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I just went on my FIRST real dress shopping trip. It was a Pronovias trunk show. I fell in love with a dress and as you know, in order to get the discount, you have to make the purchase right there.
It's the Pronovias Tirso and with the alterations it's gonna come out to $2000 total. I meant to spend no more than $750 with alterations (we are a low budget kinda wedding).
I shouldn't have started at Pronovias but that's the designer I've been drooling over on the internet. My two friends were like "that's the dress."
My ways of justifying it to myself:
- I found a dress that I LOVE and I'm saving $ on my time on future dress hunting
- I can sell the dress after the wedding (if anyone's a size 4 and wants it after August 2010, let me know!)
- It won't' break the bank...but I still feel GUILTY
Any other things I can say to myself before I try to sleep tonight?
tirso-480-x-4031.jpg (32.8 KB, 771 downloads) 2 years old 
How many opportunities will you get to wear a wedding dress, or a dress like this one? Only one! Make it count!
Plus, you're doing your part to help the economy bounce back, which is nothing to be ashamed of. :-)
if you love it, you love it!!! you know you have our support!!!!
Oh, and just picture the look of your FI's face when you come down the aisle. That totally makes it worth it to me!
If you LOVE the dress, then its totally worth stretching your budget a bit. Congrats on finding THE DRESS!
YAY!!! I'm also a Pronovias bride and I totally know the feeling of falling in love with a gown :) No need to feel guilty...you only get to wear a wedding dress once so you had better love it! You did the right thing!!!
It's stunning!! And if it won't break the bank, there's nothing to feel guilty about!! Especially since you can resell it after the wedding!
Thanks guys. I feel a little better :) What would I be without this great community of bees?
Wow, that's a gorgeous dress. True it's over budget, but you can always try to cut back in other areas and in NWR ways. If you aren't being evicted over it, it's okay to spend a little more than you planned on your dress. ;)
Just take a look at the rest of your budget and slowly strip the $1250 from other categories. Get invitations that are $100 cheaper, spend $300 less on flowers, $200 less on linen rental, etc...
does it help that when i saw the dress the first thing i said was, "wow"? because it's a "wow" kind of dress!
as long as you scale back in your other budget areas you are OK...while the dress is one of the most visible pieces, it is also one of the earliest decisions you make, and it is easy to slowly "upgrade" each budget item as you go...I think if you focus on the dress you love, it will be easier to scale back on the other details
I keep on going back and forth...thinking, what is the refund policy on the deposit? Then: oh what the hell I never buy anything nice for myself, this is once in a lifetime. Then: spending this much $ on a dress I wear once is against my values. Then: just treat yourself for once in your life.
if you can't splurge on your wedding day, when can you???? it seems like you've already bought it, so don't regret it! just enjoy!
If you have three days to return it and you absolutely love it, maybe you should try to see if anyone is selling your dress online in your size.
If not, it really is a lovely dress and I agreed with the above posters who suggested slowly reducing the budget on less important items. I think that brides will be happier if they splurge on 2 or 3 things that are the most important to them in their wedding, and cut back on other elements.
For me, the most important elements were food, venue, dress and photography. We used the house linens to save money, and kept the flower budget relatively low.
you're right, Profesorbee. I should scour the web...so far I don't see anything though.
I would actually wait to buy it if I were you. I bought my dress in February, and my wedding is in April. The dress was going for $1200 retail, but I found someone who was selling hers off (new) for $900, and it was in my size. I jumped at it because it was a new enough design that there were no used ones out there. In the past couple weeks, I've found two "worn once" ones online for $750 and $850. I wish I had waited and saved myself a few hundred dollars, since I'm not even planning on starting the alterations process for another few months!
don't feel guilty at all! it's the gown u love and i'm sure your fiance would want you to have it and not have to settle for a cheaper gown that you're not in love with. if it's an issue maybe you can cut funds on a different part of the wedding so u don't go over budget=)
oh, do it! you only get married once, and it could be a lot worse! (like, it's not a $10,000 dress!)
Don't kick yourself over buying your dream dress. Like you, I went dress shopping with a budget in mind but completely went over when I tried THE ONE. The way I look at it, you'll forever compare other dresses to that dress and you're probably setting yourself up for dress frustration. I figured I could have probably settled for a more budget friendly dress but would always think back to the dress I really liked.
Girl, get your dress! You said it won't break the bank so go for it. You won't be sorry...besides you don't want to look back and wish that you had purchased the dress. Like others, I had a specific budget in mind, but went over when I found the dress that fit lik a glove. I felt a bit guilty at first, but now I am just so happy that I found a dress that I LOVE. good luck!
First of all, the dress is gorgeous! If that's your dress, then that's your dress. I think most women do get that "this is it" feeling. But, if you're still worried, I know there is a Maggie dress that is similar to the one you posted. Here is a pic.
MaggieRD1044.JPG (27.9 KB, 66 downloads) 2 years old 
I agree with jhphi: go for it, but find the money to make up for it elsewhere. I know it is your dress, and one of the most important parts of the wedding, but there are going to be a lot of times when you say, "Ah, to hell with it, it's my wedding!" Saying that is how I ended up with $37 blush from Nars. Those things add up. So I agree with everyone else, go for it! But find the money for it.
Thanks, EAQ219! That's funny, I remember running across that dress online a few weeks ago and liking it but forgot to bookmark!
I'm still having a hard time deciding whether to return it or not. Since I "found" the dress on my first shopping trip, I'm gonna visit one or two bridal shops this weekend just to see if there's anything out there that has a price I'm comfortable with.. My fiance says it's a lot of $ but I should just keep it b/c I love it. But I don't love this guilty feeling!
Your budget is something to frame how much you spend - and if you spend more on your dress, there can be somewhere that you spend less.
I'm also a Pronovias bride (Spring 2010 Grecia) and haven't seen this one yet - when I clicked on the link to the pic, I said. "Oh wow" under my breath - this dress is STUNNING.
YAY!!! congrats on getting the dress, it's wonderful, and I think you need to take a breath and just enjoy it! I am also trying to stretch our budget as far as possible, but your dress is the one thing that makes the day for most brides (it affects how you feel that day!) so just enjoy it, and as others said, imagine his face when you walk down the aisle!
It's a beautiful dress! $2000 vs. $750 is a big difference but since you said you are not breaking the bank, it should be ok!! I kind of splurged on my wedding gown as it's an important part of the wedding to me, but we plan on cutting back on other stuff that is not as important to us.
If you can afford your dream gown, I say go for it!
It's a really beautiful dress!! I say go for it -- it's once in a lifetime. Just be diligent about making up for it in other ways (including NWR) and stop giving yourself guilt trips about it -- you won't enjoy the dress at all if you feel guilty!
i agree with the other poster - you can get that Maggie Sottero dress inexpensively, too. It's gorgeous and might save you $. It's easy to get carried away with these wedding details but if you're strapped for cash, i hope that you enjoy the dress enough to sacrifice other major things from your budget.
I just spent the entire weekend thinking about this. Nearly everybody has told me to keep the dress if I love it. But my conscience is still bothering me, esp since I'm afraid I won't be able to cut back anywhere else in the budget. I just called to ask about a refund and the line is busy....wondering if it's a sign? Haha
If you return it is there a chance you could make it to another trunk show later after you've looked at less expensive dresses and then purchase it again if you think its the only dress for you?
I love it! It's ethereal and looks like a goddess! I don't think 2k is that bad including alterations.
I do love that maggie too, but if given a choice b/w the two, I'd stick w/what you have. The Maggie is very lovely too. It's just imho the Pronovias has a bit more detail but they are quite similar. You couldn't lose with either gown imho.
Just emailed to ask for refund. I guess I feel a little better now, like I'd done the "righteous" thing (but a little sad too). I hope I get the full amount back!
Jacqui: Yes, I heard there might be another trunk show in January but that might be cutting it close to my August 2010 wedding date according to their "calendar."
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