I, personally, think that $9,000 for a wedding dress is absolutely absurd. I think that $3,000 for a wedding dress is absurd as well. And I fully realize that I am in the minority of brides.
I shopped for all the dresses. I tried on a $15,000 dress. Most of the dresses I looked at were well over $5,000. And when all was said and done, I wound up with a $750 dress that I liked significantly more than any of the others. It's not that I'm cheap, but I can't figure out why anyone would need to spend that much money on a wedding dress. I have no problem spending money to get top quality -- on things that I use. My engagement ring and wedding band? A fortune. My condominium in the city? Paid four times the value of my parents entire house. But you know what? I wear my rings every single day. I live in my condo. But how can you possibly justify $10,000 for a dress you will wear a whopping total of 12 hours your entire life? People try to say that their daughters will wear it, it's an heirloom, but styles change. My mother had her wedding dress, and there was no way you could have forced me into it. If I have a daughter, I'd like her to be able to pick out something she wants, rather than have her feel obligated to wear my dress again. And $10,000 is an awful lot of money to spend on something you'll wear once, box up, leave in the back of the closet, and then someday after you're gone, your kids will throw it out because they won't know what to do with it.
But a tiny condo in a prime area of the middle of the city that I can come home to every single night and feel relaxed and secure? Worth every single one of those 500,000 dollar bills for my 750 square feet of real estate.

I too, think anything pushing $2,000 is silly to spend on a dress. While I shopped for my dress, I went to all the big name stores from Doir to Demetrios (and I must say, if I were in a different financial situation, I may have changed my values for a dress from Demetrios. They were a new level of fabulous I have yet to encounter twice). At the end of the day, it was a tiny cotour imports wedding botique in Birmingham, MI that had "the dress" on disply. Much to my luck it had just become "last season" and I got it for the bargain price of $750 - after I'd already tried it on and fallen in love...it was one of those truely wonderful retail moments.

I have to think that at the end of the day (while the dress is VERY important), I'd rather spend obscene amounts of money on another element of the wedding:food and drink novelties, expanding the guest list, the decor or maybe just be selfish and have one hell of a honeymoon. At any rate, I guess some brides prioritize differently with their budgets.

I never thought I'd spend more than $1000-2000 on my dress, until I actually went out dress shopping and saw the difference between a $700 dress and a $5000 dress. I like lots of lace, which really drives prices up. The cheaper dresses had poor quality lace and for some reason, lots of sparkles (I hate bling on a dress). The higher end dresses just felt nicer. The lace was softer, more delicate. I felt pretty in those dresses. I didn't feel pretty in the lower-end dresses. So yeah, I spent nearly $4000 on my dress (with a trunk show discount), but it's absolutely fabulous. And hell, I'm a mid-thirties bride with a pretty good income, so I picked up the tab on this, and let my parents off the hook for this part of the budget.

When I was shopping for my dress I put a limit, I wouldn't spend more thank $1000 on it. Even the $800 dresses pained me, I couldn't imagine spending so much money on a dress that I wouldn't be wearing the whole night, I plan on changing at least twice. I totally lucked out and found my dress for $400. It was the sample one at the store. My Aunt ended up buying my dress and I know she would have paid $9000 for my dress if the dress I wanted cost that much. She kept asking me if I was sure that was the dress (she thought it was too cheap). But when she saw it on me, she said it was perfect!

I would never spend more than a thousand and that would have to be for something I couldn't pass up. I don't want to say something like people are starving, etc, but there is a level of indulgence that I won't go to. My own dress was made for me, $500, by a beginning designer. It was fabulous, and I got millions of compliments. I'd probably have gotten the same amount for a 9,000 dress, so why not save the 8,500 for a downpayment on a house?

My next bride will be spending $20,000 on her dress

On the other end of the spectrum, I got my dress at Banana Republic for just over $200, no alterations needed, and I will likely wear it again, several times. Bridal gowns aren't really me and I look better in colour than I do in white - I've always had way more fun looking at the pictures of bridesmaid dresses in wedding magazines than at the gowns.

I also read up on where the tradition originated (Queen Victoria) and it doesn't hold much meaning for me - I didn't even set foot in a bridal shop and just got a fancier version of the type of dress I wear most often. I'm getting married at City Hall though, so I suppose we've ended up breaking with a lot traditions.

I spent just over 1200 for my wedding dress, and I am very happy that I did. I agree that you shouldn't have to force your daughter later in life to wear the dress. But why not give yours to a friend, a charity, or even sell it on ebay these days? If I would have tried on this dress and it was cheaper I would have bought it, and if it were more expensive I would have bought it. For me buying my own dress meant that I really wanted to get married. (Instead of being reserved while others pay for my wedding where I would feel obligated to take the plunge after the money is spent.)

Last year, when I got engaged, looking for a dress was the most exciting part. I saw "my perfect dress" at Alfred Angelo during their sale period and it came to a grand total of $600. I thought that was a lot of money, mind you, i was 22 at the time. Now that Im 23, it's still a lot of money, and luckily my mom insisted she paid for it. When it came time for $450ish alterations fee, the final price for the dress was $1050. My mom, coming from a conservative Indian background, freaked out. So, I ended up paying for the alterations. Point in case, after the dress itself, all the fixing up, the gadgets, and accessories that go with was a little over a 1000 bucks. It's crazy how some women will pay sooooo much for a dress that will be worn only once. In my opinion, anything over $1000ish (after alterations) is a waste of money. i would rather pay the next couple years of rent while saving for a house with my new hubby with that kind of money. I have no regrets for spending the cash I did or my mom did because, in the bigger picture, saving goes a lot more further that spending.