If you are newly engaged in the Pacific Northwest and ready to start shopping for your dream wedding dress, you might be wondering how much to budget for your wedding dress in the Souht Sound. At Weddings With Joy, we strongly believe the perfect dress is the perfect price. Finding your wedding dress happens when you least expect it, so knowing your budget before coming to shop helps make your shopping experience the best.
We are sharing our best bridal tips and advice for Oregon and Washington state brides to understand wedding dress costs in order to make the best decision around their wedding dress budget. With a range of styles, fabrics, and designers to choose from, it’s easy to feel lost in the swirl of excitement and expectations.
At Weddings With Joy in Olympia, WA, we understand how important it is to find a bridal gown that fits both your style and your overall wedding budget. Here’s our guide to navigating wedding dress budgets and prices with joy and ease.
Understanding Wedding Dress Costs
Before you even begin shopping for your dream wedding dress in the Pacific Northwest, it’s important to understand the factors that contribute to the price of a wedding dress. If you have not shopped for a bridal gown before, you might not know what to expect in terms of the price range available in bridal fashion. The two main elements that determine the price of a wedding dress is the fabric and construction of the wedding dress.
There are so many different fabrics that bridal designers can use for their wedding dresses. Silk, chiffon, beaded lace, sparkle tulle – the list is really endless! Each wedding dress fabric type will have its own look and feel, and depending on how high quality the fabric is, the cost of a bridal dress will vary. A very luxurious silk or a wedding dress with hand-sewn beads is going to cost more than a dress made of synthetic fabric or beaded lace fabric.
In addition to the type of fabric used, the way the wedding dress is made, or the construction of that dress, will also influence the price of the bridal dress. A wedding dress that is very structured or has a lot of boning that is built in will cost more than a dress with a less structured design. Why? Because it takes more time and skill to construct a wedding dress with more detail. A simple strapless wedding dress may be a less expensive option than a bridal gown with ruched or draped fabric along the neckline and bodice.
As a general rule of thumb, the more high-quality fabrics, elaborate construction, and design details are going to add up to a more expensive bridal gown. But that does not mean you have to have a plain and simple wedding dress if you are working on a smaller wedding dress budget!
Set A Realistic Budget
When you are ready to start shopping for your wedding dress, you will want to determine your bridal fashion budget before stepping foot into any bridal store. For more on this, be sure to check out our advice on when it is OK to say yes to your wedding dress.
We think it is helpful to have your overall wedding budget set first, along with setting your wedding date and having your wedding venue booked. Having these few details worked out before shopping for your wedding dress in the Pacific Northwest will save you time and money in the long run. As a general rule, brides will allocate 10 to 15 percent of their overall wedding budget to their bridal fashion and beauty. This, of course, will vary bride to bride, depending on how important the wedding dress is, personal style, and the overall scale of your wedding.
Know Your Timing
Having your wedding date and wedding venue booked before bridal dress shopping will also help narrow your focus. Your wedding venue can also help dictate the style of dress you are looking for.
Knowing how much time you have before your wedding day will tell you which bridal dresses are available on your timeline. Wedding dresses can take an average of four to seven months from the time of ordering to be manufactured for you. If you are working on a tighter timeline, you may need to look for sample sale wedding dresses.
For more helpful tips on beginning to shop for your wedding dress, be sure to read our recent blog post about when to buy your wedding dress in the Pacific Northwest.
Do Your Research
Once you have a general sense of your overall wedding budget, it’s time to think specifically about your wedding dress budget. We suggest starting your wedding dress search online. Check out websites of local bridal boutiques and even sites like Brides or The Knot to see what bridal designers you are most drawn to.
Find out if the designers that you’re interested in fit into your wedding dress budget. Many bridal designers will have a couture line and a more affordable collection of wedding dresses. If you have friends who have gotten married recently, they can also be a great resource for figuring out how much to set aside for your wedding dress.
Once you have narrowed down on designers and styles that you like, research which bridal stores near you or in your area that carry these designers. Before scheduling a wedding dress shopping appointment, you want to be sure the store that you want to visit carries the bridal designers you like and that their inventory matches your designated wedding dress budget.
While researching what styles and types of wedding dresses you like, also think about what is important to you when it comes to bridal fashion. Do you love lace or dream of a sparkle bridal gown? Are you looking for a more minimal silhouette or a gown with elaborate beading? All of these factors will affect the cost of the dress, so keep these things in mind when setting your wedding dress budget.
Wedding Dress Budgeting in the Pacific Northwest
As a general rule of thumb, brides in the Olympia, WA area will want to budget $1,500 to $2,000 for their wedding dress. At Weddings With Joy, our wedding dresses range from $1,200 to $3,000 depending on the bridal dress collection you are shopping for your wedding.
We have our Joyful Couture Collection of affordable luxury wedding dresses ranging from $1,899 to $2,499. Our Joyful Collection has gowns starting at $1,299 and every purchase of a gown from this collection helps us give back to local animal rescues and fosters!
We also carry a collection of designer bridal gowns that range from $1,699 to $2,499.
The final type of wedding dress available to our joyful brides is our Last Chance Sale Collection and these dresses start at $999. This sample sale collection features discontinued dresses that can no longer be special ordered so the size and color you see is what you get, and you can take home that wedding dress on the same day. This collection is great for brides on a budget or getting married on a shorter timeline.
Don’t Forget The Extras
Our last tip when it comes to determining your wedding dress budget is to not forget to include additional bridal accessories and alterations. These extra items can often be overlooked when brides first begin wedding dress shopping. If you don’t factor them into the initial bridal fashion budget, you will quickly go over budget.
If you have your heart set on wearing a wedding veil, factor a bridal veil into your wedding dress budget when you are first doing your research. Don’t forget about undergarments to wear under your wedding dress on the wedding day. Other extras could include shoes, hair pieces, and any jewelry you plan on wearing on your wedding day. You might also be looking for a sash or belt for your wedding dress or even a lace bolero or fur stole, depending on your wedding season and bridal style.
The other big extra item to not forget about is wedding dress alterations. At the very least, your wedding dress is likely going to have to be hemmed to your height, but you also may need your bridal dress taken in. Or perhaps you plan to alter the style of the dress by adding straps or sleeves. Be sure to factor in the cost of alterations to your overall wedding dress budget so you don’t have any surprises close to your wedding day.
It may also be helpful to consider wedding dress cleaning and preservation after your wedding is over when thinking about your overall bridal fashion budget. You don’t have to make any final decisions about preserving your wedding dress when you first start shopping for your gown, but it’s certainly something to consider for after the wedding and something that you’ll want to budget for upfront.
We hope you have found these tips helpful in preparing your wedding dress budget. If you’re ready, we can’t wait to see our South Sound brides book an appointment with us at Weddings With Joy!
About Weddings With Joy
If you’re a bride in the Pacific Northwest or planning a wedding in the South Sound, Seattle, and Portland, OR areas, come visit our amazing bridal boutique in Olympia, WA full of beautiful wedding dresses. At Weddings With Joy, we offer a truly one-of-a-kind experience for our joyful brides through our personalized attention and bridal styling support as they find their perfect wedding day look. Weddings With Joy features stunning wedding dresses in all shapes, sizes, and styles as well as the best tuxedo rentals and suits in Washington state. Request your bridal shopping appointment in the South Sound to find your dream wedding dress! We can’t wait to help you become a joyful bride!
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