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Catch up on my dress buying experience here.
When I last left you, Mama Pudding and I were debating whether buying a beautiful sample dress at a greatly reduced cost made more sense than buying a more (4 times more!) expensive dream dress.
After my “Engagement Party” dress experience, I was very open to the suggestion that a less expensive dress was the way to go. In your comments, many of you mentioned how beautiful that dress was. This made me smile because I really was very “meh” about the dress when I bought it. I couldn’t find anything that was quite “bridal” enough, so I settled. And you know what? On the day, I looked beautiful in the dress. I really, truly believe that “I” looked beautiful in the dress, and not that the “dress” looked beautiful on me. This was because I was extremely, deliriously happy on that day, and I would have looked beautiful in a burlap sack. Keeping this in mind, it would have been very easy for Mama Pudding to convince me that the cheaper dress was the way to go.
Alas, Mama Pudding is never one to sacrifice quality for a good price. When I started leaning towards the cheaper dress, Mama Pudding put it like this: “Miss Pudding, if we had to choose a dress from that one boutique, and no other dresses existed, we would buy the sample gown and you would look gorgeous. This is your day, and you deserve YOUR dress, not just A dress.”
With Mama Pudding’s blessing, I was excited to finally order my dream dress. But before that happened, I had one more brilliant idea. San Patrick is a Spanish line. Spain is in Europe, and (as you know) we were going to Europe that summer! We were going to Poland, not to Spain, but I thought that maybe the dress would be cheaper there because it didn’t have to be shipped as far or something. Mama Pudding and I did visit a bridal salon in Warsaw, Poland that carried the line, but, to our complete shock, the dress was actually quite a bit more expensive in Poland than in Canada! This was very surprising, because the average standard of living in Poland is lower than that of Canada, and I can’t imagine many people wanting to spend this much money on a wedding dress!
Did you purchase (or look into purchasing) your wedding dress in another country?
Yup! Because we are so close to the border I have been considering going into Toronto because there are bigger bridal salons that carry designer lines. I won’t buy retail pricing though unless it was on great sale. But my MOH mentioned to me that some of her coworkers mentioned that a lot of Canadians Brides come into the US for their gowns because it’s more $$$ over there.
I guess that makes sense because we get A LOT of Canadian Shoppers coming over the border regularly so why not for your bridal gown?
@Gerbera: Shopping in the States is really popular in Canada, but I feel like it’s kind of a “grass is greener thing”. If you’re looking for more selection, than I say go to Toronto…I could never have bought my dress in Vermont (there are only like 3 bridal stores in my area - in Toronto, there are hundreds!)
I did my first round of wedding dress shopping in Germany with my colleagues. 
I had a business trip scheduled 3 days after our engagement and we happened to walk by a gorgeous wedding gown in a window so they talked me into trying on dresses. With the US dollar exchange rate to the euro the dresses were roughly the same over here.
I had this sample dress (cheaper) versus dream dress dilemma as well. I made the same choice as you and shelled out for the dream gown. and i LOVE it. I would not have been as happy with the other.
I had a couple different reactions to this entry… 1) I had to make a similar decision on sample vs dream dress when the dress I’d decided on got discontinued. I could get the sample for super cheap but it was in the way wrong colors (white and dark navy instead of ivory and cobalt) and not in the best of shape or start over… I’m starting over. 2) I’m having to do some tricky traveling for dress shopping. Try bridal shopping in New Mexico. Even on The Knot, trying to find local resources is impossible. People keep telling me to try on the more expensive designers and I just feel like screaming… if we had a REAL salon anywhere in this entire state, I would!! This experience has inspired a new dream to open a salon here, but that’s going to have to wait… And 3) I’m on such a horribly super super tight budget that right now I’m seriously planning on having an imposter dress custom made in China. I’m not concerned about the labels. Sure, the quality may not be as good, but the research I’ve done shows I can get my true DREAM dress, at good quality for 1/3 the price of the designers… So, yeah, as of now, my dress will be outsourced.
That’s weird that it was more expensive! Did you end up getting the dress, still though?
I was lucky to find my dream dress as a sample, so my dress buying experience was over after a full 45 minutes (…but trying on dresses was so much fun!!!)
Prior to the boutique I bought my dress from - just north of Toronto (Unionville) - I went with my FMIL at the time to a bridal boutique in Bucharest. It was, I guess, more of a higher end boutique - beautiful building, gorgeous changing room, etc. - but the prices were very steep as well.
I’m also surprised to see higher prices in Romania compared to Canada. Even for services, not only goods. I guess it could be the smaller market vs. larger market conundrum…because salaries hardly compare.
And just to conclude…my husband’s cousin who lives in Romania bought her dress from the above mentioned boutique and paid 3 times more than I did on mine - so, somehow there is money 
I really hope you end up with the dress of your dreams! Can’t wait to see what you end up with.
Interesting that it was more expensive there! I would have never thought to check another country, but it’s great that you’d go to those lengths to find the right dress at the right price!
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Mrs. Pudding, Greater Toronto Area/Vermont Age and Occupation: 26, High School Teacher Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Computer Engineer Engagement Date: August 2008 Wedding Date: July 2010 Venue: Catholic Ceremony, Cultural Hall Reception About Me: Quite literally a citizen of the world, I was born in Poland, grew up in Canada, and now live in the beautiful state of Vermont. I love reading historical biographies, multi-tasking, teasing my hair, and, despite my height, wearing high heeled shoes. I am the ultimate klutz with an uncanny ability to put on a graceful front. Mr. Pudding and I have been dating for over six years, and are very excited to finally merge our (very large) families. We are planning a traditional Polish-Catholic wedding that is anything but predictable.
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