Life of a Bride-to-Be : Wedding Budgeting 101 (Chapter 5)

Life of a Bride-to-Be : Wedding Budgeting 101 (Chapter 5)

Well… shopping for a dress is finally complete. It’s so great to have that little detail out of the way! I kept reading everywhere that a man named Dave had a Bridal shop that carries very affordable wedding gowns and other formal attire. I went to Dave’s and saw that the general public was right! I spent 4 hours in one of the stores trying on gowns while my friends and family stood around and watched. We kind of took over the store… my Mom, Brett’s Mom, two of my sisters, Brett’s sister, my roommate, and the two candle-lighters (my cousin and Brett’s cousin) swarmed the employees and wouldn’t leave until we’d found dresses for everyone in the wedding party. We ended up finding my dress, the bridesmaid’s dresses and the candle-lighters dresses.

I do have a little advice for those of you shopping for a bridal gown. Have a good idea about what you want to get, but don’t limit yourself! I went in with it all planned out in my head and I had pictures to show the sales ladies. I wanted lace on my dress, no veil, straps (because I usually look horrid in strapless attire) and I wanted the girls to all wear “watermelon” pink bridesmaids dresses. What we came out with… was a strapless gown with no lace in sight, a veil, and “latte” colored bridesmaids dresses!

It’s also funny… I had told the girls that they could all choose their dresses, as long as I could choose the length and color. (They have four very different body types and I couldn’t imagine that they’d look good all dressed exactly alike.) But while they were trying on different styles Caitlin and Lexi both fell in love with the same dress, so April tried it on… and it fit her too. Then we sent Molly to Dave’s out in California and she tried it on and liked it as well. So the main point to this little story? Keep an open mind. The possibilities are endless! I’d post pictures of the dresses for you all to see, but my fiancé may stumble over them, so I think I’ll have to wait until after the wedding…

P.S. According to my wedding budgeter on “The Knot“, the wedding dress and alterations  should be approximately $600 (based on my pretend $10,000 budget).  The veil should be $100, Accessories around $100, and Hair & Makeup come in at $50. At this point I’m planning on my own hair and makeup and found jewelry for $10  so that should help with further saving efforts!

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