The Naughty Bride Says:

If you can't afford exactly the gown you envisioned, try to simplify it. Remove anything that you can't see when you squint. If it's still too expensive, keep in mind as you try on gowns in the privacy of a locked dressing room that marked, ripped and otherwise flawed floor models will be much more heavily discounted when the sample sales come around in September and March. You didn't read it here, but it's true.