I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but we got married! Yay! I have some follow-up info from previous posts now that the big day has come and gone.
The Dress
Some of you asked to see the dress before. I said no, because occasionally the fiance HUSBAND! peeks at the blog, and I wanted no chance of him seeing it before the big day.
I had a little bit of a conflict; I don’t post pictures of myself, I forgot to take a picture of the dress by itself, and I didn’t want to infringe on copyright for photographs taken of the dress professionally. But then I found someone else who posted a picture online. You can view it here.
How I Got a Brand New Wedding Dress for $200
I bought at David’s Bridal.
I was happy with the shopping experience.
I was trying on dresses that seemed to just be way too much for the quality.
I turned to my consultant and said, “You know, I have no problem buying off the clearance rack.”
BOOM.
She brought in a dress that was exactly what I was asking for only higher quality.
Originally $1,050.
With the sale the store had going on, a coupon I had for booking my appointment on-line, and just general discounting from my consultant, the dress itself was $200. I was on cloud nine.
Don’t get alterations at David’s.
The alterations…that’s a completely different story. The quote I got for alterations was $500. More than twice the price of the dress. I went home and examined my options.
To move the hem up would be $150.
I decided that if someone said they would pay me $150 to hold my dress up all night, I’d take it.
So I didn’t move the hem. Besides, don’t most people take their shoes off at some point in the night anyways?
I cut a few other things out, too, and I’m glad I did. I was really disappointed by the quality of the work. The customer service was phenomenal. But after paying $300 for alterations, I expected a higher quality for the few things I did get done.
Corsets
Another wardrobe cost I didn’t even consider until I bought one severely overpriced: corsets.
I shopped everywhere for them except the internet and adult stores.
The bridal store was the only place that sold them in person. And they only had two options.
They were okay, but not exactly what I wanted.
The one I picked got the job done, but I remember in the early 2000s you could buy a corset at any one of a number of mall clothing stores. Lots of options.
Today, not so much.
So if I could go back I would find a corset that fixed my frame the way I wanted first and then take it in with me when I tried on dresses.
But as far as the dress itself, I was absolutely 100% thrilled.
His Ring
I wrote about buying the husband’s ring with some trepidation before. I ordered it online and hoped he would like it. And that it would fit.
It fits. And he loves it.
Funny story: I left the ring at home.
My sibling had to go back to my house, tear apart part of my house to find the hiding place (which I will never use again because it was pretty obvious where it was once the husband and I got home,) and then drive back to the venue.
It’s one of those things that wasn’t really funny at all when it was happening.
Siblingly love.
(And thank goodness we didn’t have a destination wedding.)
Congrats!!!! Wishing you both all the happiness in your life together!
Thanks so much, Janine!
Congrats! I also got my dress at David’s but it sounds like you got a huge deal! Mine was $600 but I managed to save on alterations by buying a short dress that didn’t need to be hemmed, so it was only about $40 to take in a couple of areas.
Nice! That’s a smart way to do it!
Congrats!!!
Congratulations! Marriage is an awesome thing! My wife and I are renewing our vows on our 10 year anniversary, next year! I’m going to let her read your part about the dress. She is thrifty and probably won’t pay much more than what you did. Thanks for the post! Congrats again!
Very cool! Shopping tip: go during one of their big sales when they’re turning over inventory. I found shopping during the holidays to be very advantageous. (They were putting out their new Spring line.) Thanks so much!
I will tell her that for sure! Thanks again!
Congratulations on your wedding. I wish you many years of bliss…. 🙂 Mr.CBB
Aw, very much appreciated, Mr. CBB!
Congratulations! Thank goodness you got the ring in time!
I know, right? I think getting to the venue was the most stressful part of the whole day. Thank you!
congratulations – Its not just a piece of paper – its a commitment for life.
My wife rocks !
If you’re with the right person, it’s so much more than a piece of paper. Happy you found the right one! 🙂 Thank you!
Congratulations! The dress looked beautiful and I love the ring too.
Thanks, Sicorra! It took some shopping, but we found apparel we liked. 🙂
Congrats! Love your dress 🙂
Thank you, Michelle! I love the sneak peek you gave of yours, too!
Congratulations again!!! Your dress is gorgeous and I’m sure you looked stunning in it. Most of all, that price is amazing – way to work it! I’m so glad you had a great time and that the ring fit, too! We got ours online, as well, but had to do a few fittings before it worked out!
Thank you, Anna! The price was pretty great. Thanks for giving me the courage to negotiate! We got really lucky with the online sizing. I mean, we went and fitted his finger beforehand, but were so happy that it fit the first time!
Congratulations!! I’d never heard anyone mention that you should buy the corset first and bring it with you. Great advice. And I can’t even imagine how stressful it would be to find you let the ring home – at least it’ll be a funny story now.
The corset thing might not be that big of a deal to some people…my stomach is just weird after having kids, so it was an important garment. :p
Congratulations! (And that dress is awesome!)
That means a lot from you! Thanks!
Congratulations!! And that dress is amazing. I love it!
Thanks so much, Alexa! That was one thing I really wanted: to wear a pretty dress. 🙂
Congratulations! That’s very exciting. Is that the actual ring you ordered for your now husband? If so, that’s really funny because that is the exact one that we ordered for my fiance. I am just trying to find a way around the shipping costs.
It is! That’s too funny. They have free first class shipping…so no costs! Ours arrived pretty early in the time frame, too. 🙂 If you wanted to order through my affiliate link I’d be so appreciative. Also, they usually have a coupon code floating around. I’ll check that out for you.
wow, congratulations! post-wedding, i felt like there were so many more areas where i could have saved.
I had already done this once before, so I had the error of my original ways illuminating my savings path. :p
What material is your ring? It looks exactly like my husband’s one (tungsten).
Congrats on the wedding!
Thanks! It’s white gold. 🙂
Congratulations! The dress is beautiful!
Congratulations on your marriage! Your dress was gorgeous!
I know I am so late, but I’ve been out of blog world for a while. CONGRATULATIONS FEMME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the price of your dress…totally jealous. I thought I was doing good on my budget. Haha! CONGRATS again.
It’s crazy how expensive alterations are! I got my dress at David’s Bridal for $400 (on sale from $700), which worked out well because I wasn’t willing to spend more than $400. But then I found out that my alterations would be $200 (and that didn’t include bustling). I decided to have my mom “bustle” the dress – all it took was a couple of pins. Honestly, it probably didn’t look the best but I wasn’t going to shell out a bunch of money just for bustling! They really get you with those bustling and alterations costs.
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David’s is notorious for expensive and shoddy alterations. I bought at a different bridal shop and used a local seamstress for the alterations. She did a MUCH better job than what I’ve heard about the bridal stores, and the cost was less than $100. My advice is to ask around and find out if you have a good local seamstress and contact her to make sure she will be willing and will have time before you even dress shop. Some stores really go “high pressure” to scare you into using their alterations as they make so much money on them.