Why Are Wedding Gowns So Expensive? A Candid And Thorough Answer

Dear The Perfect Dress, 

 I work at a Bridal Salon and I was wondering if you could talk about curbing Bride's expectations about what they can get for their budget?  I get Brides who want an all lace wedding gown for under $500 or want a huge, poofy beaded gown (brand new, mind you) for around $200.   Help! Get the word out that it's just not possible! 

  Sincerely,           

Concerned Consultant C.C.

 Oh yes. We know this all to well. 

 Lets start from the very beginning.  

It's a very good place to start.  

 No, but seriously. 

 Let's talk about what goes into making these beautiful gowns. 

 How about we dissect this Justin Alexander gown in the photo above to see what really goes into making it.  

This is not a $10,000 wedding gown.  

The price of this gown is pretty average and that's why we picked it.  

We chose this gown because it has the fullness, the layered tiers and the beading that every classic Bride would want. 

 This gown starts with an incredible structure.

 

 This is boning.  

This is what is built into most wedding gowns and this is what keeps a strapless gown up and keeps our tummies in. 

 Over all of this boning and lining there is a lot of crinoline.  

And yes, all full dresses have a built in crinoline.  

Slips that you purchase separately are made for the bride that wants the gown fuller than it already is.

This is a very editorial type shot, but it shows you whats under a full dress.

 Over that comes a layer of heavy satin, that's like this gown below, to smooth all of that crinoline out.  

 Now comes the fun part. 

 All of that beautiful layered organza.  

There was probably a good 15 yards of organza put into that gown with all of these layers.

 And then you have those beautiful beads at the waistline and we're not talking about cheap foggy beads that you get at a craft store.  

We're talking about clear beautiful glass beads.  

Even Swarovski crystals are set in there.  

 Put that all together and you get a great dress that's $200. 

 Sound a little ridiculous? 

 That's because it is. 

 Wedding gowns are made with some of the highest quality materials and the craftsmanship is second to none.  

Oh and don't even get us started on a lace gown!  

 Now, we are not saying all of this to be mean, we are just saying this so that you can have a frank conversation with yourself about your budget and what you can honestly afford.  

Don't get your heart set on a $5,000 style of dress if you can only afford $200. 

For those brides that are looking for these gowns, go to the sale racks and sample sales where you can find a sample gown that is a few years old .  

Don't turn your nose up at those because, let's be honest, you can't afford to. 

Literally. 

  We can hear some of you saying "well, I found a dress like that for only $200 online".  

To that we say, RUN!!!  

RUN FAR, FAR AWAY!!  

   Let our motto be "you get what you pay for".  

Remember this. 

 Hope this helped C.C. and keep the questions and suggestions coming in people. 

Brides, Here Is A Piece Of Advice That Will Save You Some Heartache

So you have met this person.  

Fallen head over heels for them.  

Dated them for however long it has taken you to realize that you love them and then they finally pop the question. 

 What do you say? 

 YES, of course!! 

 You've never been so happy in your life.  I mean, this person treats you like a million bucks.  They make you feel beautiful inside and out and everyone says that you are just glowing now that you guys are together. 

 So, what do you do next? 

 What everyone does, duh. 

 You look around a little more to see if maybe there is somebody better out there.

  No one has to know right?  

What? 

 Don't look at us like that!

 You just need to know if there is someone more beautiful that makes you feel even BETTER and makes you glow even MORE, am I right? 

 ... 

 Answer us this question, why is this so absurd when it comes to getting engaged to the right person, but when you have bought your favorite dress that you are so in love with, that makes you glow and feel beautiful it's just fine to go out and keep looking "just in case"? 

See what we are getting at here?

 ONCE YOU HAVE FOUND YOUR DRESS, STOP LOOKING!!

 

Let's be honest, you will always find someone more handsome, charming and wonderful than your significant other (this person may not feel the same way back towards you or have the same connection, but you will find someone). 

...

 Oh really? So if you walk into a room and see this standing in front of you, you wouldn't be thinking "whoa...".

Well, hello Mr. Beckham

 If you said no, you're lying. 

 The same thing goes with wedding gowns.

Once you have bought your dress, put the Wedding Magazines down, cancel all of you other Bridal Gown Appointments and close the dress chapter in your "Planning Your Wedding" book.  

Why would you torture yourself?  

You love that dress and it makes you feel beautiful. 

 Unless you have unlimited funds.  

We had a bride that bought 4 different dresses from us because every time she came in for alterations, she would look at other dresses.  

 Anyway, we don't think we need to keep going on about this.  

You get the point.  

Just take our advice and be ecstatic with what you have and quit looking for something better. 

 I think we can take this advice and put it towards all facets of our lives. 

Look at us!

Teaching life lessons and everything!   

Pros and Cons of Buying a Sample Wedding Gown Off the Rack

Why don't we talk about the Pros and Cons about buying an in stock, sample wedding gown.

Lists are nice. 

It seems more clear cut and precise.

So, let's do a list.

Pros of buying your wedding gown off the rack:

 

 1.  From now on, your wedding gown will never leave your sight.  You can bring it home, lock it up in a pet and childproof closet and when you're feelin' lonely, take it out and whisper sweet nothings to it. 

 2.  Because it's been in the shop and been tried on a few times, there might be some snags or a little bit of dirt.  We know what you're thinking, "shouldn't that be a con"?  Well if you think saving money is a con then you're right.  If you like to save a few hundred dollars on a designer gown then this is a pro.  The gown will be marked down from the original price and most of time, snags and dirt can be easily fixed   

 3.  If you have a quick engagement you won't have to wait the weeks that it can take to get your gown in. 

 4.  You can get started ASAP with your alterations. 

 5.  You don't have to pay for shipping. 

 6.  And most importantly, it cuts down on anxiety and worry. 

 Cons about buying your wedding dress off of the rack.

 1.  You are probably buying a sample, which means that it is around a size 8 to 12.  If you are smaller or bigger than that it means that you will need  alterations.  One of the best reasons to get your dress from The Perfect Dress is that we have the best Seamstresses and this is something that can be easily done and will look fantastic!

 Honestly, that is the only Con we can think of.

For many Brides, buying a Sample off of the rack is the way to go and the only person that will know that it's not a brand spankin' new special ordered gown is you!

...and us.

But we will keep it our little secret.

Would You Care For A Sample

Just so you know, this post was stellar. 

Awesome.  

It would have brought world peace among us... until safari crashed and erased it. 

I could kill someone with my bare hands. 

Sorry everyone. 

 This subject is sensitive for most people. 

 We will try to explain everything as delicately as possible. 

 The dreaded sample size.

Why is it so big?  Why is it so small?  Why don't you have multiple sizes?  Why do I have to try on a sample?  Why is this sample dirty? 

 Let's talk about it. 

 And stick with us, this might get confusing and ugly. 

 You might wonder why we don't just get a size run of each style that we buy, that way we don't have to worry about the ordering process.
Well, some stores do that.  

We will talk about the pros and cons about ordering later, but as for those of you who don't know the term, a size run is when you buy every size that a style comes in. 

 For example, if a wedding gown can come in a size 2-220 that means we're buying 110 dresses of that one style and big chains like David's Bridal do that because they manufacture their own gowns and in turn, they are less expensive.  

Now, OUR cost of a wedding gown can be between $700 to $2500 (mid level)  per dress, if we're not designing and manufacturing it on our own.

 Yeah, it gets pricey. 

 We almost bought a gown that was $30,000 cost (what we pay) once. 

 Were we on crack?  

Well, if being on crack means that you are hypnotized by the most stunning dress you have ever seen in your life then *yes, yes we were. 

 (* The Perfect Dress does not condone or promote the use of drugs.  It's just a joke people.  Just a joke.) 

  

This wasn't the dress, but this is the most expensive wedding dress in the world. 12 million dollars. Beaded with diamonds. 

 Can you see why getting a size run wouldn't be a smart business decision? We would blow our whole open to buy (click here to get that definition) on that one style and couldn't afford to buy anything else. 

 kinda make sense? 

 Now let's talk about the size of a sample. 

 Normally, a Bridal Gown sample size will be a size 8, 10 or 12, which in regular U.S. sizes is about a 6, 8 and 10.  

So for example, when I got married (the person who is writing this), I wore size 8 jeans and my wedding dress was a size 12.  (I always thought it was so unfair that on the day we want to feel our smallest, the sizes are all messed up and make us feel bigger.) 

 Do we think that every woman is this size? 

 No, we don't. 

 Sometimes it's too small and sometimes it's too big.    

 Can we adjust with clamps to fit most brides so that they can see what it would look like in their size? 

 Most of the time, yes. 

 Is it fair? 

 No, it's not and we hate that so, here is what we try to do. 

 When we see early on that a dress is getting popular, than we order another sample in a larger size. If we know that a style will be super beautiful and flattering on a bride that is sexy and curvy, than we get a bigger sample. 

 As owners we are just trying to give you, the Bride, the best selection of stunning wedding gowns you can see in one shop. 

 We try, Brides.  We want you to know that we try.  

We aren't out to get you and to make you feel bad about yourself and we don't expect you to change.

We love our Brides.

We know you are all different and that's what makes our job fun!

With all of this information, let us know if there is something we aren't doing.

Something we haven't' thought about doing. 

  And for those of you who have made it this far, pat yourself on the back and leave your name in the comments and we will give you a congratulatory shout out in the next blog post. 

Just Kidding.  

Kind of.

Our Bride Megan

Our beautiful Bride Megan was kind enough to send us some photos of her stunning Wedding to, her now husband, Phillip.

Masterpiece Images did an incredible job of capturing their special day.

Megan chose an Allure gown that was completely strapless.

"My experience at The Perfect Dress was amazing! You were so accommodating and supportive.  I bought the first dress I tried on!  I had always wanted a dress with a V-neck front and back, and lace, with ½ sleeves.  The Perfect Dress offered the amazing opportunity to have all of those things!"

She worked with our seamstresses to create the gown she had always wanted.

"I have told several brides to go to The Perfect Dress to get the dress you have always wanted!"

Megan waited for two years while Phillip was serving an LDS Mission.  Their only correspondence was through letters.

Such a cute idea

Thank you Megan for letting us share your beautiful photos!

We loved working with you!

Fall And Winter Brides Tend To Have More Luck

Why, you ask?

Well, they aren't getting married in the spring or summer.

Which means that they aren't getting married in the busy season.

Which means when we get a huge shipment of new wedding gowns, like we got today, it's easier to be one of the first try them on.

It also means that if you a short engagement and need to buy to a dress off of the rack, we have more of those gowns available.

See what we're saying?

If you are getting married in the next six months and don't have your gown, you need to make an appointment at The Perfect Dress and see our beautiful new gowns.

But you do need to hurry.

These gowns go fast.

Don't say that we didn't warn you.

Our Bride Chandler

Chandler Huntsman truly was a Perfect Dress Bride.

Not only were we lucky enough to dress her for her special day, but we were able to dress her Mother and Bridesmaids.

She chose a beautiful textured ball gown and we helped her create her perfect dress by adding beautiful lace scalloped sleeves.

Her photographer, the talented Rebekah Westover, captured Chandler's beauty in a timeless and elegant way.

You are a beauty Chandler.  

Helping you was our pleasure.

How Do You Know That You Found The One?

Let us start this post by posing a question: How will you know when you meet the one? 

 No. 

 We're not talking about the person you will marry.  

Let's hope you have already established that by the time you are trying on wedding dresses. 

 We're talking about the right dress. 

You have tried on what feels to be a million gowns and then, finally you walk out of your dressing room and up to the mirrors and your heart rate quickens.  

You are short of breath.  

You feel a little light headed and tingly and then the tears come. 

At this point, call 911 because you might have a serious problem on your hands. 

 This is not what ALWAYS happens when you find the perfect dress.  

This sometimes happens.  

You also see it a lot in TV and in the movies. 

 We remember one specific Bride that we worked with who found her wedding dress.  

She LOVED it.  Couldn't get enough of it.  

She probably spent a good twenty minutes twirling in the mirror and talking about how perfect it was.  

But suddenly, as she looked in the mirror, her smile slowly faded.  We then asked her if there was a problem with the dress and she quickly said no.  

She turned around and said "this isn't the dress". 

Come again? 

 "This isn't the dress", she sadly said.  

We then asked her why and she told us that she wasn't crying and that Brides know what dress they will wear because they will start to cry when they see it.  

A little taken back, we told her that a reaction like that is more rare than normal.  We began to tell her that this is the reaction we see most: 

Take away the bed and it's pretty accurate

Elation.  

Happiness.  

Squealing.  

High fives.  

Hugs all around.  

That is what we see when a Bride finds her dress. 

 That Bride ended up leaving confused and holding on to her false expectation.  She came back two weeks later to order that same dress, after going to every Bridal Shop in the city, only to find out that she had run out of time and wouldn't be able to get that dress in time for her wedding.  

She learned the very valuable lesson of going with your gut in a very sad way that day. 

 She isn't the only one that has brought the whole crying thing up though.  

We always have Brides asking us "shouldn't I be crying", and our response is always "why would you"? 

 Look. 

 You will know your dress because you will feel happy, beautiful and most importantly, you will feel like yourself (just a dressier version). 

Tying Up Loose Ends

We know that for most of you summer Brides, now is the time to get everything in order.

Maybe you haven't gotten your jewelry yet and you know how important that is

click >here< to see why.

Speaking of jewelry, do you have your Bridesmaids' (which double as a great Bridesmaids gift) or Mothers' jewelry?

How about your veil?

Your headpiece?

We promise that this post was not suppose to stress you out.

We know you have a lot on your plate.

We just wanted to remind you that not only does The Perfect Dress have beautiful Wedding Gowns, but we are also known for our accessories.

See you soon!

"How Do I Keep My Wedding Dress Clean?"

This is a question that we are asked on a daily basis.

Hey, we would want to avoid this too

Now before we get into this, let us preface a little.

You are buying a white dress.

You will be out in the elements.

You will probably be taking photos in it before your Wedding.

It will get dirty.

Unless you're planning on standing in a corner all day just waving at your guests.

With that said, here are a few ways to keep your dress from looking like this

This Bride can totally pull it off though

1.  Bring a bed sheet that is about the same color of your dress to your Bridals/Groomals if you're super worried about getting your hem dirty before the big day.

If you are going to be standing in dirt or sand or hot lava, have your photographer lay the sheet down, step on it, bring the train out and then your photographer can hide the excess under your train.

Now, this is a lot of work, but we have had Brides do it so that they can keep their gown looking ship shape.

Get this girl a sheet STAT!  And a new photographer...

Sorry, that photo was just too hilarious not to share.  Does anyone know what's going on here?  Her husband's a Pirate?

Where were we?  

Oh, right...

2.  If you do get a little something on your dress, don't fret!  We are going to let you in on a little industry secret.

They are not just for baby bums anymore!

Baby wipes are a Bride's best friend.  They can get out stains better than anything and they are gentle.  Just make sure you get the wipes that are unscented and with no dyes.  

WARNING: If your gown in made out of silk or linen, do not use these!  They will leave a water spot and can sometimes make your dress look worse.  You should only use them for satins or polyester.  

Yes Brides, a lot of your gowns are made with a polyester blend.  Even the Vera Wang gowns.

GASP!

3.  Never and we mean NEVER dry clean your gown!  

Why?  

Because even the "best" dry cleaners can shrink your gown, fog your beading and ruin your dress.

We have helped more Brides who have taken their dress to be cleaned before their wedding day and it has be ruined.  

They usually only have a couple of days to find a new dress.

Now, we're not saying that every dry cleaner is bad, because they are not.  We are just telling you to not take that chance before your Wedding.

Do whatever you want after your Wedding, but don't clean it before.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

Last, but not least

4.  Just have fun!

You are going to have cute kids with dirty faces want to hug you

You're going to have people want to dance with you who will step on your dress

It might rain that day

You only get one day.

Stop stressing about your dress and enjoy it!