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A reason brides give · 156 accounts · updated September 2026

Every Other Reason Brides Gave

The reasons that do not group with the rest. 156 brides here describe it, at a median $950 where they said what they paid. Another 56 name the same thing and still say they have no regret.

156accounts naming this reason
56who name it and have no regret anyway
$950median paid (21 said)
39 / 89written before / after the wedding

What brides describe

Every account filed under this reason, dearest first, with what she paid, when she wrote and what she did about it.

PaidWhenWhat she didThe account
$16,000After the weddingNot statedPaid the same as the 16,000 Oscar under discussion, feels no attachment to the gown, and says she would happily let hers go at 7,000.
$15,000After the weddingStill decidingOverspent on three dresses on the promise she would resell; after the reception gown was destroyed she turned sentimental about the ceremony dress and cannot decide whether 7000 to 8000 is worth losing it.
$3,700Before the weddingStill decidingWalked away from the $3,700 gown plus $600 split-sizing charge, ordered a custom Etsy version at half the price, lost that order when the Ukrainian maker could not fulfil it, and fell back to BHLDN.
C$3,000After the weddingKept it and wore itFelt beautiful in a $3,000 gown, and follows that straight with the fact that it now lives in her closet.
C$2,500After the weddingKept it and wore itWhole outfit with alterations came to about $2,500 and her aunt paid, which is why she calls it worth it. She feels bad that it now sits in her closet and may give it away.
$2,000Before the weddingKept it and wore itCould not pull the trigger on a gown close to 5000 and bought one that will come to about 2000 with extensive alterations; she felt immediate relief and is now anxious that she will not love it.
$2,000After the weddingDonated itPaid 2000 plus nearly 800 for custom sleeves and beading, then regretted being talked out of cutting the heavy train, which had to be carried outdoors; she cut it off later and donated the gown.
$1,800After the weddingKept it and wore itPaid 1800 plus 600 alterations; she will not call it worth it and never believed a gown could change the day, but she does not regret treating herself either.
$1,800After the weddingStill decidingAn $1800 dress worn 40 minutes for pre-wedding photos, never altered, tags on. Listed at $500 and unsold despite a popular style in a standard size; may become a summer dress.
$1,000After the weddingKept it and wore itTwenty-six years on, the 1000 silk gown has been in a box the entire time, which is her argument for not overspending.
$1,000Before the weddingKept it and wore itthe bride who asked was not dolled up the day she got the dress and does not feel pretty in the photos; she also says the dress is bigger than she wanted and her fringe had dropped.
$980After the weddingKept it and wore itPaid 980 with tax for a BHLDN gown, 440 alterations and 18 for an applique she sewed on; she looked great and it survived nine hours, but she cannot say whether the price is what did it.
$950After the weddingSold itPaid 950 for a gown that had retailed at 3000, then spent a year and a half listing it on eBay before it sold for 300.
$900Not statedKept it and wore itAvoided David's on principle and bought three sample dresses at $900, $499 and $200, but found David's gowns she loved at a charity shop and half wishes she had given the brand a chance.
$700Before the weddingNot statedCommissioned a custom corset and dress from a viral social-media maker, paid a 700 deposit, got a cotton mock-up after months and nothing else. Cancelling was refused and she was told to pay for the whole dress
$600Not statedBought a second dressStill unhappy at her alterations appointment, spotted a pale pink quinceanera gown on clearance for $600 in her size and bought it; now reselling two earlier gowns.
€500Before the weddingStill decidingBought secondhand to be sensible and regrets it: the gown reads too obviously bridal to rewear, so she is now asking a seamstress what a conversion after the wedding would cost.
$450After the weddingKept it and wore itBought unused secondhand at 450 with 80 of alterations; she loved the gown but regrets cutting the train down, and finds the price a little above what she wanted to spend for their small wedding.
C$450After the weddingKept it and wore itLoved her custom mint-green gown from China but had the length set for six-inch heels; her feet were in agony by the end of the night and she could not switch to flats.
$400After the weddingHad it altered or remadeLoved her $400 David's Bridal dress from 2019 but the fitter was openly unpleasant about letting it out after pandemic weight gain.
$300After the weddingKept it and wore itPaid $300 and forgot to wear it down the aisle; teared up when someone mentioned it afterwards, then wore it for photos so it was not a total waste
$300After the weddingStill decidingPaid 300 for the gown and balks at a 200-300 preservation quote, but fears tossing it and wanting it back later; hem is too dirty to donate as is.
$260Before the weddingBought a second dressA 79 online dress looked simple enough but she never felt comfortable in it and abandoned it four months out, then found a stunning custom-looking gown for 260 in a thrift shop, stains and all.
$250Not statedKept it and wore itHated an Etsy gown when she tried it on at home, then used it for outdoor bridal portraits where it photographed beautifully.
$150After the weddingKept it and wore itWore a heavy traditional gown for the ceremony and a $150 dress for the reception; she looks far more carefree in the reception photos.
–Before the weddingNot statedFelt regret within a couple of days of ordering her first gown and contacted the boutique about it; the comment cuts off before saying how it ended.
–Not statedNot statedRegrets passing on her dream dress when it was marked at about 70; the style is no longer sold.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itDavid's hemmed her beaded dress by cutting two inches straight through the beadwork, leaving a ragged uneven edge and a ruined pattern. Never again.
–Not statedNot statedA terrible interaction with David's Bridal over returns and damaged goods ended her custom there; she bought from Lulus instead and was happy
–After the weddingBought a second dressHer custom dressmaker turned out to be a scammer and she was dressless two days out. She bought a sample and had it rushed, so she effectively paid for two gowns.
–Not statedBought a second dressWas let down by the dream gown she bought, ordered a replacement online at the last minute and had it taken in from a size 10 to a size 2; calls the result perfect.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itChanging between the ceremony and reception cost her time she would rather have spent with guests or on photos, and she felt she had too little time in either dress.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itBought a second dress convinced she would need it and never put it on; the night was chilly and she could dance in the gown.
–Before the weddingStill decidingMarrying in a couple of weeks with no planned second look, but packing a backup dress as insurance.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itWore biker shorts under her dress out of habit; they rode up and showed through the see-through back in the photos.
–After the weddingNot statedMid-to-plus-size bride who regrets not starting at David's Bridal after struggling to fit into boutique samples; two of the three branches she visited were excellent.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itLaughs at the sleeves and necklines of her own 1980s wedding photos
–After the weddingKept it and wore it12 years on it is not the gown she would choose today, though she does not call it regret
–After the weddingKept it and wore itCarries a lot of negative feeling about her own gown and says getting rid of it would be a mental relief, though she has not listed it.
–Not statedSold itSold a dress she regretted on Stillwhite for 80 percent of what she paid, new with tags, and is very happy she did.
–Not statedNot statedAnswers the was-it-worth-it question with a flat no and gives no further detail.
–After the weddingNot statedSays it was not worth it purely because she has dress regret, and warns that price does not guarantee construction quality.
–After the weddingHad it altered or remadeOnly learned after buying that her ballgown was a knock-off of a designer style, but had it tailored and is happy with how it looked
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itAlso two weeks from her wedding, dress already altered, and still not happy with it.
–Before the weddingNot statedOrdered her gown online more than a year ahead, had to use an independent seamstress, and the dress was ruined three weeks before the wedding.
–Not statedBought a second dressBought a sample to wear for the ceremony and changed into her original gown for the reception; she calls the second purchase completely unnecessary but says it settled her mind.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itDid not thrift for her own dress and says she wishes she had, after seeing the quality of what other people turn up.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer own gown was cheap and she does not regret it, but she regrets the extra dresses she collected on the way, including a 50 thrifted ballgown dropped when her favourite went on sale a month out.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itStill loves the gown she bought but cannot stop thinking about a sweetheart-neckline dress she saw afterwards, with a 2500 deposit she cannot recover. Ended up keeping the neckline as is and looking at adding v
–After the weddingHad it altered or remadeHad dress drama right up to her wedding day caused by extreme alterations, and regrets how much attention it took from everything else.
–Not statedHad it altered or remadeAdded embellishments to her own dress to make it less generic and regrets having done it.
–After the weddingNot statedBought two gowns purely because they were beautiful deals, then wore her mother's dress on the day and neither of the two.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itWore a non-traditional dress at the courthouse and regrets it a lot, but gives no specific reason when asked.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itSplurged on a custom lace ballgown for a venue where other brides pick simple dresses; admits she has cried and had nightmares over the choice but is not changing it.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itChose a Galia Lahav very fast and bought the sample cheap because it needed no alterations; regretted not trying more, kept shopping, found nothing better and made peace with it.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itHas a mermaid and gets low-level regret out of self-consciousness, not dislike; ballgowns felt like they swallowed her, so she is keeping the fitted one.
–Before the weddingBought a second dressHas now ordered a third gown because her vision kept changing with new releases on social media; will use one for the rehearsal and the others across two ceremonies.
–Before the weddingBought a second dressAlready exchanged her gown once and, five months out, is again wondering whether she should have something different
–Not statedKept it and wore itChose the first dress she tried and kept wondering if she had missed out, but stayed with it.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itSpent a fair amount but justifies it by the gown being distinctive; says she would have redirected the money for a more classic dress.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer regret is not the spend but a missed moment: she had asked for a double veil so her husband could lift it and forgot to put it down amid weather changes and crowds.
–Not statedKept it and wore itThe gown itself was in budget; tax and everything else added 2,000 she was not prepared for.
–Before the weddingStill decidingSays she is feeling the same way about her own dress right now while telling the bride who asked hers looks perfect.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itBought a costly custom gown years ago partly to hand down, with offcuts made into baptismal gowns; her daughters are grown and she will not ask them to wear it, and the same quality sells cheaper now.
–Before the weddingNot statedSays she is living through the same dress regret while telling the bride her choice is the better of the two.
–Before the weddingHad it altered or remadeCustom build ordered remotely. The pinned gown read blocky at the waist and she wished she had bought off the rack; after several rounds of beading changes she settled at about 80 percent happy.
–Before the weddingStill decidingCommissioned a custom second dress from the same atelier, recognised the sketch style here, and is now uneasy that the finished gown strays from its drawing.
–Not statedKept it and wore itCalls the custom process the single most stressful part of her whole wedding and would not recommend it to anyone.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itTwenty-plus years on she still feels beautiful looking at the photos, but rates the clothes as the least important part of the day in hindsight.
–After the weddingNot statedSays she never got to wear a proper gown and veil herself and openly envies this bride's look.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itMarried in 1983 and says she would have been thrilled to have had a gown like the asking bride's; her own dress clearly did not compare.
–Not statedKept it and wore itVisited three shops and tried about twenty gowns, then went back to the first one she had tried on; sure about it and still felt remorse.
–Not statedKept it and wore itDid not love her own gown at first either, and treats the initial shock and regret as a normal stage.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itEnjoyed her Etsy veil more than her designer wedding gown, and says guests still talk about the veil rather than the dress.
–Not statedKept it and wore itNever wore her gown for the same reason; it is packed away in her mother's basement and she cannot bear to look at it.
–Not statedStill decidingStill has her gown in a closet after the same situation, and says this post has convinced her it may be time to pass it on.
–After the weddingDonated itAfter ten years of marriage ended she wore the gown as a Halloween costume soaked in fake blood, then left it on the curb, where it was taken within the hour.
–Not statedHad it altered or remadeSays she had dress regret of her own and got past it by having the gown fitted more closely.
–Before the weddingBought a second dressChanged dresses several times and had repeated 3am panics about the choice before settling.
–After the weddingHad it altered or remadeSwings between embarrassed and proud about buying her gown on eBay for a twentieth of retail; she repaired the missing beading herself and says nobody can tell.
–Before the weddingHad it altered or remadeHappy with the dress and glad she avoided the boutique sales pressure, but feels she missed out on the boutique experience itself. Planning several alterations to make it more her style.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itFast chapel wedding meant she wore a gold evening gown already in her wardrobe; looked good and spent nothing, but genuinely regrets missing the dress-shopping experience and thinks about a vow renewal
–After the weddingKept it and wore itTook her mother, bought the very first dress she tried and was privately disappointed to miss the group shopping day she had pictured
–Not statedNot statedMentions having her own dress regret while reassuring the brides, without saying what is wrong with hers.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itOwns the gown for over a year, has worn it around the house so often she is bored of it, and consoles herself that her partner will still see it for the first time.
–Before the weddingStill decidingAlready paid to have a white lining put into a sheer bodice she could not wear with cups; now debating paying the same again to swap it to nude, with the shop against her
–Not statedKept it and wore itBought an eBay gown that turned out good quality but the wrong style, and could not return it. She called it a false economy.
–Before the weddingStill decidingToo impatient to shop in person, she ordered two non-refundable Etsy dresses under $400 arriving ten months before the wedding and accepts she may lose a few hundred
–Not statedKept it and wore itBroke off her engagement and calls reselling impossible: a brand new unaltered Sophia Tolli that Facebook and local consignment could not move, still in her closet.
–Before the weddingNot statedSame maker cancelled her order two weeks before her wedding after confirming the schedule repeatedly; she had to force a chargeback to recover the money.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHolding on to her own gown rather than accept the size of discount the resale market demands.
–Not statedStill decidingHer own attempt to sell on Stillwhite went nowhere; she thinks buyers avoid used gowns even unworn ones at designer price points.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itTurned down a $3,000 gown as too much for six hours of wear and has since had a never-worn dress listed for months with no interest at all.
–Not statedBought a second dressReplaced her gown with a new one and does not regret the switch, but the lost money stings and her first dress has drawn no interest on the resale site because the designer is not well known.
–Before the weddingSold itBought an unaltered size 10 Watters lace sample in Manhattan, then found a gown that suited her body better in New Jersey, and now has to resell the first.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itApproaching a 32nd anniversary with the preserved box moved around the country and never opened; two daughters show no interest and she says the dress, from a designer still in business, is only taking up space
–After the weddingStill decidingWeighing the same choice: her alterations make the measurements hard to match, she is not having children, and she is unsure whether paying for cleaning and pressing to list it would even pay for itself.
–After the weddingStill decidingMonths on and still conflicted; the hem darkened and self-tan marks survived the dry cleaner, so she expects a lower price than she had hoped, and she also grew far more attached after the wedding.
–After the weddingNot statedCounted on reselling her wedding items and they are still sitting in the basement because nobody bites without a big price cut.
–Not statedSold itHer fiance decided he was not ready, and she dragged the gown around for years after marrying someone else before selling it at a yard sale for almost nothing.
–Not statedStill decidingOrdered the wrong colour from Etsy and missed the return window, so is offering one of her two veils to another bride
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer bust was front and centre in every photo despite her efforts to contain it and it still stings to look at, but she is visibly happy in the pictures so she lets it go.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer bust was very small at the time of her wedding, so she had it edited larger in her own wedding photos.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itSays she is disappointed with her own wedding pictures and puts it down to every bride being her own harshest critic.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itLoved a sparkly fitted gown in the shop, then saw unflattering photos the next day and could not shake it. The sale was final, so she is dieting and adding an overskirt and shapewear.
–Before the weddingSold itSame story - insecure about her stomach, bought a final-sale fitted gown, hated the photos at home, resold it on Facebook Marketplace for exactly what she paid and bought a different dress.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itPicked her dress a week earlier in tears of excitement and now cannot stop questioning the photos, which she thinks simply do not do it justice.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itCried when the wedding photos arrived because she found the dress unflattering, then trained herself to look at how happy she looked instead.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itWent through the same post-wedding spiral, says no guest noticed what bothered her and that the feeling passed with time.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itFelt her chest dominated every wedding picture, crowdsourced edits on a photoshop group and paid one user to redo the pictures she was hanging at home.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itLooks back at her own wedding photographs wishing she had stood up straight, and says it would have made a big difference.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itChose a cheap dress a decade ago and regretted it when the photos came back, then never thought about it again for nine years
–After the weddingKept it and wore itOver a decade later she still hates the gown and hates looking at the pictures of herself in it
–Before the weddingStill decidingFour months out, had a panic attack because the photos of her in the dress are unflattering; the pictures rather than the dress gave her cold feet.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itGown looked lovely in person but photographed poorly, and the sleeves kept sliding down and spoiling the look.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itAt 4 foot 11 she wore a fitted dress like the asking bride's and now picks herself apart in the photos, while admitting she does that in front of any mirror.
–Before the weddingNot statedBought a lace fitted gown in the same price band for her own Italy wedding and regrets it every time she looks at the pictures, while still calling it beautiful.
–After the weddingBought a second dressDislikes how she looks in most of her wedding photos and is buying a second gown to reshoot with her husband next year.
–Not statedHad it altered or remadeOwns the same gown; feels good wearing it but boxy in pictures, and says alterations made a large difference.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itNo regret about the Gucci gown she bought her maid of honour, but real regret about staying out of her sister-in-law's tight-budget choice, which reads as off-palette in every photo.
–Not statedKept it and wore itTorn between two off-the-rack gowns on a 150-mile shopping trip, chose one, then saw the photos and decided the other photographed better. Felt awful for weeks and nearly drove back to return it.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itOrdered a flowy lightweight gown over the fitted mermaids she had tried because those were heavy and hard to walk or sit in. Looking back at the try-on photos she felt it did not photograph as well, but the dis
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itLoved the dress when she bought it but struggles with pictures of herself in it and with her final fitting, while loving it on everyone else.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itWas confident one gorgeous gown was enough and regrets it: the first dance and the rest of the night were hard work in it.
–After the weddingNot statedHer only wedding regret is skipping a second dress. She overheated and envied guests moving freely; she later became a wedding photographer.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itNever planned a second dress, but the gown was heavy and the old castle venue had no air conditioning. Her only regret is not switching to the backup sooner; guests reacted to the change with a second round of
–After the weddingKept it and wore itGot over the first wave of regret, then regretted it again on the day because the gown was hot and uncomfortable, though she loved the look and photos
–Before the weddingNot statedHer home rehearsal revealed the gown ran far too hot to keep wearing into the late-night part of the reception
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer bustle looked good but made the gown so heavy, and the train took so much managing, that the dress never felt like it fit.
–Not statedKept it and wore itHer gown was the one she wanted but sets off her sensory issues, so she bought a $100 short white cocktail dress to change into after the first dance.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itOwns the same gown as the bride who asked, has finished alterations and feels pretty but very uncomfortable, so she ordered a topper
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHad her gown custom made with a very long train and says that length is the one thing she regrets from the day.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer long train felt like dead weight within an hour and she kept turning around and standing on it.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itSays her own long train was constantly underfoot through the reception and drove her mad.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itEnded up hating what was technically her dream dress, an expensive custom gown she never loved and felt uncomfortable in, and wishes she had listened to her own doubts.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itChose a beautiful headpiece that was painful to wear through the day and still regrets it.
–Before the weddingStill decidingAugust church wedding in Mississippi in a lined David's Bridal gown with a six-layer train; sweated through her fitting and doubts the choice, but loves that it echoes her mother's dress
–Before the weddingStill decidingHas the same heat worry about her own gown and bought a lighter second dress as insurance rather than replacing the first
–After the weddingKept it and wore itWore her mother's November gown for a late-May coastal wedding at near-peak humidity without considering the season difference, and says it worked out anyway
–Before the weddingStill decidingBought a half-price sample on the spot as the last one; she cannot raise her arms in it and the long train suits a woods elopement badly. Weighing a CAD 400-1000 quote against three hours of wear.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itAlterations insisted on a tighter waist; she could breathe but could not yawn or sigh comfortably all day.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer full skirt, train, crinoline and long veil were a nuisance all day, and the lace hem she paid extra for was ripped off when someone stepped on it
–After the weddingKept it and wore itMarried the previous year and nearly bought this same dress. Looking back she says she would have picked something simpler and comfier, and notes this gown has both.
–After the weddingBought a second dressNot regret exactly, but she realised close to the day that her gown was hard to walk and dance in, so she added an off-the-rack second dress and loved having two looks.
–After the weddingStill decidingSpent a solid chunk of the wedding budget on the gown, skipped preservation at the dress shop because of the extra cost, and now has a slightly rain-dirtied dress with no plan beyond a basement closet.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHad her dress preserved over 35 years ago and it has never come out of the box; she is now pushing her daughters not to repeat it.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHer gown has sat preserved in a box for 25 years and she intends to follow the advice to sell or donate.
–After the weddingDonated itKept a preserved gown for 35 years and moved it across four states expecting one of three daughters to wear it. None were interested, so she donated the dress, veil and tiara.
–After the weddingStill decidingSix years on she has never had the gown cleaned, a red jam stain has set into the front of the bodice, and she now wants it gone more than she wants money for it. Leaning towards trying the stain herself or giv
–After the weddingDonated itStored it 25 years for a daughter who had no interest, by which point it looked dated, and it ended up discarded rather than passed on.
–After the weddingNot statedHad the piece made as a gift for her mother, but her bright multi-colour bouquet did not survive the process; even with colour correction it looked nothing like her real flowers.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itStill married and the finished piece is genuinely beautiful, but having dead flowers on the wall unsettles her; she had no idea she would feel that way until it was done.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itTried to preserve the bouquet herself and destroyed the whole thing; a friend had already taken a few blooms and made coasters, which are what she still has and loves.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHad the bouquet preserved and never looked at it again.
–After the weddingStill decidingHas been unable to decide what to do with her stored gown; had felt a thrift store donation was a sad ending until this discussion reframed it as passing it to another bride
–After the weddingKept it and wore itSix years on she is fine about skipping preservation but sorry she never had it cleaned: brown sweat marks appeared inside where nothing was visible at first.

The same reason, without the regret

56 brides name this same thing and still say they have no regret about the dress. Read against the table above, this is the useful half: the same situation that ended differently.

PaidWhenWhat she didThe account
$8,100Before the weddingSold itLoved the 8100 gown and says it made her feel beautiful, but cancer cancelled the August wedding and the City Hall wedding does not warrant it, so she is selling it unworn rather than forcing it.
$3,000After the weddingKept it and wore itAbout $3,000 all in with no regrets about the purchase, but the gown now takes up closet space and costs her fees to stay listed on a resale site at a third of the price without selling.
$750Before the weddingNot statedTorn between a 1410 new gown and a 750 rental; after the discussion voted overwhelmingly for the rental she called it the winner and felt good about spending less.
$150Before the weddingKept it and wore itAnxious that friends and family would mock a 150 dress; after the discussion she said she would regret paying extra to please others and stuck with her choice.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itPaid for two hair and makeup artists because she could not escape a bad first contract and says it was worth it; her real regret was economising on the photographer.
–Before the weddingDonated itWedding called off before she could wear the gown she bought online; she still calls it beautiful and gave it away by random draw, asking only about $20-30 shipping
–After the weddingNot statedAn allergic reaction the night before left her unable to fit into her wedding dress, so she married in a 1950s black and white rockabilly dress and has been married 15 years
–After the weddingKept it and wore it24 years on she calls the dress fine and the least memorable part of the wedding, and is glad she did not overspend
–After the weddingKept it and wore itLoved the dress but says the 1980s styling dates every photo
–Not statedKept it and wore itExpected to end up in something fitted and lacy and bought a princess glitter gown instead, the exact opposite swap to the bride's
–After the weddingKept it and wore itMarried almost 40 years and says the dress is not in her top ten memories of the day.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itMarried in 2008 and says she has barely thought about her wedding dress since the day she took it off.
–Not statedNot statedLoved a $7,000 dress and could not bring herself to buy it for a few hours of wear. Does not regret walking away, and considers 1,000 a good price.
–Before the weddingSold itHer fiance ended the engagement by text a week before the wedding 18 years ago; she sold the gown to a bride in Hawaii and was delighted someone else would love it.
–After the weddingHad it altered or remadeHesitated over the cost of adding an ivory lining under her sheer top during a fitting, went ahead, and felt much better about the dress afterwards
–Not statedKept it and wore itCould only settle on her own dress once she stopped expecting universal approval
–After the weddingHad it altered or remadeClearance BHLDN buy in March 2020, untried for a year, then a meltdown, several backup dresses ordered online and the train cut off 72 hours out; on the day she did not care.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itThinks she looks very flat in her own wedding photos but remembers the day as a fairy tale and does not dwell on how she photographed.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itLoved her dress in the shop, wobbled badly when she saw the phone pictures at home, then re-tried it and found the photos simply did not do it justice.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itFelt the same way at first; three years and some weight gain later she thinks she looks great in her wedding pictures.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itNo regret about the dress itself, but some shots of herself genuinely made her feel low until she reframed them.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itDid not diet for her wedding and was over 200 lbs on the day; considers her photos perfect.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itRemembers cataloguing her double chin and her arms in her wedding photos; looking at the same pictures years later she thinks she looked great.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHated and regretted her own gown all the way through the process, then saw the wedding photos and realised it had come together. Regrets how much she stressed.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHad heavy dress regret driven by bad, badly lit photos; retook them, and when the gown arrived pristine and tailored she was thrilled she had not switched.
–Not statedKept it and wore itTried this same gown and was told the poof could be reduced to a degree; later wobbled because her chosen dress photographed worse than her runner-up, then stuck with her choice.
–Not statedKept it and wore itDeliberately chose a beaded detailed top because she finds many gowns, especially lace ones, look plain in photographs.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itHad serious dress regret, kept the gown, married the week before and was shocked at how well it photographed in the preview shots.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itFell in love in the mirror, thought she looked fat in family phone photos under salon lighting, went back to try it again and bought it.
–Not statedKept it and wore itFelt the same at her first try on because of no makeup, terrible lighting and being heavier than usual.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itWas dressed up when she picked the dress, unprepared when it arrived and did not realise how much difference that made, so she made herself up for the fitting.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itGot married in a pair of Dr Martens and found them comfortable all day
–After the weddingKept it and wore itMarried in Dr Martens, was happy and comfy the entire day, and now wears the same boots with everyday outfits
–After the weddingKept it and wore itMarried in an ivory cocktail dress and loved it, partly for the practicality.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itLoved the charity-shop gown enough to want to donate it back, but tore the boning out getting it off by herself after a 95-degree humid wedding day
–After the weddingKept it and wore itWas against a second dress, bought a feathered pink mini on sale two months out just in case, and swapped straight after the first dances. Calls it her best decision because she could finally move.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itHas a midi version of her ball gown to change into after dinner because she tires easily and does not want to haul the skirt around. Says she would not bother if her first dress were fitted.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itWore a gown then a jumpsuit, changing when she tired; says the extra outfit created great moments with guests.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itLoves dancing and says the second dress made moving around far easier.
–Before the weddingKept it and wore itHer ball gown stands up on its own and has a ten-point bustle, so sitting on a small chair or dancing is impossible. As a South Asian bride she notes multiple outfits are normal and expected.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itPlanned to stay in the gown all night, made it halfway through the reception, and found the cheap online backup cooler and lighter. She also wore it for a bridal shoot the next day.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itExpected to last an hour in the formal gown at a low-70s beach reception and ran to change after the second dance; says she would have fainted otherwise.
–Not statedKept it and wore itDismissed a dress in the shop, fell for it later in photos, went back days later to re-try it and was miserable in it because of the weight and the way the fabric fell.
–Not statedKept it and wore itDrove two hours to try the Maggie Sottero Aberdeen she loved online, found it far too heavy to wear all day, and chose a lace and tulle mermaid instead.
–After the weddingHad it altered or remadeLeft the gown in a garment bag at the back of a closet for 23 years, found it in perfect condition, and is altering it to wear at her second wedding with some of the lace going to flower girl dresses.
–After the weddingDonated itGave away her 1980s gown, with all its fabric and lace, to a charity that turns wedding dresses into burial gowns, and was glad to.
–After the weddingHad it altered or remadeBacks resale, restyling or donation over letting a gown decay in storage, and speaks from inheriting her late mother's size 0-2 dress that she has never been able to wear.
–After the weddingNot statedMarried twenty years, never once wished she had kept the bouquet; the album goes unopened and the pieces she values are a portrait and her ketubah.
–After the weddingNot statedSkipped preservation because her lighter-coloured flowers did not seem to hold up in the process, so the cost did not look worth it to her.
–After the weddingNot statedWanted a poured resin block but the destination-wedding timeline did not fit and the bouquet was badly mishandled; decided the photos are enough, helped by live orchids at home.
–After the weddingNot statedLoved her bouquet but had neither the budget, the desire, nor the space for another object to look after, so she let it go.
–Before the weddingNot statedNot planning to preserve because the finished pieces read as tacky to her and clash with her home decor; may press a single flower for a scrapbook.
–Before the weddingNot statedMost preservation styles are not to her taste, so she plans to bundle-dye a robe or similar garment with the flowers instead.
–Before the weddingNot statedDislikes the look of dried flowers; will press a couple of blooms into books in case she wants a scrapbook and is happy to bin the rest.
–After the weddingNot statedMarried the previous Saturday and did not want to spend on preservation, so she is pressing the flowers herself with a kit and accepting it may not work.
–After the weddingKept it and wore itPressed hers into an old textbook twenty years ago where they still sit as a novelty; says she cannot imagine hundreds of dollars on this having been worth it even now.

What they did next

What she didBrides
Kept it and wore it86
Still deciding22
Not stated19
Bought a second dress11
Had it altered or remade9
Sold it5
Donated it4

What they tell the next bride

  • If buying both would genuinely cost you nothing painful, do it rather than carry the what-if.
  • Buy the dress you love while it is still on the rack, because the style disappears.
  • Think hard before shortening the train; she wishes she had left hers at full length.
  • Do not let the store hem a beaded gown - take it to a seamstress you trust.
  • Check the Better Business Bureau and a retailer's own social media reviews before ordering
  • If you buy a second dress, wear one for the ceremony and one for the reception so neither is wasted.
  • A last-minute online gown taken in hard by a good tailor can beat the boutique dress you were disappointed by.
  • If you change, do it during the party rather than between ceremony and reception, or you lose guest and photo time.
  • Bring a backup in case the gown is uncomfortable or fits worse than expected on the day.
  • Check what you are wearing under a sheer-backed gown before the ceremony.
  • Try local shops' off-the-rack samples, and do not write off a charity bridal shop because of the label on the dress.
  • The gown was fine; the in-house alterations department was not.
  • Try more than one branch; quality and staff vary a lot, and floor samples look worse than the gown you receive.
  • Treat the dress as a moment in time; some of it will date and that is fine
  • Gowns lose value every season, so a seller who is genuinely motivated should not wait out the market.
  • Do not let a couple of thousand on the reserve price cost you the sale.
  • A never-worn gown can recover most of its value on resale, so a regretted purchase is not necessarily money lost.
  • Only spend at this level if you are certain about the gown and the craftsmanship holds up; plenty of costly dresses are poorly structured.
  • Pay for tailoring; a fitted dress is what makes it look expensive
  • Vet the seamstress carefully if you buy online and cannot use a shop's own alterations team.
  • Check Goodwill and thrift racks first; the finds are better than expected and the savings leave room for alterations.
  • Try it on before you decide, and stop buying backups; the sales keep coming right up to the wedding.
  • Do not let dress changes eat the run-up to the wedding; the bodice is not worth the angst.
  • Do not add embellishment to make a gown more original; it does not work out.

Questions

How common is this?

156 of the 917 brides here who describe regret or mixed feelings name this as the reason. Another 56 name the same thing and say they have no regret about the dress anyway, which is the more useful comparison.

When does it come up?

39 of these accounts were written before the wedding and 89 afterwards. Before and after are different problems: doubt before the day is usually comparison, and what survives the day is money and compromise. The split is set out on the regret page.

What did brides do about it?

Most kept the dress. 86 kept it and wore it, 22 still deciding, 19 not stated, 11 bought a second dress.

Is it normal to regret your wedding dress right after buying it?

Several brides report the same thing unprompted: one felt it within a couple of days of ordering and went back to the boutique, one still regrets her choice five years later, and regulars say regret posts appear multiple times a day in this sub. It is very common here: several said they panicked after ordering and then fell back in love with the gown, while two rebought, including one who replaced a $2,700 dress with a $400 one.

how do i stop second-guessing my wedding dress

Stop browsing other gowns online, and go back to the shop to try yours on again. Repeat browsing is named as the thing feeding the doubt. Stop looking at inspiration. The brides traced her doubt to California elopement content that skews very casual, and brides told her to get off social media and ask instead whether the dress makes her feel beautiful.

Should I try on wedding dresses above my budget?

Repeatedly called the cardinal rule of dress shopping: do not. The brides only put this one on to look at the back and ended up in tears in the mirror, which some brides read as the shop steering her toward a bigger sale. No. Brides repeatedly warn that stylists pull above-budget gowns and you fall for them; state a hard limit up front. One bride who gave a 1,200 budget was shown only gowns under it and paid 950.

does wedding dress regret go away

For the brides answering here it did. One had major regret a week out and now loves her photos; another wound up with something quite different from her vision and reports zero regret. the bride who asked later confirmed she was happy at pickup. For this bride it did completely. She wrote in a panic months before the wedding, wore the same dress, and came back afterwards saying she felt like a princess in it and was glad she had been talked off the ledge.

can you negotiate the price of a wedding dress at a bridal shop

brides say to ask the shop to meet you halfway or to sell it at your stated budget, and to ring other shops that carry the same gown to compare. The worst outcome is a no. Some brides did: one always asks for 10% off by citing another shop, one haggled a consignment gown to 500, and a shop honored a written misquote so a 10,000-plus gown sold for 6,000; a discontinued floor sample went for 50% off.

should I buy a second wedding dress if I regret the first

Everyone here who did says it was worth it, and the one bride who stuck with her regret dress still feels bummed looking at her photos. The caveat brides add is to pay for it outside the wedding fund rather than eating into other vendors. This bride did: she bought a $300 replacement, compared the two side by side and went with the new one for her barn wedding.

Related on this site

Sources

Price reports on this page come from 70 public discussions where brides answered in their own words. Each comment that stated an amount became one row; notes are paraphrased, never quoted.

Discussions used on this page (70)