By Nina Campli
Over fall break I was watching one of my favorite shows: “Say Yes to the Dress” which takes place in New York City at a store named Kleinfeld. I love this show because I can look at all the beautiful dresses and see all the happy women as they go home with the perfect wedding dress (for the most part).
But there is one thing I loathe about the show, and it isn’t really about the show itself, it’s about the women on the show. You know, the ones that spend more than five thousand dollars on a dress they are going to wear once unless, of course, they divorce and get married again. I mean they could get divorced and remarried but the bride probably isn’t going to want to wear the same dress.
Seriously though why is it necessary to spend that much money on a wedding dress? I wouldn’t even spend that much money on a regular dress that I could wear more than once. I love a nice fitting dress that makes me feel like a million bucks but that doesn’t mean I want it to cost that much.
On one of the episodes I watched over fall break there was one woman who spent nine thousand dollars on her dress, while her original budget was five thousand dollars. She bought the dress after having already spent four thousand dollars on her shoes. SHOES. If I ever pay that much for shoes they better have real diamonds on them, be the most comfortable things I have ever walked on and make me a better dancer.
One of the bride’s friends picked out the dress for her and when the consultant pointed out the number on the price tag, the friend said “It’s just money.” The bride could have used that money to put a down payment on a house or car, at least those are more useful than a one-time occasion dress. Better yet, she could have donated that money to those who needed it most. Instead, she spent it on her wedding dress.
In that same episode one bride, who was there for her fitting, ordered a veil that cost five thousand dollars. For those that don’t know a veil is a lightweight, thin piece of material that sits on the head and flows down the back. Sometimes, it covers the face, depending on the look the bride wants. This particular bride had stones, presumably diamonds, on the front edge of her veil. Honestly, it was gorgeous but I could probably make something similar to it for thirty dollars and I have ZERO sewing skills.
I understand wanting to look beautiful at your wedding but to just drop that much money for one (albeit important) day of your life is absurd. Personally, I would rather spend thirteen thousand dollars on tickets to Broadway shows or stuff that I don’t need like Washi tape, which is relatively cheap and can still be used more than once.
