Dress Prices

I don't know if a part of people's budgets for dress includes alterations or not because the average cost of alterations alone can go up to $500

for me initially i was wanting something like up to $500 max. i too felt like spending so much on a dress for a day was kind of ridiculous.

i ended up getting an evening gown in white for less than $30 haha.

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Yeah with alterations I'm hoping to pay $500. Where did you get your gown?

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I think azazie is a wonderful resource to get an affordable gown!

i got mine off forever 21 actually. i was just browsing on a random day and noticed at that particular time they had a wedding section and just in general i think many evening or formal gowns can be used!

My budget was 2500, which felt like a lot.

I ended up doing a custom dress (VERY extravagant, ballgown, beaded and lace bodice, hundreds and hundreds of yards of fabric) and it was $800. It was custom made so really didn't need much in alterations. If you don't find something you love online, you can always reach out to seamstresses for custom!

You could check out white prom dresses to see if there's something priced more reasonably. They're basically the same formality level, but the markup isn't as steep since it's not branded as a "wedding" dress. I've also bought gowns off of Amazon (for other events) and had success there too. One seller I bought from on there actually reached out for my measurements so I didn't even need to get the dress altered. Just make sure you read the reviews, look at pictures in reviews, and use the size charts if you go that route. Usually someone in the reviews will have a similar build/ measurements to you that you could base the size you purchase off of.

Mine was around 2k before alterations. The dress I got ended up being 2k

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Wow! How did you go about getting a custom-made gown? Is there a website for it?

View Quoted Comment I used a woman who had made a bunch of gowns I've worn, Molly Nguyen on Etsy.


You can also look on Etsy for people with good reviews, or narrow it down to your state/area.
You can also Google seamstresses near you or the local design/fashion program for fashion students in your area to keep price lower too

Mine was 2.3k before alterations, but I'm planning on selling my dress after to recoup some of the cost. There are some really pretty options on Revolve for a decent price if you check their bridal section - you can also resell your dress after!

I went to a bridal boutique and this dress originally cost I think 1900 and my budget was 1600 .. Well they sold the model one to me (which looks pretty much brand new and it fit me like a glove) I got to take it home the same day for 1295 ! They also gave me a Black Friday deal and I was so excited !!

View Quoted Comment Wow. You look stunning! And such a great deal!

My dress budget was $3000. I ended up falling in love with an off the rack dress for $900. I had the same thought process about only wearing it once and not wanting to waste extra money on it. My alterations cost me $500 for resizing, hemming, and belt additions. (I’m smaller than most wedding sizes so I knew I’d need alterations no matter what.)

I highly recommend off the rack because they can be designer brand, but at major discount prices! Most of them are pretty easy to get altered.

I went into it thinking I only wanted to spend $300-500 max. Then “just for fun” I tried on one for $900 and immediately I could tell the quality difference and I had to have it. I ended up looking for it used and then eventually waited for it to go on sale and then got another price adjustment on top of that haha because it went on sale again! (Davids bridal)


I had to get it altered because the bust did not fit properly at all. I shopped around for seamstresses. Ultimately went with a lady who did a flat fee of $550.
All in all, I got the dress for $450 + $550 alterations. Also, factor in dry cleaning and preservation if you want that. Dry cleaning can be upwards of 200-400 🤤

I tried on dozens of white/ivory evening gowns from Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Macy’s, etc. there were some serious contenders in there! The quality of a $300 gown is really really good compared to a $300 davids bridal gown. In my opinion, DBs dresses in that price range have a “cheaper” type of fabric quality that I didn’t like

My budget was $2,000 but I got my dress $600.00 and its was about to be discontinued so with everything else that I've gotten came too $1,250 so still under budget.

My budget was $6,000, but the dress I fell in love with was only $2500 (with alterations it will be about $3000).

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Interesting! I'll reach out to some people near me.

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Yeah I noticed that about DB. The prices seem so inflated.

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I tried on a dress "just for fun" as well. It was $2,500 and I loved it, but not $2.5k worth. Another dress I like is only $900, but I'm still hesitant to pay that much money.

I wanted to stay below 3k - I just made it! But the dress was the one.... I would have went over budget if need be for this dress once I tried it on!