How to have a beautiful wedding dress on a budget

At Velvet Birdcage we can work with you to fit with your budget.How do we do this? We have a beautiful dress made from 21 metres of silk organza, the dress costs £1600 because the fabric is ridiculously expensive. If you don't have that cash sitting in your back pocket, then change it to standard organza. We also have fully beaded dresses that take our beading lady hours upon hours to finish. If your budget can't stretch to it, you simply reduce the beading. There are always options, so please let us know your budget.

We will avoid putting you dresses that are way over your budget. However, if you try the £1300 dress on, and you only want to pay £800, there's no going back! and of course nothing else will then compare.

How much should I budget for my wedding dress? And what is a reasonable budget?

If you want a bespoke dress, I would budget around £1200. If you're open to a sale dress, then you can pick a dress up for around £300, and if you go for an existing design, then £900-£1000. 50's style dresses are less expensive and start around £600.

How much do alterations cost?

So this is where we really differ from other bridal boutiques. Firstly in terms of changing the design from the start can get you so much closer to the finished article. For example, if the sample dress has a 50 cms train and you want it to be 20 cms, we just order it like that. If you want sleeves that are 40 cms in length instead of the sample 50 cms, then that's how we order it!

We also make to your body shape. However! you will ALWAYS need alterations. Even if you do remain exactly the same body weight and shape in the months that it takes for your dress to come in, you will always need tweaks and adjustments. We recommend putting £100-£150 to one side.