The Money

The second most common question I get when I tell people I'm making my own wedding dress is "Are you doing this just to save money?" While the money played a part in my decision, it was, by no means, the deciding factor. I had this idea way before I got engaged and knew that I wanted something unique and special. I do, however, understand the mindset of someone who is trying to cut costs and making the dress is an avenue to achieving that. I also believe, that if done right, you can have a dream dress that does not cost you an arm and a leg... I mean any hem is going to look a little awkward if you trade an arm AND a leg after you've picked the dress... Just sayin'...

What is expensive anyway? $60,000? $6,000? $600? When the object in question is a dress my direct answers to the previous 3 figures are ...."You're kidding right?", "Um.. Yeah....".. and "Uh huh!" Everyone has a differing opinion on what is reasonable to spend on a dress that result from a culmination of economic factors. For me, I am trying to make a game out of how little I can spend on the wedding and still make it a gorgeous event that will be immortalized in pictures for my life to come.

The dress that inspired my design was $600. For me, that was too much to justify spending on a dress I will wear once. It also wasn't exactly what I wanted. The beading on the dress I tried on has a triangle/diamond kind of pattern in the middle with a gawdy blingy fake gem thing that just isn't me. I could see me wanting to take that dress and make my own alterations to it but at $600 any mistake makes that option too costly. Instead, I knew that I could change that to be anything I wanted and then incorporate aspects of my mom's wedding dresses.

That being said, I know that $600 isn't actually a lot to spend for some people. I tried on other dresses at the shop that day that far exceeded that but there weren't any that were less than that. I'm sure the shop had dresses in many different price points but I didn't want cost to be the driving factor in my decision and end up with a dress that I didn't love or that didn't mean anything to me except to show off my frugal skills.

For me, making this dress is about so much more than money. It is about getting to spend time with women I love putting in a labor of love. It is about being able to take pride in the fact that it will be uniquely mine. No one else will ever have the same dress. It is about being able to personalize every aspect of this wedding down to the smallest detail. It is about spending a lot of time doing something for the wedding that feels intimate. It is about making memories of this year that I'll treasure. I'm only doing this once and I don't want the sense that I let it get me so frenzied that I forget to stop and enjoy it. In a way, this dress is about what it will be like to have a marriage. With every single sequined leaf I sew on, I'll be reminded that you have to be patient, put in a lot of work, and pay attention to details. a marriage shouldn't be about money and neither should the dress I wear to make it official. I know I'm weird by some standards but I'm not worried.

The current total on this dress is less than $250 which includes the material for the shell, lining, and overlay as well as the boning, interfacing, beading, zipper, and embellishment cording. I don't see the costs going much higher pending any major fiascoes. Instead, we have money in our budget for a live band, great food, and plenty of drinks.

I'm grateful I even have the opportunity to do this because it really is adding so much value to this whole year of wedding planning. Saving money is really just a bonus.

<3 The Future Mrs. Luce
159 days until the wedding