How much should I spend on my wedding dress?

Spend wisely on THE ONE

If you’re in an Excel spreadsheet blackhole of wedding budgets, you’re not alone. Planning a wedding is hard, y’all. Really hard. Especially if you’re a budget-minded professional. Even if you’re not as concerned about the bottom line, knowing how much you can or should spend on the dress can really help narrow down your search.

According to Brides.com, the average cost for a wedding dress in 2020 was roughly $2,400. More now in 2023, inflation is real after all. Most wedding budget experts advise you to spend 10% on your gown, but that may not take into effect the fact that you’re having a post-pandemic micro-wedding with minimal flowers and food—or a post-pandemic jumbo wedding with ALL the flowers, all the food and all the extended family members.

If you’re having a small wedding for 40 in the garden of a local museum, you will likely want a certain look for your gown, likely something that doesn’t involve a ballgown and crinoline. If you’re having a blowout party for 400 at a banquet hall, that will likely steer you into a different type of dress—and a different budget level.

The point is, think about it. Don’t create some arbitrary number based on the idea that food will cost you X and the band will cost you Y. try to crunch some numbers so you can get as close as possible to a figure that you will be comfortable with spending.

Dress Regret is real, but Budget Dress Regret is also real, and we want to avoid both of those for you! The good news is, that THE ONE Gown knows where to find the deals on many designer gowns in case you need to save a few dollars on your dress.

That being said, the majority of our clients spend $4000+ on their wedding gowns. We live by the phrase, “Just because you have the money, doesn’t mean you have to spend it.” No matter what you’re spending—$3,000 or $17,000—it’s all about VALUE. That’s where we can help guide our clients and help them achieve their budgetary goals on THE ONE.