Wedding Blog
Since my post, What Type of Bride Are You?, garnered so many interesting and fabulous responses, I thought I would do a follow up post about how brides express themselves through the “art” of their dress. I’ve stressed time and again how brides today have so many options when it comes to dress design, silhouette, and details. But in reality, this is only true if you put the time in to do your research. During my dress search, I found that despite all of the pretty pictures I spotted in magazines, 98% of affordable wedding dresses looked sorta the same: strapless, white, and long. This frustrated me because although I wanted something simple and timeless, I was busy drooling over $6,000 gowns when my pocketbook said, “Spend no more than $1,000.” And the $1,000 or less pile was filled with essentially the same gown re-created over and over again. {Sigh}
So, the purpose of this post is to get the creative juices flowing and to showcase affordable reader dresses that step outside the box. Or maybe you didn’t “step outside the box”, but found a dress that spoke to you… for whatever reason. Or maybe you made your own dress or found a way to alter a pre-existing gown and make it your own. Or maybe you decided to wear or re-create your mom’s dress. {Love that concept, by the way!}
I truly believe that some of us want to individuality when it comes to dresses, but get intimidated when we walk into bridal stores and see the same stuff time and again.
I spent probably 40 hours + online searching for my dress. It was a fun project that, for the most part, I loved doing. However, some women don’t have the time, the patience, or the desire to troll around on the internet for countless hours. I hope that some of the responses to this post can help us find new, exciting, and plausible options so that every woman can have a shot at finding “the dress”.
Feel free to provide links to pictures of your dress or designers’ websites, or just leave a tidbit of advice you’d give to someone starting the dress search.
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Share this post: But Is It Really ME?: Your Dress
Here’s my dress in all of her UNBRIDAL glory! 
http://www.unique-vintage.com/style-black-white-polka-swing-dress-p-1531.html?osCsid=nqdv10od5vg8vd0m2hn05sl4s6
I was looking for a funky, rock star-ish white number but kept coming back to her. After talking to my FI I felt 1000% confident in my choice and pressed the “add to cart” button.
The best part is that everyone who has seen her thinks that she’s perfect for me!
My initial idea for my dress was to get a bridesmaids dress ordered in off-white (or ivory) - not only would it not be traditional, it would also be between $200-$300! Of course you don’t even have to go white. I’ve since fallen in love with another dress (which I’ve yet to try on), but my back up plan is still go for a bridesmaid’s dress… so much more variety!
I had a similar experience! I was trying on dresses that were way more than my budget because I couldn’t find anything that suited me! I just did a post about some of these dresses on my blog, http://www.itakeu.blogspot.com . So many of them end in, “but this was too expensive”. After something like 30 dresses, I ended finding a great dress by La Sposa, a Pronovias line - I got the monica 2008 : ) it was $1000 - a lot of their dresses are around this price. I love it!
http://www.splasposa.com/ls2009/indexLS2009.html
I love Alfred Angelo and his dream in color line is perfect for me. I was tired of seeing all white dresses then I found these: http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/DisplayCollection.aspx?CategoryId=8b186130-0d63-4e3c-ac5c-aea0d9566e1c
I am getting this one with a tangelo back:
http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=2039e191-e45b-4b44-bba1-6a2ac07f9712&categoryID=8b186130-0d63-4e3c-ac5c-aea0d9566e1c&pg=1
My dress (I hope) will be the same dress that both my grandmother and my mother wore for their weddings. My grandmother was married 65+ years ago so when I called to make an appointment for alterations, they told me not to get my hopes up because the lace may not have held up this long. Hopefully it will be in alter-able condition and it’ll be the dress worn for 3 generations in my family!
dress shopping was horrifying to me. while i ended with a dress that i didn’t think was ‘ME’ in style, the process and reason behind buying the dress definitely was! i do envy those who find ‘the one’, but i wanna chime in and say that if the dress isn’t high on your priority list (as mine wasn’t), it’s definitely okay and won’t take away from the day to have a dress you’re not in love with! it’s all in your perspective of things 
The miles and miles and miles of white dresses freaked me out with a capital “F,” and nothing fit the way I thought it would online. So…I made an appointment at David’s and let the consultant just bring dress after dress to try on and get an idea of what kinds of dresses looked the best…..when I finally decided that a solid white dress just wasn’t for me, that the styles that I thought I loved most were terribly unflattering to a large-busted girl like me, and that yes, it seemed like every white dress was the same dress with different beading, or a different neckline, or…whatever.
And then…I found my dress, in the window of a teeny tiny bridal shop I didn’t even know existed…
http://morilee.com/ViewLarge.aspx?C=1&D=2180&P=2
Except that I’m a pink and white bride, not a black and white bride.
I had the same problem when searching for my dress. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money, and none of the dresses that I tried on really felt or looked like “me.” So I ended up going with the trusty J. Crew Sophia dress that I found on clearance for $60. My mom and I added our own flair to it, based on a design that I had seen on a dressmaker’s website. We made a sash out of antique kimonos that matched beautifully. It made for a unique dress that was totally and completely me. If you can’t find what you’re looking for in a store, take a plain dress and make it your own.
Here’s a link to a picture - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeandsara_g/3093366302/
It was definitely difficult sorting through so many beautiful dresses and trying to find one that was inexpensive and somewhat unique.
I didn’t want to spend the $$$ to buy my dream dress, but I loved the dress I ended up with and have no regrets - it was definitely ME (traditional, but a little whimsical), inexpensive, and my husband loved it
You can see my dress here:
http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/11/02/kid-friendly-wedding/#more-72250
You’re so right - so many of the <$1000 dresses look the same. I loved my dress and felt it was very ‘me’ but I didn’t find it in any of the online places I also spent houuuuurs researching. I actually found it by accident in an actual store where I didn’t expect to find anything. My advice would be, don’t write off a place or store just because you don’t think it’s your kind of store. You just never know.
I fell hard for J.Crew’s Daphne but couldn’t find it anywhere for any cost I could afford. Lukily, I found a Shoshanna dress on Bluefly which was stylistically very similar. My mom added a longer skirt. I had written off the whole dress thing as sort of overrated and blown out of proportion by the WIC, but once I had the dress that was so utterly me, I felt phenomenal and bridal.
I love the dress I am planning on buying and I found it at a bridesmaid’s dress store called Bella Bridesmaids. I have a very small, self-imposed budget for a dress. I went in planning on something short and gray but fell in love with a long dress and liked the champagne color the best. It is really simple and makes me feel long and lean, which is great since I am really short. I did try on a couple of “real” wedding dress but they were just not me and I wanted something that I still felt myself in, something I could see me wearing even if I wasn’t the bride.
I really didn’t have the problem of everything being strapless, white, long, etc…. well, except for the strapless part. I needed sleeves and a higher neckline (no, I’m not LDS, just Mennonite, although my dress DID end up coming from an LDS company). I went into Alfred Angelo’s one time, just to try some different styles to see what I liked: a-line, beading, lacey, plain, ballgown, the whole works. Obviously I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, since sleeves AND a higher neckline are hard to come by. The second shop I visited is known for carrying more of the kind of dresses I was looking for, so that was my next stop. Except it was a Saturday and I didn’t know (duh!) that I should have made an appointment. But the consultants told me it was fine if I wanted to look through the dresses and come back another day to try anything on. So I went browsing through the racks and *angels singing* I saw it! Seriously, I gasped when I saw it. So I went and begged the consultant to let me try it on and she let me because someone else with an appointment had canceled. I tried it on and totally knew that it was the one. It had sleeves and a higher neckline. It had some floral embroidery and some beading (just enough- not too much, not too little). It had organza overlay that split down one side to reveal the satin underneath. It had a gorgeous (as opposed to plain-jane, boring, no beading or embroidery) train. In a few words it was simple, young, semi-elegant, pretty. I’ve always like lace, but I had figured out that lace just wasn’t ‘me’. This dress had enough floral stuff going on to please me, without any lace.
Here are a few links to pix of me in the dress: http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0WKR000P000313&po=313
http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/orderpage.aspx?pi=0WKR000P000136&po=136
I’m glad to say that my dress was totally me. It wasn’t exactly what I expected to fall in love with, but to this day, I still love it.
P.S. And it was only $40 more than the $500 I had budgeted for it- not bad, eh?
YES, YES, YES! I would like to add “with tons of beading” when talking about the <$1,000 dresses. I felt I could not find something that was not covered in head to to beading. I am at the point of just buying something that I really like a lot and calling it a day. I try to remind myself that as long as I feel like I look good in the dress that is all that matters. My happiness will shine through.
I feel like the industry tries to make you look cookie cutter, especially if you have an under $1k budget. I feel a little sad when someone says they don’t want strapless, then they get one. I had a lot of things shoved at me after awhile, I started to wonder if I should get on the strapless train, but I am so happy I went for an “unpopular”/conservative silhouette (this year). It was the only one I tried on that didn’t show cleavage or wasn’t strapless. 
I looked at many dresses in magazines and picked a different styles. It helped that I knew nothing of bridal designers except for Vera Wang. I branched out and even picked out and tried on styles I didn’t think I would like. That’s my advice, try many different dresses.
I got lucky, the dress I found had details I’d never seen, so it was unique to me, and it’s way under my budget. My dress is Pronovias Dango: http://tinyurl.com/96zrok
[...] Trolling around on Weddingbee, I found these amazing pictures from Sara who added her two cents to “But is it Really Me?” article. I am blown away! She went with a simple dress from J Crew and made it uniquely her own by [...]
I am loving all of your responses! I applaud all of you for doing what feels or felt right and appropriate for you. Stay true to yourself!!
All of the advice and links are greatly appreciated. You could really be helping out future dress seeking brides. Keep ‘em coming!
@grumpybear722: I heart your dress! Adorable!
@Erica: I love La Sposa gowns. I almost bought a dress from their line.
@adias.angel: How unique and lovely!
@kosstobe: Oh my goodness!! I hope you will post pics eventually. I LOVE tradition. Fingers crossed that you can wear it!
@Mrs. Green Tea: I agree 100%.
@catrelle83: How elegant!!
@Sara: Your sash is amazing. How creative and beautiful! Love the colors of your wedding.
@indecisivebride: Oh wow! You looked so amazing in that dress!
@FarmerNatesWife: I’m so glad it worked out! What a pretty dress.
@caribqueen: Over-beading…AHHH!!!
@cannotwait: So happy you found a dress that suits you!
@stpetebride: Your dress is absolutely gorgeous!
@catrelle83: How gorgeous! The back is really well done.
@indecisivebride: I saw this dress on the Jasmine site recently and was curious how it looked outside of the official pictures on the website, it’s lovely! I’ll definitely have to find out if the local retailer has it.
i had no idea, really, what i wanted in a dress. i did know i wanted it to be classic, elegant, and different from most of the dresses i had seen online. strapless was out of the question for me (had a bad experience at a semiformal with strapless). so i went on ebay and ended up buying a dress that i am so in love with - and it fits me perfectly. it is j crew alexadra - retails for 2995 and i bought it for 630. here’s the same dress in a different size still available on ebay. the material is so pretty in person - heavy silk with hand beading and 3 layers of tulle. it is the classic ‘audrey hepburn’ i was looking for.
http://cgi.ebay.com/J-Crew-Silk-Radzimir-Alexandra-Gown-Wedding-Dress-14_W0QQitemZ250344070030QQcmdZViewItemQQptZWedding_Dresses?hash=item250344070030&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50
i fell in love with the jcrew daphne dress before i knew that is was jcrew or had a semi-cult bridal following! being 6′1″ and determined to have sleeves on a casual non-beaded, non-lace dress- i went to a seamstress and showed her a picture. it’s not the cheapest route but it was, for me, the most sane one!
My dress is pretty different from the norm. It’s gold, for one… and while having some classic lines, has some pretty unique elements.
Forgot to say that with discounts, I came in just at $1000 with alterations.
I ended up choosing a dress completely different from what I thought I wanted and after being completely freaked out by the bedazzled white dresses that made me hate the whole gown shopping experience. I thought I wanted a satin strapless number by Monique Lhuillier which even as a sample was beyond my price range until I fell in love with the La Sposa Farbala dress. It is so me because it is simple, with a little bow detail, no lace, no beading but a spectacular ruffled skirt and train that gives it the unique flair I was craving. A picture of it lives here:
http://www.biensavvy.ro/colectie.aspx?id_colectie=1&id_rochie=18&perspectiva=top&pas=0#aa .
Can’t wait to wear it on W Day!
I ended up altering a bridesmaid dress for my wedding cos wedding dresses are just to “princessy” for me.
I wanted simple and white with a classic silouette, straless was okay as I tend to pick strapless dresses in life, I assumed I would have one for my wedding. I went to David’s bridal to get an idea of styles and fit and ended up buying a dress on the $99 sale. It’s everything I didn’t want in a wedding dress, beading, chapel length train, full skirt, no empire waist and a portrait neckline. I somehow fell in love with this dress and the price was so “under budget” That I decided to wear it for the church ceremony and buy my simple dress for the reception becasue there’s no way I could dance in that train. I love how my dress search worked out and can’t wait to take photos in the dramatic dress on the beach. Best of all, it’s also nothing my fiance ever expects so I can’t wait to see his face.
White is not a good colour for me at all, so I have a peacock-coloured bridesmaid dress that we are embellishing with silver lace and altering the back to be more of a trumpet shape. I would be completely happy with my dress (~$200, all considered!) if it weren’t for another bride using the same dress for her maids a month or so back. Maybe no-one else will notice, but it’s stolen my thunder a little.
It’s my first time to drop by in your blog and it’s really informative and I enjoy reading your posts.
I did not want a strapless dress for my wedding. I’ve been to enough weddings to see the bride discretely trying to haul up her dress, and I never wanted to be in that spot!
So after trying on about 50 dresses, here’s mine (and before taxes it was <$800 CAD!!). The designer is Bonny.
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm243/sorcha_o/Wedding%20outfit/831l.jpg
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm243/sorcha_o/Wedding%20outfit/831b.jpg
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm243/sorcha_o/Wedding%20outfit/831c.jpg
Thank you for this post! It’s been great seeing everyone’s dress choices. Agree 10000% on a lot of gowns pretty much looking the same! Good luck if you do NOT want a strapless dress. I too spent HOURS (days even?) searching online for that perfect dress, and knew that I wanted to have a lace underlay hem like Alvina Valenta uses in many of her designs while keeping the overall design simple, elegant, timeless, and under $1500. I found the designer Sophia Tolli on <a href=”http://www.weddingshoppeinc.com”/a> and fell in love with her designs and decided to just add the lace peekaboo underhem to her Emilie design. I love the option of the illusion jacket and will be wearing that during the ceremony, so I’m strapless during the reception, and a little more covered up during the ceremony.
(The website is great - lists prices of gowns, gown options like corset or zipper back, high quality pictures, color options, etc and it allows you to browse gowns by price, fabric, neckline, etc. The Wedding Shoppe is located in St. Paul, MN, but ships nationwide online.)
Here’s some pictures:
http://www.weddingshoppeinc.com/Uploads/Sized/12884_1_1024.jpg
http://www.weddingshoppeinc.com/Uploads/Sized/12884_2_1024.jpg
http://www.alvinavalenta.com/alv/images_detail/AV9813_x2.jpg
http://www.casablancabridal.com/Products/Detail.asp?ModelNo=1831&Cat=Best%20Seller&SubCat=
Absolutely loved my dress!!! And it was a bit of a steal at only $799 - I got quotes at other bridal salons for as high as $1600 so… My dress and my bridal shop are awesome!!!
@BananaPants- I loved your dress! I just felt that the skirt was a little too full on me, but it is so flattering through the waist… and how much do you love the lace overlay?
Sophia Tolli ended up having my 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices. She is really brilliant, and my dress ended up coming in less than 3 weeks after I ordered it!
Miss Glitter! You are the first person to ask about dress pics to whom I will graciously comply:-) I was in the “under $1000″ category too, and after trying on a million of them, I just felt totally lost. “They’re all nice, damnit!” I wailed at my sister, but really what I meant was, “They’re all equally nice”. I didn’t feel any of them really. I only picked mine after looking at zillions of photos of myself in all of these dresses that all look the same, and I could see that my dress did something different for my figure and was not tacky, but kind of whimsical (gasp!) and $700. I love it now, and I profess love for this silhouette to anyone who will listen. As a warning, however, this model is extremely thin and her hair covers some of the applique detail. I have me an hourglass going on so I fill it out a little differently! See Style 3310 http://www.sinceritybridal.com/us_en/collection.php?linenum=60&totlines=-1&disc=
I agree completely! Any dress within a reasonable budget were so… similar…
Then I discovered sample racks and high-end salons. I was able to get a unique, totally “me,” designer gown for less than many brides spend at David’s. If I were to do it all again, I might also price custom designs by local seamstresses, since I spent about $1000 by the time I had alterations.
My mantra was “anything but strapless” - because strapless dresses are so overdone. I did want white and long. I initially chose a beautiful 40s-style halter trumpet from David’s (it’s since been discontinued), which I adored! But I let my mom talk me into exchanging it for one that is a lot more traditional and a lot less “me”…and worse yet, it’s strapless. The dress is beautiful and looks great on me, but it’s not really as “me” as I’d like. It’s this one:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=3346&prodgroup=127
If you want to see a pic of me in it, I’m actually one of the reviewers, “informalbride.” And I really do like most of it…the corset and the overlay are really cool, though not necessarily unique. It’s just that the straplessness bugs me so much that it ruins the dress for me. (Also, I’d rather have a trumpet than A-line, but that’s OK.) So I’m going to see if my seamstress can add a halter strap, similar to the one on this dress:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridal_gowns_detail.jsp?stid=1624&prodgroup=127
Wish me luck! My mom is upset that I want to alter the dress, but I have to make it my own, or else I’m going to look back at all the pictures with regret rather than nostalgia.
I was sure that what I wanted was a very simple but elegant strapless dress. When I started trying on dresses, none of the dresses like this felt quite right, and the ones that I did like were all way above my budget.
Then I tried on my dress. Not strapless, not simple, but perfect: http://sarah-danielle-bridalwear.com/us_en/collection_popup.php?id=730&disc=&curimage=3 -mine is in natural, but the red was very tempting I got it for $950. It was just under my budget!
My dress was less than $700 (and my shop included alterations for free). It’s Mori Lee 2131 (I think the numbers are right) and pretty “traditional” but here’s my advice. . . If you live anywhere near the New Orleans area, go to Pearls Place. The consultant who helped me (Lisa) was INCREDIBLE. She was really great - brought me all kinds of dresses to try on and was endlessly patient. I can be a bit of a neurotic bride (as we all can, I’m sure) and she’s always great when I call.
i, too, spent a LOT of time and effort researching dresses. being a “mature” bride (43), i wanted something a little different and strapless was all that was out there. it, unfortunately, was the style that looked best on me. i have olive skin but did not care for the way i looked in white and/or off white.
i did not have a big dress budget so i made it my mission to find a bridesmaid dress in the color i wanted. i was a little shy about it at first and entered the dress shop pretending to look for bridesmaid dresses for my sister. i soon got over it and just went in, looked for a bridesmaid dress with my requirements (see below) and inquired as to what colors they were avialable in.
i ended up with a lovely taupe tissue taffeta amsale bridesmaid dress ($325): dropped-waist, a-line, strapless, bodice gathered to the side, teeny train that didn’t really need to be bustled (but i had a hook installed anyway). i topped it off with an alencon lace bolero made according to my specifications ($200-ish): i found a few bolero pics that i liked, made some adjustments and, ta-da, i had a look all my own. i had a chapel length mantilla veil ($135)that i was able to match to the lace bolero and i loved it all.
i’d do it exactly the same if i had to do it all over again. since i have a fashion design background, i’m fairly picky when it comes to fabrics, trim, detail, finishing, etc. i felt like i got a lot of look for what i paid. i’m also an internet/research blood hound so i felt very satisfied to get exactly what i wanted without paying what i considered to be retail prices.
I budgeted for <$300 for my dress - I’m sometimes practical to a fault. Although my dress was the 2nd purchase I made after etsy earrings for my girls and myself, I did my best to stay within my ideal dress budget.. but each store I visited left me more and more disheartened. I felt that I’d either have to sacrifice finding a dress I loved to stay in budget, or sacrifice my budget to get the perfect dress.
But, after much frustration, I found “the one” for a grand total of $161 after tax! I got it at a consignment shop located in a rather shady part of town, but I was incredibly impressed with the incredibly organized shop (unlike the numerous dress shops I had visited), the hilarious and helpful shop-owner, and the mint-quality of the dresses. My dress is -perfect-, totally “me”, and the ONLY alteration it requires is hemming. Consignment may not be every bride’s cup of tea, but I am 110% satisfied with my experience!
I saw Vera Wangs for $700, Nicole Miller for $400, etc. with David’s Bridal and other comparable dresses for $99.
Dallas Brides, definitely check out Anonymously Yours on Forrest Lane!
I wanted something vintage but not, offbeat but classy, and a little science fiction….
This is what the dress is based on:
http://www.costumersguide.com/firefly/inara/ref8.jpg
So it will be a drape dress in cream lightweight satin with a soft chiffon overlay, an under bust corset with an embroidered floral pattern and cream pearl trim for over the shoulders. I am having it made by Lori Ann http://www.lorianncostumedesigns.co/index.html
Yes, technically she is a costume designer but its TOTALLY my thing
oops sorry I messed up the link here is Lori Anns site: http://www.lorianncostumedesigns.com/index.html
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Mrs. Glitter, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 27, Research Consultant/Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Accounting
Engagement Date: May 6, 2007
Wedding Date: June, 2009
Venue: Millenium Biltmore Hotel
About Me: I was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. I spent eight years in the Northeast working and completing my education. Having split time between two sides of the country has given me a true appreciation for both coasts. It has also provided an overabundance of cross country drives, flights and long distance relationship fun/misery! I love my family, my doggy Emma, fabulous wine, Anthropologie, politics, reading, being outdoors, exploring new cities, and good movies! My fiance and I are complete opposites, but somehow we have managed to fall completely and hopelessly in love.
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