my dress is $3000 plus an extra $1000 for alterations. Im having a bit of stuff changed to it which involves a lot of sewing. This is without my veil and shoes....eeeek. The way I look at it, my dream dress was over $8000 so Im saving half, I ended up buying a similar dress and their going to alter it for me to look like my dream dress.
You can still get an amazing dress for under $1000 just like Sarah did (her dress is beautiful see post above) it just all depends on what it's made out of and if it's a designer gown or not.