3 Hidden Costs Of Weddings You Should Know About! Up Selling Wedding Dresses Wedding dresses are expensive, the average wedding dress in New York City (and Long Island) brides spent the most money on their gowns ($3,027 and $2,160, respectively), while brides in Alaska and Oklahoma spent far less ($804 and $859, respectively). For most women their wedding dress is the most expensive garment they will purchase. A wedding dress is an emotional purchase for most women and retailers are counting on your emotions to improve their business' bottom line. If you think the price of the wedding dress, whatever it may be, reflects the total amount you'll be spending on your dress, your wrong! Most wedding dresses will require alterations. Brides can spend hundreds of dollars in alterations, even if they're not making major changes to the original dress design. Bridal shop retailers will suggest to you that anything you don't like about their dresses or gowns can easil...