Best for Your Budget: Wedding Gowns, Flowers, and Invitations

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Sifting through bridal mags, online listings, and your friend's recommendations can be daunting when it comes to picking out the essentials for your wedding—like where to find the dress, which florists to choose, and where to have your invitations printed. This year, we did the work for you.

Below, you'll find some of the best-rated businesses when it comes to wedding centerpieces, bridal gowns, and letterpress studios, broken down into three categories: steal (if your budget is small), spend (if you don't need to be too conservative) and splurge (if you want to go all out).

Steal: Verde Flowers, centerpieces start at $65. Flowers by Richard, centerpieces start at $75. Or, follow these steps for DIY arrangements using bodega bouquets and mason jars.

Spend: Ariston Florist, centerpieces start at $100. Emily Rose Floral Design, centerpieces start at $100.

Splurge: Blossom and Branch, centerpieces start at $275 (budget minimum of $5,000). Flowers of the World, centerpieces start at $250.

Steal: J.Crew and BHLDN, where you can score dresses for a little over a thousand (or less). The Bridal Garden, where all donated designer dresses are discounted 75% off their normal retail prices.

Spend: Lovely, The White Gown, Kleinfeld, Bridal Reflections, Stone Fox Bride, Gabriella New York. For brides that are comfortable starting around $2,000 to $3,000.

Splurge: Bergdorf Goodman, Monique Lhullier, Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera, Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier.

Steal: Greenwich Letterpress, a set of 100 custom invitations starts at $440. Paper Source, digital printing starts at $339 for 100 invitations.

Spend: Lion in the Sun, invitations start at $6 each and go up to $30. Sesame Letterpress, a set of 100 invites starts at $1,100. Swayspace, prices start at $1,625 for sets of 125 to 150 invitations.

Splurge: Shindig Invitations, prics for a set of 100 invitations start at $2,000. East Six, custom sets of 100 invitations start at $2,000.
· All Weddings Week 2014 Posts [Racked NY]