A Guide to setting your wedding dress budget

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After years of dreaming about your perfect gown and probably too many episodes of ‘Say Yes to the Dress,’ the time has finally come for you to go wedding dress shopping! According to bridal experts, the first step to finding the elusive “perfect dress” is setting a budget. The age-old story of brides falling in love with too-expensive dresses is heart-breaking and certainly something we never want to put our brides through. To avoid that heartache, we recommend following our four easy steps below to setting your wedding dress budget.

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Step 1 : Know your total wedding budget

The first step in planning your wedding is knowing your budget. Whether you and your fiancé will be footing the bill or you have generous family members willing to finance the wedding, you need to know the exact number you will be working with. No newlyweds want to deal with extra stresses while planning their big day, so avoid the possibility of overspending and set an official wedding budget. Once you know your total budget, you can use that parameter to set your wedding dress budget using the 10 percent rule below.

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Step 2 : Use the 10% Rule

A common way to set your wedding dress budget is by using the 10% rule. This rule allocates 10% of your total budget towards buying your wedding gown. This means if your wedding budget is $30,000, using the 10% rule, you should set your wedding dress budget at $3,000. This rule is used quite often and is sure to appeal to many brides’ logistical sides, although it will not automatically account for the unique priorities and preferences you have for your specific wedding.

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Step 3 : List your priorities

After calculating your wedding dress budget using the 10% rule, we recommend you think about your personal wedding day priorities. We encourage brides to consider what they will look back at the most from their wedding: Pictures of yourself and your groom. This most likely means making sure your gown is gorgeous and your photographer is flawless would be your main priorities. As every bride is different, though, we recommend making a list of the following wedding day factors and ordering them based on their importance to you:

  • Gown

  • Venue

  • Catering/Drinks

  • Photography

  • Stationery

  • Florals

  • Music

If you find your wedding gown to be at the top of this list, we recommend bending the 10% Rule a bit to make sure one of the most important pieces of your day turns out perfectly.

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Step 4 : Account for your style

A massive factor, often overlooked when setting a dress budget, is the bride’s individual style. When it comes to bridal gowns, literally not all gowns are created equal. Often, a gown’s price is majorly influenced by what it is made of, where it is made and how much time it took to produce. For instance, a 100% silk gown made in the USA with a voluminous ballgown skirt will be more expensive, due to the high-quality of fabrics used, the creation with care in the United States and the fact that making a ballgown takes more time and materials to assemble than a more simple gown. Considering the look that appeals to you the most, along with what details are most important to you will help you estimate where your dream gown may be in a standard price point.

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We hope this guide to setting your wedding dress budget will help you on your journey to finding your dream gown! If you find that your budget sits somewhere between $1,500-3,500, schedule an appointment with us! We can’t wait to meet you!