Though most wedding dresses are custom-made, their cost is relatively small—in fact, it's likely you'll spend only 6 to 15 percent of your entire wedding budget on your gown, headpiece, veil, shoes, accessories, undergarments, hair, and makeup. And compared to,say, the cost of the reception, that's a bargain. But whether you spend under $500 or more than $20,000 on your attire, your wedding gown will probably be the most expensive garment you’ll ever buy, as well as the most unforgettable.
Brides come in all sizes, ages, and sets of circumstances. Have you been dipping pictures of wedding gowns out of magazines since you were six? Or have you sworn for forty years that you'd never get married, only to get caught in Cupid's crossfire? You might be twenty years old and blissfully betrothed to your first love or fifty years old and following your heart down the aisle for the third time. Are you planning a simple ceremony on the beach or hosting three hundred guests at a sit-down dinner? No matter what your status, the dress of your dreams is out there.