Why are Wedding Dresses so Expensive? Find Cheaper!
Table of Contents
Wedding dresses are very important for many women: they will be the dress they will wear during one of the most important and romantic days of their lives and naturally, everyone wants to appear at their feminine best in their wedding dresses.
Unfortunately, wedding dresses tend to be quite expensive and not affordable for everyone.
Yet, we believe every woman should be able to wear her dream dress on her wedding day, and we believe there are wonderful dress alternatives which are kind not only to our planet, the future of our children, and our skin, but also to our wallet as well!
Find everything about it below.
What Makes a Wedding Dress Expensive?
- Emotional purchase
You have probably already heard people saying buying wedding dress is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and that you don’t want to regret it by not wearing the dress of your dreams.
Because of all these types of comments, there is a lot of pressure on brides to choose “the best dress”. And obviously, some are ready to spend quite a great amount of money, thinking the most expensive the dress is, the prettier it will be (which is not always the case).
- Lack of helpful guidance
When it is your first time buying a wedding dress, you are most likely not to know what the average and normal price is. Should a wedding dress cost a couple hundred euros or several thousand?
It is indeed very difficult to answer this question when you have no experience in wedding dresses shopping.
What you have to keep in mind though is that the price of the dress does not matter that much and won’t determine how beautiful and dreamy your wedding day will be. You do not have to buy the most expensive dress in the store to be the prettiest bride, just choose a dress that will make you happy.
- Designer name
The same thing applies to some brands of clothing or shoes. A famous name does not always mean better and instead of paying a lot of money for a wedding dress by a well-known designer, you can maybe consider cheaper options that are just as good or pretty.
- Exclusive materials
This is one of the main reasons for the very expensive cost of wedding dresses: they are often made with very luxurious and expensive materials that the bride will have to pay for.
Many wedding gowns are made with luxurious silk and hand-embroidered, sometimes some crystals are even sawn on the dress. All this comes at a very high cost.
- Physical shopping
When you decide to buy your dream wedding dress in person, it inevitably has a cost because there are all sorts of fees the owners of the shop have to pay (bills, salaries, etc…) which will then impact the price of the dress in itself.
However, if you want to avoid all these extra costs, buying your dress online can be a good solution.
Wedding dresses bought online are as pretty as the ones in stores, usually available for customization options, and significantly cheaper, so it is definitely an option to consider.
- Limited quantities
- The “wedding tax”
In many in-person wedding shops, there is what we call the “wedding tax” which is an extra amount of money added to any item when the customer says they are shopping for a wedding.
Indeed, many stores tend to charge customers more when they are shopping for dresses for a wedding than when they say they are shopping for a party for example. One of the ways to avoid this is again buying your dress online.
- Custom creations
And the customization of a dress always comes with a cost. Of course, it is normal that brides want to have the most perfect dresses, with every detail customized to their taste and that will fit them perfectly.
However, many wedding shops are charging a large extra amount of money for that, while some online shops are charging a much fairer amount of money for some alterations to the dress.
Is it Worth it to Buy an Expensive Wedding Dress?
In our opinion buying a very expensive wedding dress is not the best investment for most people and for many reasons.
The usual go-to wedding dresses are pricey designer gowns which you wear only once and their prices usually vary from a few thousand euros/dollars to six digits of craziness.
If you do not consider yourself extremely wealthy, purchasing a very expensive dress would hurt noticeably. We believe this kind of sacrifice is not needed.
As mentioned before, today there are much cheaper options of beautiful high quality dresses and your guests would probably not be able to tell the difference – because a cheaper, or second hand, dress does not mean it would not be as pretty.
Not to add, a dress can be cheaper and more sustainable and reusable after the wedding.
Benefits of Affordable Wedding Dress
Affordable wedding dresses come with many advantages.
The most important is probably that they are indeed cheaper than the designer dresses and that you will not have to empty your bank account to buy your dream dress!
Another advantage is that an affordable wedding dress will be less stressful to wear.
Indeed, if you bought an extremely expensive gown, you will be worried during all the ceremony and reception to look as perfect as possible and will do everything you can to keep the dress intact – which sometimes means avoiding movement (like dancing too much) not to tear up the dress or to be extremely careful all the time to avoid making the dress dirty.
However, if you buy an affordable dress, you will be less pressured to keep it intact, and, depending on the material it is made of, it can be less fragile than an expensive dress.
Moreover, if you buy an affordable dress, you will maybe be able to afford another outfit – like you can have a dress for the wedding ceremony and then another dress or outfit for the wedding reception.
If you are indecisive about which style you want to wear, this is indeed the way to go because you will be able to have two different looks!
Last but not least, affordable does not mean unattractive or poorly made.
It is in fact most of the time the exact opposite, despite their expensive price, many designer wedding gowns can be manufactured in third countries with poor quality and in unethical conditions which is why it is important to do research before purchasing an expensive garment.
Nowadays, there are lots of affordable wedding dresses options that are ethically handmade using quality and natural materials and are very beautiful. Many eco-friendly dress options also exist and they are usually very affordable.
Where to Find Affordable Wedding Dress?
You can find many beautiful and affordable wedding dresses in online shops.
We believe that the dress is special and dear when it looks and feels the way you imagined it, as well as it is kind to the environment in many ways.
At Son de Flor you can find an entire collection of linen wedding dresses available to be your dear friend on your wedding day and continue after.
Our wedding dresses are timeless and versatile. This means, after your wedding, you will have two options:
- Choosing to wear your dress again as everyday wear or a formal outfit gown.
- Choosing to turn it into an heirloom because linen is a very strong material that will stand the test of time. Since our dresses are simple, elegant and timeless, they will always be in
Finally, our linen wedding dresses are very affordable! You can even buy several ones if you want to change your outfit.
You can for example own a beautiful classic white wedding dress for the ceremony, and choose a colorful dress for the reception, to dance the night away!
Conclusion
We were taught that wedding dresses are expensive, however, there are many affordable options that provide high-quality, extreme versatility and sustainability that will make you fall in love.
We believe that a wedding dress can be affordable and serve you for many years after the celebration since it is made in timeless materials styles and best natural fabrics, such as lin.
