal personality but it was within the range of what I was see was normal for dress these days!

I could have bought on-line for cheaper but I was so worried about not being able to go some where and yell at a real person if something went wrong I ended up buying through a shop here in Ontario.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

mpagechall — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 06:50:14 GMT

I tried on every dress I could have possibly liked. I had a budget of about $1000 (my mom was paying). But as I said i tried on a ton of dress to get an idea of the style and shape that looked best on me. Then we checked the price tag. I gotta say some of the dresses that I absolutely loved I was turned off on due to the prices being so high... Anyways I found the dress that had everything I wanted and it was $1200 + alterations. It was a bit over budget but my mom loved it so much also that she wanted to get it for me :D

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

woodkelley — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:48:52 GMT

my dress was originally $1000, on sale for $800.

Alterations were a little painful....$275. That's only because my dress is so detailed, they had to remove detailing work, and sew it all back on.

Didn't really go in with a said budget, but thought it would be around $1000 or so. Love my dress, never would've picked it out though. The sales associate picked it for me! I got it at David's Bridal in the US. She was SO good.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

drizzt09 — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:12:45 GMT

Oh budget all the way, my dress was $200, and I wouldn't have paid more than $500.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

scraggles — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:38:55 GMT

I was hoping to get something for less than $2000. I guess if I would have fell in love with something that was a bit more, I might have tried to figure something out, but I got lucky and found my dress for $800:D

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

jenandgreg — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:51:40 GMT

I went in with a budget...found a CHEAP dress but my mother insisted I looked around. I AM SO GLAD I DID!!!!! My dress was WAY out of my range ($1600) but I tried in on because my mom picked it up then dropped it on the floor and made me try it on b/c she felt bad..lol. So I did.

I LOVE IT!!!!

I came out and she put her hands up to her mouth and sighed then cried. I did not want to take it off!! I knew right away..THEN I looked at the tag. $1600!!

Holy crap. It was funny..I never once thought I was not going to get it..in like 3 seconds I already knew what I was willing to give up to have this dress.

I did some MAJOR bargining..ended up with...

Dress

Free alterations ALL alterations (some places say "free alt" but they only mean the length!!

VIEL up to a $150 cost

ALL TAXES

Final cost $1500 :D

I knew anything over 2k I would not of felt good with..FOR ME. My advice is if you can't afford it don't get it..but if you find "the one" and can get a good deal then go for it!!

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Anna1979 — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:55:39 GMT

I tried on dresses based on wether I liked them - I did try on a few tht the bridal consultant suggested as well and ended up liking a few of them. My dress was important to me and I was lucky that my parents offered to pay for my dress so I knew that if "the one" was super expensive I could offer to pay for half since and still make our budget.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

msamanda — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:44:09 GMT

I found "the one" in the bridal store, then found it again on ebay for a third of the price :D

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

novalt — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 01:06:51 GMT

Absolutely. I wouldn't even 'look' at a dress if it was over my price range. I remember the first place I went, I gave her an idea of what I wanted, and she brought me some dresses. One of them was 1100, and I wouldn't even try it on in case I liked it. I got my dress for 575, alterations capped at 150, shoes 45, veil 50. Part of my appeal to something is that is it cheap, lol...

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

hopeharris — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:12:14 GMT

There are other options too - you can try on a bunch of dresses, get an idea of what style or shape looks good on you, and then take those pictures to a few bridal stores to see what they have that fits in your budget.

When I was looking in the stores, I let the ladies who worked there know what my budget was right away, and I also let them know what kind of dress I was looking for. Most of them worked within my budget.

If I have any advice, it's to price shop. Going to a store 1/2 an hour away can make a huge difference, or buying a sample instead of one that's ordered in, or even online bridal stores (though I'd stick with one that was reputable).

The dress I found was about double my budget - but I ordered it through Trinklet's Creations and ended up paying about 40% of what the boutique I tried it on at was charging.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Newbie2008 — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:11:57 GMT

[quote][b]Belram (6/1/2008)[/b][hr]Bridal and Beyond in the Toronto area was fantastic[/quote]

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Missspunk — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:06:05 GMT

My suggestion and it worked for me was to figure out what your price range is and look at dresses online in those price ranges. I found THE DRESS under my price range. I also suggest looking at the stores on the american side if you can. The dress chose was $895plus tax here and on the american side I got it for $603 taxes in. Shop around try on your dresses and then compare online and find where you can get it cheaper. You can almost always find it cheaper then the original place that you saw it. Just an idea that worked for me.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

chulie — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 22:22:06 GMT

My mom was paying for my dress....so she allotted x-amount(same amount she spent on my sisters dress) and she said if i spent less...she would give me the difference to spend in cash...since we wanted to save as much as we could...i definitely looked at the price at first..and was looking at dresses around the 1000 mark....but....then i took my mom shopping with me..hahahaha...she was a "this is your one shot..do what you want...you know how much you can spend...and if its a little more...who cares..." so i ended up NOT looking at price and DID find my dream dress...but i did look at the price tag secretly before i put anything in the change room to make it wasnt a crazy price...even thought she was paying...i didnt want to take advantage....anways...i did find the one and it cost less than my allotted amount so...i did get to save AND find my dream dress all at the same time! :)

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Celestial — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:50:03 GMT

I didn't look at price till after i liked the dress or not most of the time. BUT I also live in the Maritimes and most of the dresses were around $1200 and under.. I didn't want to go over $1000. I'm sure in much larger centers you'll get much higher priced dresses so you might want to keep an eye on that. There is no where around here to buy Pronovias for example which i loved from pics in magazines... but prob a good thing LOL.

If you talk with the shop and tell them your price point most of them will show you dresses in that range (from my own personal experience anyways)

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

RosaEldi — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:42:02 GMT

I wasn't sure of the prices either of dresses that I was looking at online so I was really nervous about going shopping for the first time. My advice to you is if you are on a budget look at price first, you really don't want to try anything on you can't afford because of the whole loving it thing. My alfred Angelo was 699 without the train if I want(ed) the train it will 899 us. From what I saw in the bridal shop that designer's prices were from about 399us to 899 us but I'm sure there was higher end dress from him.The bridal people are very helpful, just tell the person what price range you are thinking about and you'll be shown only those dresses.

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

lovemrk — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:40:13 GMT

I definitely went in with a budget in mind but when I found the one, I didn't care how much it cost. By the way....it was well below budget!! So happy!

RE: Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

Belram — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:35:53 GMT

Most dresses are about $1000 (where I looked anyways) so if you budget for that, you should be okay. I found that the Maggie's I tried on (and ended up buying) were the most expensive. Alfred Angelo and those types I found to be less pricey. There are usually sales going on so that helps. If you book an appointment, the bridal consultant will be able to work within your budget. Bridal and Beyond in the Toronto area was fantastic, and had some great deals. Their alterations are reasonable as well, they have a cap (around $200) for alterations so that helps out! Plus you pay only 1/2 at first and the rest when it arrives.

Did the cost of the dress influence your choice??

saraht76 — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:31:32 GMT

I have been looking at dresses online and picking out what styles I like and don't. I don't really know how much they cost - I could guess that Maggies run 1000 or more but the other designers I don't know. Did you try on dresses, regardless of their cost, or did the price tag dictate what you tried on. My fear is I will find "the one" and then not be able to afford it.