Can't you dress for less?

How much do wedding dresses actually cost?! I somehow started watching a show called "Say Yes to the Dress" tonight - a program that follows girls as they try on numerous wedding dresses. Wow - I guess I'm not very in touch with 'all things wedding' to begin with, but $5,000 for a dress? That's crazy.

I poked around on the web and found some stats from the Bridal Association of America. In 2006, the average wedding dress cost $1,505. That still seems like a lot to me!

Some other averages:

Engagement length: 17 months
Number of guests: 169
Bride age: 26
Groom age: 28

[Image by ElektraCute]