Are you a bride creating a budget with no idea how much a wedding dress will really cost? Magazines are confusing and often don't even list prices for gowns. Here's an easy guide to what you'll get for your money.

For around $500, you can purchase a wedding dress at a larger retailer that is machine made. Generally, these are made largely of synthetic fabrics, and have minimal amounts of hand-detailing. You may be able to purchase a lovely bridesmaid's gown in white from a more well-known designer. Make sure to get the wedding dress altered to help it fit you properly.

Brides who are looking for a designer wedding dress in silk or other natural fabric should expect to pay between $1200 and up. For this amount of money, the gown should be very well made, and include some hand detailing. You'll go to a salon where they'll measure you, help you pick your wedding dress, and order it directly from the designer in your size. Once it arrives, you'll pay a little extra to have it altered to fit you.

For brides who have an extravagant budget, expect to pay $6000 and up for a designer wedding dress custom made just for you. A seamstress will work with you to precisely fit and design the gown around your body. Most of the work will be done by hand. Oh, and don't forget that you'll have well known designers and an au courant design.

 Know what to look for

Note the way wedding dresses curve over the bust and waist, and whether the neckline and hem lie correctly. "You can get an idea of how it will fit even if you try a sample that's not your size," says Allen. (Don't freak out if you find your size-10 body needs a size-14 wedding dress. "Most wedding dresses run small because they follow the smaller sizing that was set up in the 1940s," explains Prince.)

If you start adding sleeves to a strapless wedding dress or narrowing a ball gown's skirt, then you haven't found what you're looking for. "It pays to think twice before you commit to a wedding dress whose design you want to change dramatically," says Laura Kaye, of Bridals by Roma, in Clifton, New Jersey. Even simple alterations like turning an on-the-shoulder neckline into an off-the-shoulder one can start at well over a hundred dollars. Add that to the cost of the basic alterations that most brides need (adjusting side seams, shoulders, length, and bustle loops), and you could end up spending an extra $350.

Read the small print

Once you're ready to buy your wedding dress, make sure you know the specific terms of sale. They're usually spelled out on your receipt and include the amount of your nonrefundable deposit (50 percent of the full price), when the balance is due (usually when the wedding dress arrives—don't pay before inspecting your merchandise), and the salon's policies regarding alterations, exchanges, and special orders.

Each store operates differently, but most consider the receipt a binding contract. "When you sign, that's it," says Prince. So read all paperwork thoroughly.

Know when to call it a day

If every wedding dress is starting to look the same, you're suffering from bridal burnout. The way to avoid it is by shopping in moderation—no more than two stores a day.

How will you know when you've hit the jackpot? Experts agree: You'll shed at least one tear of joy—or break into your biggest grin since he popped the question.
 

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A professional wedding planner is not just someone that shows up and does the minimum to get the job accomplished. They will also act as a consultant to help you plan your special day.

Wedding planners also have the experience necessary to give you the very best value for your budget dollar. They also know how to work with your other wedding professionals that you have chosen or need to choose to make sure all the details are just the way you want them.

It is money well spent to have an experienced professional overseeing the planning process and the day that you have invested so much, to insure that your day goes just as you wished.

Of course you may opt to plan the entire wedding yourself or have a family member and even a friend to help, which is sometimes part of the fun of the wedding. However, it can also be a huge hassle and a headache especially if you, your family member or friend does not have the proper professional wedding training that most professional wedding vendors have had and experienced.

Your professional planner will get it done right, so you don't have to worry. You are buying quality, service, knowledge, professionalism, creativity, guidance, leg work, a stress reliever, and friend. What could be better than that for the most important day of your life? Just knowing that you were smart enough to hire a professional wedding planner to handle the details of your wedding will make you day even more special.