Bargain Wedding Gowns? Maybe Not.

If you are planning your wedding, one of the most important decisions for any bride is her gown. The entrance of the bride is one of the highlights of a ceremony in any culture, for any size wedding, and what she wears will be commented upon, complimented and scrutinized.



Being a clotheshorse, I completely understand spending the money to get the dress you want, within reason of course. A wedding is (supposed to be) a once in a lifetime event, and it is a unique opportunity to splurge. Having said that, in this economy, every bride has to take her bottom line into account, and for many, having a lavish wedding at all is a hardship.

Fortunately there are discount bridal stores in every city, along with re-sale bridal shops. A quick internet search can snag websites that offer wedding gowns for sale from brides who wore them once, or not at all.

This is in addition to the brick and mortar stores that offer off-the-rack gowns. You may not think David’s Bridal or House of Brides has what you need, but when you scour enough racks of dresses, you might be surprised to find one that works for you, at a reasonable cost. With all the sales and promotions out there, a fabuless bride can easily find a very nice gown for between $500 and $1200 (if not less!)

Which is why I take exception to a blog on Kleinfeld’s website about what they consider “bargain” wedding dresses offered by a top designer. For those who may not know, Kleinfeld’s is a major Manhattan wedding dress retailer that has its own show on TLC called “Say Yes to the Dress.” Kleinfeld’s offers dresses at every price point and by almost every designer out there, from budget to high end. But their blog about a new line by Monique Lluillier called Bliss is way off base.

Here is how they describe Bliss on their website:

…the best part of the collection is its affordability! The dresses range from $2400 to $3500 so the bride on a budget can still wear the Monique Lhuillier label.

Unless you scrape off a zero from their price quote, no bride “on a budget” will be paying that much for a wedding dress! And unless you’re a label whore, there’s no reason to go out of your way just to wear a dress by a certain designer, no matter what the price. Especially since most people aren’t familiar with wedding dress designers anyway.

Couture wedding gowns are expensive, we all know this. And if you want to fork over $5 or 10,000 for Vera Wang or Amsale or Reem Acra, or even Monique Lluillier, then more power to you. But to describe the average budget bride as capable of paying $3500 for a one-day wear is ridiculous.

It’s just more fuel to the wedding-industrial-complex machine that continues to up the ante on what a wedding should cost in order to inflate profits. A bride shouldn’t just look at a price tag when planning such a special and personal event. There are plenty of ways to look good and be fabuless without spending much money at all. For example, note to you ladies who are looking – Nordstrom’s has very cute dresses from $58 – $600!