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I would have written something quite similar when begining my dress hunt. I picked a number as well, actually I said (in my head of course) I want to find a dress between $3000-$5000 with $5k being my max. It was perfect! When I went to try dresses on I told them that bringing a dress above $5k will not work - however I did try on a $12k Monique Lhuillier because I wanted to feel how different a $12k dress felt than a $5k dress - - they didn't feel different at all!!
To the second part of your question - - I only tried on at 3 places: Neiman Marcus, Stanley Korshak, and a bridal boutique in Portland. All three requested 50% deposit at the time of ordering.
Hope that info helps - - - its such an amazing fun thrilling experience. My only advice - - Enter with an open mind. Try anything and everything on, no joke. You may end up with a dress you never thought would be 'you' in a million years 
I also had no idea how much dresses cost before going to try on dresses. I wanted to stay between $500 and $750 and told the lady that when I went in to try on dresses. She brought out a few dresses in that price range but then brought out a few that were a little bit higher. Of course I fell in love with the 3rd dress I tried on, which was $ 950, but didn't get it right then, I still had a couple of appointments that day to try on dresses. Needless to say none of the ones I tried on felt as good as the 3rd dress, so we went back and ordered that dress, mainly because at the time my mom said she would help me pay for the dress so I still stayed on my budget. I think we had to put down 50% at that time and then pay the rest by the time of my first fitting. I think $3000 is probably a good number! Good luck and just make sure you remind that you don't want to go above that number and they should pretty much do that for you! Good luck!
Stick with what your budget is, because some places WILL try to sneak more expensive dresses in.
I would probably say that you don't want to go above $2500, 2800, because then they'll probably bring out dresses that are $3000 or just over. If you say $3000, I think a lot of places think, well we can push her to $3500 or $4000. Just remember that the price of alterations is not included in the price of the dress, so you'll likely be paying more than $3000 for dress + alterations. Good luck! And have fun at Kleinfeld's--hope you get a good consultant! :)
hi there!!!
well $3000 i believe it is a good budget, not sure if it could be enough for Kleinfields though..(i watch the show say yes to the dress)...
i can tell you that some bridal store overprices their dresses, like ridiculosly overprice!!!my budget was about $2000.. i once went to this store and i told them i wanted a lace gown, lots of lace..and they said that lace was over my budget!! really? pftt!! then i found this place where i got my gown (beautiful all LACE from top to bottom) for only $1100..great deal!!! just becareful where you go and look around! if you have a budget, they usually try to show you what is in the budget, but with $3000 you should have not have any problems in finding a nice dress..but if you are worry that you cant afford that much money then just try to spend a little less.. rememebr you need alterations done too..
totally LOVED kleinfeld and got my dress there a few weeks back. They are not pushy and will respect the budget and work with you to get you a dress of your dreams. At least that was my experience there.
$3K is absolutely enough!
Stick with your budget. Ironically, I had a number (in my head of $2000) and I went to a bridal salon that let ME look around and pick a number of dresses to try on, lo&behold the dress that was "THE ONE" was $1950. 
I think $3000 is a good number. That was about the amount I could personally justify spending and I was able to find a huge array of styles within that figure. My mom was a little more flexible though, so we did go to a couple of higher end stores and looked at $3000+
I think the key is to go to a variety of stores that have different price points. I found a dress I liked at Davids Bridal that would have been $750. I also found a Christos dress that I loved for $5500. I ended up getting a Manuel Mota that was $2000, which put it right in my range.
Have your max, but don't dismiss a dress because it's cheaper. Kleinfeld's wont expose you to dresses much less than $2000, so you're pretty much committing to meet or exceed the top range of your budget by shopping there, but if you are ok with that, I bet you can find a gorgeous dress there. Good luck!
If you fall in love with a dress, but cant buy it on the spot, do they usually still keep it in the stores for a few weeks? They dont sell them right off of the floor, do they? I am just thinking if I find a dress when I am alone and want someone to see or if I DO happen to find a dress thats a little out of my budget and I need to save some more.........(hopefully that doesnt happen!)
Usually you order the dress, so it's made for your measurements (unless you buy a sample, which would be the dress that they have it the store at that time). So definitely don't feel rushed to make a decision that day; go home and think it over and get others' opinions if you want.
3k sounds good to me. i wanted to stay around 1k and wasn't sure how much i would find in that range....everything i liked was around that price and the one i felt PERFECT in was just what i wanted...1k!
you have so many options with 3k, really. you could spend much less if you really wanted to.
I'm going to throw this out there and say that you should tell them $2500 is the budget. Alterations and accessories can get expensive quickly, and you want to have a cushion in there! Good luck!
My budget was 2500 and I am under it.
BUT. That is largely due to the fact that I did not end up going with a designer I had originally loved!
I think the important part is realizing your budget and sticking with it. IE If you must have brand new don't even bother trying on Monique. But if you're willing to purchase a preowned dress then hey go try on whatever designer you want. Because with a 3K budget you can def find a preowned designer dress. If you choose to go the preowned route though give yourself plenty of time to find the dress in your size.
GL!
I agree with hilsy - when you give them a price point, lowball it. If you're looking to spend max $3k, tell them 2-2.5. They're def. going to try to push you to go further. And remember that tax and alterations are additional too.
I didn't give them a price point, I just showed them dresses I'd researched online & liked. HUGE mistake. Best advice I can give is - don't even look at dresses above your pricepoint. I fell in love with a dress out of my pricerange & it kinda ruined the rest of my search because I compared everything else to it.
In my experience, dress shops tend to bring you dresses closer to your budget. So if you say your budget is $3000, they probably won't bring you an $800 dress unless they have one that meets the exact dress criteria you describe. But if you specifically ask to see dresses at several price points below your budget (like $1000. $2000 and $3000), they will show you dress at multiple price points. And some shops will actually let you look through the racks and choose which dresses you try on, so you can pick dresses at any price point you like. Good luck and have fun!
$3,000 is my max for the dress, so that does not include alterations or accessories.
I am definitely not going the preowned route. I dont think its a bad idea, but its just not for me!
My parents set a budget of $2000 ish. They hoped to stay below that, but my Mama told me that she would argue my point to my Daddy if it cost a little more.lol
I found a Maggie dress for $1300. When I went into the store I told the lady that I wanted to look at dresses. She was busy and the time so we were able to look around for a few minutes. I found my dress and a few others to try on and they were all within my budget.
You can also look at theknot.com and other websites and search by price range so that you can find dresses within your budget. That way, when you bring the pics of the dresses to the stores, they will be within your price range.
Good luck!
I picked a max of $1,000 and ended up spending $400 with no alterations and my mom added the bustle (single point, very easy).
While a glamorous dress is always nice....it's nicer to have the money in my bank account. Probably would've splurged more if we didn't pay for the whole wedding, though, too.....
Mine was off the rack so I didn't have a deposit issue. I just bought her and took her home!
I will also second Hilsy's comments, if you want to spend 3000, say that 2500 is your max as alterations and taxes add up quickly.
Also, not sure if you have heard of this place in NYC called Bridalgarden.org that has beautiful dresses from a number of designers. Anything in that store, include Veras and Ullas and Monique's will be under your 3000 budget.Plus proceeds go to charity.
There are a few pre-owned ones in there but there are also showroom samples and runway samples that are in perfect condition. Corinne that works there is also a seamstress so can tell you what can be done in terms of alterations. I was super close to buying a $4500 Judd Waddell dress for under $2000 and it was new with tags.
My dress was WAY under the budgeted amount I planned. The original budget for my dress was $1300... which is a tough budget for a gal who likes nice things. But, I stood by my budget hoping that it could work out. I ended up getting my dress for $500.00. If you look around and exervise some shopping savvy you could get your dream dress for a bargain too. Just a lil patience is needed. :)
Most stores that I've encountered have only charged a 50% deposit, both for high end and more affordable bridal boutiques. You are shopping at Kleinfelds so obviously they can ask for a higher deposit. I just have not encountered a place that asked for more than 50%
My strategy was to start at high end boutiques first to get an idea of the kind of fabric, style and cuts that I liked. My first store was Amy Kuschel in San Francisco, who was AMAZING dresses that are way out of my budget. Fell head over heels for one of her dresses but at $3k it was too much.
Eventually a couple of months later I went to a more affordable bridal boutique. I described exactly what I was looking for based on my dream Amy Kuschel dress. Magically the bridal associate pulled out a dress of the EXACT material, cut and style of my dream dress. The dress was $1700; cheaper than Amy Kuschel but a tad too expensive. I ended up buying the sample b/c it was in perfect condition. At $500, you can't even buy the material for that price so I definitely scored big time.
Good luck with your derss shopping!
My budget was $2000 before alterations, and I ended up with a $575 dress (was $725, but I ordered through Netbrides) that will probably be another $300-500 in alterations (convert neckline, bustle - shouldn't really need much else). To be honest, I never told anyone my budget and all the dresses they showed me were within my price range. Of course, I went in armed with styles I liked within my budget, so they probably figured it out.
Definitely agree with Hilsy85, you definitely want to make sure you are budgeting in for alterations too, and that could be quite expensive, depending on what all they have to do.
Good luck!
My budget was only $1200 and I told them that. They did not pull anything more expensive than that. I found my dress for $999. Turned out they couldn't order one in for me so I get the floor model for $200 off. I am very surprised how much alterations are through them though. $120 for a hem, $160 for a bustle. I think i'm going to look into other seamstresses. I want my dress to be under my budget with alterations included.
Before I went dress shopping, I setup the budget for our wedding. I went into the salon and walked out with my dream dress and was under the budget. I think the key to staying within your budget is sticking to your guns and bring someone who knows you want to stay within your budget - so they can tell you NO! :) (I brought my MOH, who kept me in line, "No." Ha!) It's doable! So, GOOD LUCK! :)
The first time I went dress shopping with my mom, we were just casually looking and we hadn't talked too seriously about budget. When we filled out some information at the beginning, we entered our budget as under $1000, though my mom was like "lets start there, see what you can get for that price, and work up as necessary". I agreed b/c I didn't want to start out trying on $3000 dress and be disappointed when I had to 'work down' to a more affordable amount.
The consultant was excellent, she right up front told me that she only had a few dresses in stock that met my description and budget, and pulled them for me. It was clear that the ones she had weren't really what I had invisioned. I spotted a dress I liked for around $1250, so I grabbed it. It ended up being perfect, so there was no hesitation to pay the extra bit. The consultant would have been good at staying with in the amount for sure, if we had insisted. She even made some recommendations as to how we can save some money on accessories, alterations,etc., to make up for the extra expense of the gown.
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Hi everyone! I never really researched how much dresses cost prior to getting engaged and to be honest I still dont really KNOW what costs what. Right after he proposed I pulled a number out of the air that would be my max to spend. That number was $3,000. I dont think its THAT much in the scheme of things, but to me that is a nice chunk of change! The question I am getting to is:
How many of you picked a max and then went under it? When I go to the bridal salon to try dresses and tell them I dont want to spend more then $3000 will they still bring out dresses that are less then that? AND is that even a good number to go in with? I have no clue! Literally! One more question and then I am done! Promise! I am going to Kleinfelds for my 1st "try on session" and they say they want a 60% deposit on the dress. Is that pretty normal across the board??
Thanks girls! Sorry about the million Qs!