Are you newly engaged or a bride-to-be who is ready to begin shopping for your wedding dress? Perhaps you are a bride who is working on your wedding budget and trying to figure out how much to spend on your bridal gown. You have likely never shopped for or purchased a wedding gown before and so you may be overwhelmed with where to start and how much you should expect to spend on your dream wedding dress. A bridal dress is a high ticket item, and prices can range from more affordable to truly luxurious. We are here to help brides understand why there is such a range in prices when it comes to wedding dresses.
If you're wondering how much wedding dresses cost or are curious about how much to budget for your wedding dress, you're in the right spot today because we are talking about all things wedding dresses and prices. We're giving you our best tips and advice for how much wedding dresses cost.
Before you make any wedding dress shopping appointments to try on bridal dresses, you are probably wondering what your dollar buys you in bridal fashion, aka how are wedding dresses priced and what makes one bridal gown more or less expensive than another. Is there actually a quality difference between a $3,000 wedding dress to an $8,000 wedding dress and every price point in between? From different wedding dress styles or silhouettes for all body types to wedding dresses with lace or beading embellishments to the options of various different fabrics, there are a lot of factors that go into the pricing of bridal dresses. Follow along with us as we dive into the bridal fashion world and discuss the cost of wedding dresses.
Video: Wedding Dress Prices - How Much Do Wedding Dresses Cost?
This week's advice post has a fantastic video that we highly recommend you watch to go along with the tips we are sharing in this post. Nayri, our Wedding Fashion Expert at Lovella, tries on some beautiful wedding dresses from different bridal designers in various different styles and at differing price points to help brides truly understand wedding dress prices and how much wedding dresses cost. You'll be able see visually what the dollar buys you with several different wedding dress styles.
Bridal Dress Designers Set The Price
The first important thing to know when it comes to the cost of wedding dresses is that the wedding dress designers set the price of each wedding dress. Any bridal dress shop that carries a certain wedding dress designer will be contractually obligated to sell their wedding dresses at the retail price set by the designer. Bridal stores are not allowed to mark dresses higher or lower than this set cost.
Every wedding dress designer will have their own price range for each collection of wedding dresses. Many factors go into determining the cost of each wedding dress they design. The fabric they choose for a particular gown, if there is lace detailing or crystal beading, and any sort of embellishment or design feature will all factor into the cost of each bridal dress. Even the particular style of wedding dress, such as a ball gown, a-line, or mermaid style, can affect the cost of a wedding dress as different amounts of fabric, patterns and construction techniques are required for each silhouette.
At Lovella
At Lovella, our bridal gowns start at around $2,500 and go up from there. We do have some wedding dresses that are slightly under $2,000, but the majority of our wedding dress selection begins at around $2,500.
For more on the different bridal dress designers and wedding dress styles that we carry at Lovella, be sure to visit our wedding dress gallery, our plus-size wedding dress gallery, and our bridal accessories gallery. The dresses listed on our website are not our full inventory, however, it will give you a great sense of the designers that we offer and the wedding dress styles we have in the store for you to try on.
Prices Can & Will Change
Keep in mind that wedding dress pricing can change and vary at any time, especially with increases in materials and labor costs in the post-pandemic recovery. This is why we are always reminding brides to be ready to purchase their wedding dress when they go shopping because if they wait and when they come back to purchase their dream wedding dress the price may have increased.
Check out our post on how inflation is affecting wedding dresses for more detail on how inflation can raise the cost of wedding gowns.
No Set Pricing Guide
Unfortunately, there is no set pricing guide for bridal dresses. There are not exactly hard and fast rules when it comes to the cost of wedding dresses. What we mean by this is to say that you shouldn’t necessarily expect that all ball gown style wedding dresses will be more expensive than a fit and flare style dress. Or that a lace bridal dress will be more expensive than a satin gown.
Prices on wedding dresses are determined by a handful of different elements. The material or the fabric used is one main price factor. The time that it costs, the hours, days, or even months of time that go into manufacturing a wedding dress plays a large role in the cost of that particular wedding gown. And then there are design elements like beading or lace that can also affect the cost of wedding dresses.
Wedding Dress Fabrics
At Lovella, we are pretty particular with the bridal designers we choose to work with and carry their collections in-store. We have to trust the bridal dress designer and truly love their designs to want to offer their collections to our brides. Any of the wedding dress designers that we represent, we fully believe in and love their designs. If we didn't love their designs or trust working with them, then they would not be in our store. We want all of our brides to be happy with their wedding dress selection, and we believe that starts with the designs that we choose to showcase in our inventory.
That said, all of the wedding dresses in our inventory, no matter the price point, are going to be a high-quality wedding dress designs. Know that when you head out to go wedding dress shopping, you are going to find quality wedding dresses in stores that can fit into your budget no matter what your budget is.
One major factor in determining the price of a wedding dress is the type of fabric used. There is not one certain wedding dress fabric that is better than another. You will find a range of prices with different fabrics used. The look and feel of each fabric are going to affect the overall design of each wedding dress.
Take for instance a polyester blend fabric versus a silk fabric. The higher-grade silk fabric is going to be a more expensive option than the polyester blend fabric. But both options can still create a quality wedding dress design. Bridal dress designers are not going to put a bad product on the market.
You may find that you have to make some compromises to fit into your wedding dress budget. The logistics that go behind the manufacturing and the quality of the fabric doesn't mean it is a good wedding dress or a bad bridal dress. It will come down to your overall wedding dress budget and to your preferences. In order for the cost of a wedding dress to be reduced, there have to be some compromises and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
At Lovella, it is also very important to us to have a wide range of selections of wedding dresses at various different price points so that you, as the bride, can try on different bridal dresses and feel the difference for yourself. Ultimately, you will have to decide what is the best and most suitable look, style, and quality for your wedding dress.
Wedding Dress Labor
Another important part of determining the cost of wedding dresses is the amount of time that it takes to manufacture. The amount of time it takes a seamstress to create a wedding dress and how labor-intensive each wedding dress design is will greatly impact the price of a wedding dress.
For example, a bridal dress with many, many layers of fabric or a design that has intricate draping is going to take more time to create and thus will have higher labor costs which will increase the price of the wedding dress.
Certain elements and details of a wedding dress like hand-sewn beading versus machine detailing are also a factor when it comes to labor costs. If a bridal dress is created out of a fabric that comes with lace detailing or beaded already on it, the labor it takes to create that dress will be less than that of a wedding dress that requires lace or crystal beading to be hand sewn onto the gown.
Embellishments & Details
The last item we want to touch on when it comes to wedding dress pricing is embellishments. In this category, we mean things like lace detailing, crystal beading, sparkle fabrics, and buttons. All of these design elements can make a wedding dress truly spectacular, but can also affect the cost of the wedding dress.
You may see a bridal dress with little to no embellishment and think that it should cost less than a sparkly, beaded wedding gown. The detailing in the wedding dress is not the only item to take into consideration when pricing a wedding gown. The amount of beading or no beading is not the only determining factor of the cost of a bridal gown. We've talked about different fabrics costing more or less than the other, as well as the patterning of a wedding dress, intricate sewing requirements, or hand draping that aren't always visible at first glance.
For example, a bridal dress that has a beaded bodice can vary in price depending on if the beading is hand-sewn or a piece of fabric with the beaded already attached that needs to be sewn to the bridal dress skirt. The bridal gown with the hand-sewn detailing is going to be more expensive, because of the time and labor being put into this gown versus a bridal dress that has already embellished fabric.
Button detailing is another embellishment that can vary in cost for wedding dresses. Buttons that are handmade and hand-sewn onto a bridal gown are going to increase the cost of a wedding dress, versus a bridal dress that has machine-manufactured buttons. You will find wedding dresses that have buttons going all the way down the wedding dress train and designs with buttons just on the back bodice of the gown. These variations in wedding dress designs will alter the price as well.
There are various different types of sparkle fabrics that come in varying price points. Another factor is the number of layers on a wedding dress. Is the dress created with a detailed lace overlay fabric on top of a sparkle or tulle layer? Or perhaps the wedding dress has the lace detailing all on one layer. All of these variations help determine the cost of the wedding dress.
All in all, the general rule of thumb is that the more sparkle, the more embellishment, and the more intricate lace pattern you have the higher the wedding dress pricing is going to be.
There Are Dresses At All Price Points
You can achieve the same bridal dress look or style at varying price points. You can find a beautiful gown in your budget, you just may have to compromise on the amount of sparkle or the amount of beading or amount of lace appliqués.
We don’t want any brides to get discouraged when going wedding dress shopping. You can accomplish various bridal style looks at different price points. The overall wedding dress design may have a little bit less or more details depending on the cost of the wedding dress.
When you look at all the various design details and try the wedding dress on that is where you are really able to determine what the dollar buys you and the price differences in materials and fabrics and in the number of design elements.
More Wedding Dress Shopping Help
We hope you have found this insight helpful in preparing you to budget for and shop for your wedding dress. For more helpful tips, be sure to check out these recent advice posts:
- 5 Questions to Ask When Wedding Dress Shopping
- What Does It Mean To Be Ready To Buy Your Wedding Dress?
- Negotiating & Discounting In Bridal Dress Stores
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
