That feeling when you finally find the dress of your dreams is pretty priceless—but it doesn’t mean the gown is free. (But that would be nice, wouldn’t it?) The Knot 2017 Real Weddings Study reveals the average cost of wedding dresses across the US—and the magic number is $1,509, including alterations.
So what do we think? It’s definitely not nothing, but it’s also not too crazy (especially if you’re an avid Say Yes to the Dress fan and expect all brides to have a dress budget of $10,000). Keep in mind that more and more brides are reselling their wedding dresses on sites like Nearly Newlywed. Doing so definitely makes the cost of a gown more managable too. According to the study, brides also spend an average of $279 on accessories like the veil, shoes and lingerie—so don’t forget to factor those into your budget as well. We’ll add that preserving your wedding dress might also be worth budgeting for—you might as well keep the gown you shelled out for in great condition.
In general, groom attire still has a much smaller price tag, which makes sense since grooms aren’t typically in the market for ornate corset bodices, layers of tulle, hand-embroidered floral appliqués and crystal embellishments. The average groom spends $286 on his wedding formalwear. Hard to believe it takes less than $300 to look that dapper, right?
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