Beautiful Wedding Dresses That Only Look Expensive

September 10, 2024

Beautiful & Affordable Wedding Dresses

I love wedding dresses! And I love helping brides choose their bridal gowns!

A good way to plan a wedding is to start with the bridal gown. The wedding dress sets the tone for the whole wedding.

Katelyn MacMillan

Once the bride chooses her gown, then you have a good idea what the rest of the wedding will look like.

Is the wedding dress simple and elegant?

Mohd Kurd

Crepe Satin Dress with a Boat Neck

Satin Dress with Long Sleeves & a High Neck

Chiffon Dress with Wrap Ruffle & 3/4 Length Sleeves

Satin Dress with Lace Sleeves

Chiffon Dress with V-Neckline &Long Sleeves

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!)

Is it fairytale?

Khrystyna shevtsiv

Lace Dress with Long Sleeves, Scoop Neck, & Pearl Buttons

Satin Dress with Lace Appliqués on Bodice & Lace Sleeves

White?

Neal Cruz

Tulle Dress with Lace Appliqués & Long Sleeves

Organza Dress with Lace & a V-Neckline

Ivory?

Pavel Danilyuk

Satin Dress with Lace Overlay, a High Neck, & Long Sleeves

Crepe Satin Dress with a Boat Neck

Or pink?

Ron Lach

Sparkly Pink Tulle Dress, A-Line with Puffed Sleeves

Classic?

Anna Kazova

Satin Dress with Lace & Cap Sleeves

Satin Dress with Lace Appliques

Satin Dress with Organza Lace & 3/4 Length Sleeves

Or fun?

Jk Films

Sparkly Blue Tulle Dress, with Puffed Sleeves

Tea length?

Khrystyna Shevtsiv

Empire Waist Dress with Sweetheart Neckline & Lace Sleeves

Silver & Sequined Dress with Flutter Sleeves & Ruffled Skirt, Tea-Length

Chiffon Dress with Border Lace, Ruffled Sleeves, & a V-Neck

Or flowing train?

Min An

Tulle Dress with Lace Appliqués, Petal Sleeves, & V-Neck

Some brides know exactly what they want. Some brides don’t know, but they’ll know it when they see it.

Dan LeFebvre

When looking for a bridal gown, there are a few things to consider:

Fabric
Style
Length & Train
Alterations
Trying on Wedding Dresses

So, let’s talk about these.

Fabric

maadhuri g

Satins, chiffons, tulles, and organzas drape really well.

Susan Wilkinson

Organza Dress with V-Neck & Ruched Waistband

Satin Dress with V-Neck & Long Sleeves

Satin A-Line Dress with Long Sleeves & Square Neckline

Satin & Chiffon Dress with Lace Appliqués, Mermaid Style

Chiffons, tulles, and organzas are great for layering.

Filipp Romanovski

Tulle & Lace Dress, Mermaid Cut, with a V-Neck

Tulle & Lace Dress, Princess Waist with a V-Neckline

Taffetas, satins, and silks work well for elaborate wedding dresses that need more structure.

solod_sha

Satin & Lace Dress, with a Pin-Tuck Skirt

Charmeuse Satin Dress with a Lace Overlay, Mermaid Cut

Velvets, jacquards, brocades, georgettes, and taffetas have textures that work well for simpler styles.

Skylar Kang

Velvet Dress with Gathered Skirt & Puffed Sleeves

Velvet Dress with Square Neck, Skirt with Pin Tucks, Mermaid Cut

Velvet Dress with Ruffled V-Neck & Empire Waist

Lace can make a simple wedding dress delicate and graceful.

Elizabeth Villalta

Satin Dress with Lace Overlay, High Neck, & Long Sleeves

Layered Lace Dress with a Scoop Neck, & Elbow-Length Sleeves

Chiffon Dress with Lace Appliqués & Sequins

Mermaid Style Tulle Dress, V-Neck & Long Sleeves

2. Styles

Sheng Ye

So many styles!

Fit & Flare/Mermaid/Trumpet

Juliano Goncalves

Dress with Lace Overlay, with a Scoop Neck & Cap Sleeves

Dress with Lace Overlay with a V-Neck & Long sleeves

Satin Dress with a Lace Bodice & Flutter Sleeves

Floor-Length Dress with Fishtail Skirt & Cap Sleeves

Sheath/Column

Matej Simko

Chiffon Dress with Sequins & 3/4 Length Sleeves

Chiffon Dress with Ruched Bodice & Lantern Sleeves

A-line

Johnathon Borba

Satin Dress with Layered Lace Overlay, Scoop Neck, & Elbow-Length Sleeves

Tulle Dress, Princess Cut, with V-Neck

Chiffon Dress with Lace Bodice & Lace Sleeves

Satin Dress with Lace Sleeves

Ballgown/Fairytale/Cottagecore

Efiyo Pictures

Lace Appliqués Dress with Scoop Neck & Long Sleeves with Pearl Buttons

Tulle Dress with Lace Appliqués Overlay, Waistband, Petal Sleeves, & V-Neck

Floral/Lace/Kinetic

Soroush Karimi

Embroidered Satin Dress with V-Neck

Satin Dress with Lace Overlay, High Neck, & Long Sleeves

Satin Dress with Lace & Cap Sleeves

Ruched

khezez

Chiffon Dress with Long Sleeves & Waistband

Organza Dress with V-Neck & Ruched Waistband

Chiffon Dress with Ruched Bodice & Lantern Sleeves

Chiffon Dress with V-Neckline & Ruched Bodice

Ruffled/Layered/Handkerchief

Jonas Wilson

Dress with Lace Appliqués, with Scoop Neck & Long Sleeves with Pearl Buttons

Dress with Lace Appliques, Petal Sleeves, V-Neck, & Waistband

Tulle Dress with Layered Lace Overlay, Scoop Neck, & Elbow-Length Sleeves

The wedding dress companies that sell on Amazon will do alterations on request. They are great to work with. They will line dresses, change the corset back to a zipper, make other changes that you want, and tailor the dress to fit your needs.

3. Length & Train

J Y

Trains come in different lengths:

Sweep: barely brushes the floor

Dmitry Zvolskiy

Satin Dress with Long Sleeves & Square Neck

Court: about 1 foot

Trung Nguyễn

Organza Dress with V-Neck & Ruched Waistband

Tulle Dress with Lace Bodice, V-Neck, & Long Sleeves

Chapel: about 3 feet

Neal Cruz

Tulle Dress, Princess Cut, with V-Neck

Cathedral: about 6 feet

Asdrubal Luna

Tulle Dress with Lace Appliqués Overlay, Petal Sleeves, V-Neck, & Waistband

Royal: about 10 feet

serkan atay

Dress with Lace Appliqués, Scoop Neck, Long Sleeves with Pearl Buttons

Things to consider:

Where will the ceremony be performed? Where will the reception be held? Indoor? Outdoor? In a forest? On a lawn?

Will there be dancing?

Is there going to be a second reception or open house later on? Do you want to wear a tea length wedding dress, or have a second, simpler dress for the later reception?

CobyKane

These things will determine how much of a train you are going to want.

I was the mother of the bride at a wedding that took place in a temple that was on a busy street. Trucks came off the freeway and went on that road to get up to the canyon. So the walkways and patios on the temple grounds were not very clean.
I was in a dress that was too long for me. I’m 5’ 3”, so I’m used to that. But I wasn’t expecting my dress to get so dirty. As soon as we got to the reception hall, I cut 6” off the bottom of the dress. And that worked.
The mother of the groom is about my same height. We were wearing matching dresses. She tied her dress in a knot.
I still wear my dress, and I still haven’t hemmed it. It looks fine!

Chapel length trains are fairly easy to work with. And they bustle well and look really pretty.

ericaa1215

Have your wedding dress tailored so it can bustle. And make sure you and someone else know how to bustle it. Take a video.

I was in charge of helping a bride bustle her Cathedral length train. On the day of the wedding, I couldn’t remember where all those hooks were hidden under the lace appliqués. The whole reception was held up while I tried to figure it out.

4. Alterations

Amy Littrell

Finding and working with a tailor:

Wedding dress shops will recommend tailors for your specific needs. Whether it’s hemming, lining the bodice, changing the neckline, or altering the waist. Ask at the wedding dress shop if you can get matching fabric from the manufacturer. This is often possible and helps your tailer, if sleeves are being added.
Do not do your own alterations, unless you truly know what you are doing. And you know you will have the time.
Do you know someone who loves to sew? I have found that quilters make great tailors. Quilters love to sew, and they know how to do pretty much everything.
Wear the underclothing, and shoes with the height you want, to all wedding dress fittings. And bring the slip that you will be wearing.

One bride took a pair of scissors to her wedding dress the night before her wedding. She didn’t like the sleeves. She fixed it the way she wanted it and was happy with it. But what a risk!

Another bride was up all night before her wedding, finishing the alterations on her bridal gown. She finished it in time, and she loved her wedding dress. But she was up all night!

The tailor I use cut some of the netting out of a ballgown wedding dress and made it more A-line. The bride was pleased with the results. And the tailor took that netting and put it in a different wedding dress to make it more ballgown. To the satisfaction of that bride. This tailor is also a wonderful quilter!

5. Trying on Wedding Dresses

Thanh Xuân Nguyễn Ly

This is the fun part!

But before we get to that, do these things first:

Look online and find wedding dresses that you like. Take note of them. Create a Pinterest board. Then look through what’s there, and find similarities. What styles do you see? Are they mostly ballgown? A-line? What fabrics do you lean towards? What embellishments do you like? Layers? Ruching?
Go through your closet, and look at your dresses. What styles and fabrics are in there? What do you know looks good on you? Sweetheart neckline? Flared skirt? What are you most comfortable in?
Take a trip to the fabric store. Look at the different fabrics. Run your fingers through them, and see how they feel. Unbolt some of it, and see how it drapes. Hold it up to your face, and see what it looks like. Take a friend, or a mirror, or both! Find a fabric store worker and ask questions. Buy samples of the fabrics that you like. Fabric stores sell as small as 1/8 of a yard. And some will sell a couple of inches, if you tell them you just want a sample.

Now you are ready to try on wedding dresses!

Even if you are just trying on bridal gowns to get an idea of what you like, there are still some things you should do:

Wear the underclothing you plan to wear on your wedding day. Including a slip. This helps you to get the correct silhouette. And lets you see if you need to get different underclothing!
Wear or take shoes that are the height you want for your wedding day. They don’t have to be “the shoes,” but something nice will give you the look you’re going for. Unless you plan to wear your basketball shoes or cowboy boots!
Style your hair similar to how you want it on your wedding day. And be flexible with this. The dress you choose may look better with a different hair style.
Try different lengths and styles of veils with the wedding dresses.
Have someone take pictures. And notes of what you did and did not like, what you would change, etc. It’s a lot to remember!
Be aware that many bridal shops prefer that you make an appointment.

View these slips here:

I hope this helps you to find the wedding dress of your dreams! And remember, your wedding preparations should be full of happiness and celebrating!