Nothing to explain. It is just considered a bad omen.
If you know the recipients well, it would be fine to give knives (or axes or chainsaws). However, I wouldn’t give a set of knives to someone I don’t know well.
Future dil had her first dress fitting and it looks really pretty. Just needs a little taking in at the top and waist. She sent me pictures warning me not to show my son! She picked out the veil and it is very pretty. The dress is simple yet elegant. She didn’t want the dress to wear her. The save the date cards are out and only one came back. The post office ripped it. Things are getting closer! One word for folks. They put a card in the envelope with their save the date that had the link to their wedding website. A QR code would have been better. The text was so tiny I know several of us got errors trying to open it because our old eyes couldn’t tell that an a wasn’t an o. A different font would have been better too and darker, larger text. I almost had to get out a magnifying glass!
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I guess my son and his wife aren’t superstitious! On their gift registry last year, they had 4 knives and a steak knife set on it, all purchased.
The steak knife set was actually one of the things we gifted them. Oh, well, too late now!
Laguiole ivory steak knives
Wusthof paring knife
Shun Santoku knife
Zwilling prep knife
Zwilling chef’s knife
They like their knives!
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Would anyone feel comfortable giving some guidance on what to use as a guideline for prices wedding dresses? I don’t want to embarrass myself or daughter by going in with a max price that is too low. I am in Saint Louis if pricing is regional. I have noticed most websites for bridal shops are silent on prices.
We had guests from another culture – family friends of my DiL — and I actually went and googled customs from their country to make sure we weren’t accidentally offending them. Turns out there was an auspicious color among the ones being used on tables so we made sure their table runner was that color.
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Looking some things up I found: The average wedding dress cost varies widely, but generally falls between $1,800 to $2,500. I know my bil gave his daughter a budget of $1000 in FL and she couldn’t find anything she liked for that cost. I think hers ended up being about 1500 and I am not too fond of it. (Her wedding is next weekend so I will see if I like it better in person). For my future dil I think she was on the high end of this average in Kansas City but she chose to spend more on the dress to get what she wanted and less of some other things.
@Cruiser933 we are in Southern California and my D1 has found dresses she loves from a couple of lines that run from less than $2K to $3K. We are going dress shopping in May at specific stores that carry the dress lines she likes. I just looked at the google doc for the wedding budget and D1 has $4K maximum for dress, veil, shoes and alterations. My mom has already said she would like to buy D1’s dress for her.
I have found SIL is very sensitive to upcoming wedding of their only child/son. Ever since her son was dating this gal, she always referred to this gal as being a ‘feminist’. Well I think SIL is using that term in a general way. She is more liberal in politics, wedding will be outdoor/venue wedding (no church), she moved in with the son as soon as they were engaged (I am sure it was coordinated with her apartment lease coming up), etc. I have met the gal at grandparents’ weekend family gathering, but at the time the couple was dating, so I didn’t know if she was ‘the one’. She seems like a very lovely gal.
SIL is grumpy with her health and other things. BIL is fine. I am just going to avoid SIL. Too many bad vibes.
I think my daughter in law’s dress was in about the $1500 range. You can go lower, and some go much, much higher. The important thing is to set a general budget going in and stick at or at least close to it. You will have tons of other expenses to consider beyond the cost of the dress!
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Some wedding dress alternatives:
• Any ‘vintage’ dress in the family that can be altered? The daughter of a friend of mine did that, and it was beautiful – and meaningful.
• Another friend purchased her dress at a store that sold samples. These dresses were never worn in a wedding, came in several sizes, and were originally found in the higher end wedding shops. Still pricey, but not nearly as much as the original.
• A friend of mine suggested to search store websites (and racks) for anything white, but not labeled “wedding”. It could be formal, prom, etc. They tend to be simpler, without trains, but can be very elegant. As soon as you add “wedding” to the title, the price goes up.
• If used is not an issue, some wedding dress shops sell donated dresses , and profits are applied to a cause.
• I’ve seen never-worn dresses sold on various social media sites. Sometimes the wedding was cancelled (maybe bad karma?), but sometimes the bride ordered a dress, and decided on another (or so they claim).
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Yes, I was going to say that if knives are on a registry they are fine to buy as a gift. My kids had a knife set on their registry.
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My D’s budget (in NYC) was about $3,000 - my mom graciously offered to treat her to the dress. If there was a dress that she fell in love with for a bit more I probably would have kicked in the difference. D ended up choosing a dress for about $1,200 – BUT by the time alterations, veil, hairpiece were factored in the price had about doubled. So my advice is to not just focus on the dress – but look at the cost of alterations as well as anything else she wants to wear that day. (Don’t ask about her shoes LOL).
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Exactly, Even with a $1200 or $1500 dress, by the time you add on a veil, shoes,jewelry,
it gets much more expensive. Some shoes can be pretty pricey.
I helped my friend find a dress years ago - she was in a major city, and I had heard about a wholesale kind of place that have a huge assortment of sample dresses, last year dresses, etc. (all were new). We found a lovely dress in ecru (off white, her choice - she would be too washed out in white) for $750.
IDK if there is such a place in St Louis.
One hears about these kind of places.
I know a bride to be went to several shops, and found ‘her dress’ priced less at a town about an hour’s drive from here.
DD had ordered her dress (to her measurements) from the designer (Italy) - and also ordered a veil with the lace they used in the dress. We got that pricing, and the amount in EU currency to transact. I told her to have the dress made to her measurements because we would not have had time to get another dress (one could return a dress in a standard size). The dress fit her perfectly.
At the time we looked, David’s Bridal - their top priced dress was what she paid for the dress and veil she got from Italy.
Can always schedule at look at David’s Bridal first.
I know a gal that scheduled at two bridal places - one was in a nearby city, and the first one had the dress/experience she wanted, and canceled going to the second (less selection/more exclusive) bridal shop. She had mom and grandma fly in and needed to have that experience with them on that particular Saturday.
Many brides do have a budget under $2,000 for a dress. As others have said, that may not include altering. Veils can easily run into hundreds of dollars.
It really depends on where/how one looks, and what specifically the bride envisions.
Our niece found a seamstress who made a dress with the top of one dress she liked and the bottom of another dress she liked. Total cost was $800, and this was in the D.C. area. She just had a network of people ‘in the know’.
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This is all definitely helping. Watching “Say Yes to the Dress” was definitely causing anxiety over prices. Unfortunately there are no vintage dresses in the family that she could wear although I may look to see if my veil is salvageable or if someone can use lace from my dress on a veil. She will need alterations on anything she gets most likely and I know that adds significantly to the total price.
My daughter bought a sale dress at David’s, I think under $300. No fancy lace or glitter, but it was lovely. My sister paid for it. I warned that alterations, which she paid, would be almost as much… that was about $200.
We do have a David’s Bridal, but I have only heard negative things about them. I may have her check them out anyway. The other place I am thinking we might visit has several brands that I am reading may be reasonable like Stella York and Essence of Australia.
David’s has a variety of pretty dresses, looks like all under $2500. Website shows sale thru 2/20 (but likely you need a appointment)
Good luck! Since you seem to have another local place besides David’s Bridal that carries brands your daughter may like and is within your budget, maybe start there.
My kids have purchased 2 prom dresses at David’s (I think one was a tea length dress that was really a bridal dress as it was white) and three bridesmaid dresses. All have been nice, and we saw a lot of other nice bridal dresses when we were in the stores. Friend’s niece bought hers at Nordstrom (but only certain stores have bridal).
Daughter’s friend bought her dress at Kleinfeld’s and it was nothing great (and I don’t think it cost a ton) and the bridesmaid dresses were also ordered from there. They were about the same price as David’s ($175?).