For more than 70 years, thousands of brides have traveled to Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City to find their wedding day looks. From the moment you walk through the doors, you’ll feel the magic of Kleinfeld. Not only does Kleinfeld have 30,000 square feet filled with the largest selection of wedding dresses in the world, it also has the greatest professional staff of over 200 employees who are dedicated to finding and perfecting your bridal look.
Photo: Jose Villa
One of the most important tasks on a bride’s to-do list is creating a dress budget and it’s crucial to establish a budget before shopping for a wedding dress! Kleinfeld has wedding dresses starting around $2,000 and the prices go upwards from there. However, if you’re looking to stretch your dress budget — trust us, it’s possible! We’ve rounded up expert-approved tips for saving money without sacrificing style. Check them out, below!
1. Take advantage of trunk shows.
For those unfamiliar with the term, trunk shows are events where a designer brings their entire collection of new dresses to a bridal salon. Trunk shows typically happen over the weekend and the designer or brand representative will also be available to discuss styles and customizations. With that, there’s always a good chance that a designer will provide brides with a special trunk show discount. Which, *BONUS*, makes it totally acceptable to splurge on a matching veil to go along with your dress!
2. Shop early.
Kleinfeld recommends shopping for your dress 9-12 months before your wedding day. Not only will checking dress shopping off of your to-do list lift a weight off of your shoulders, it will provide you ample time to say “yes” to the perfect dress all while avoiding rush fees. Ordering a dress too close to your wedding date will incur rush fees in order for the designer to make and ship your dress (sometimes from across the world) in time for your wedding. Rush fees are expensive and not fun. Just think, you could spend that money on a sparkly pair of earrings instead!
3. Sample sales.
Every once in a while, Kleinfeld hosts a sample sale, where brides can shop hundreds of sample wedding dresses at a large discount. What’s a sample dress, you may ask? It’s a dress that brides try on in-store, before special ordering their own dress—gently loved and in great condition. When will the next sample sale be? Check out our events page for future sale dates!
4. Limit customizations
The more you customize a wedding dress (think adding sleeves, extending the train, adding sparkle) the more expensive it will be. Instead of crafting a dress to fit your vision, search for a style that already meets all of your requirements.
5. Say yes to accessories.
Instead of splurging on a dress because you’ve always envisioned yourself in a crystal-encrusted style with extra bling, work with one of our expert accessory consultants to amp up your look for less. Adding a pair of sparkly earrings, a crystal headpiece, embellished veil or bolero is a great money-saving solution for the bride who desires a certain look but still wants an opportunity to save.