> "Wedding" dresses are thousands of dollars, but roughly equivalent normal dresses are hundreds.
A lot of that cost differential is high-touch, small-floorspace, low-volume boutiques that throw a lot of effort into the buying experience; budget sensitive buyers can and do cut a lot out of that already, through discount bridal shops that have a sales experience more like traditional retail (despite providing all the same substantive services lie fitting and alterations/customization.)
The rest of it is the substantive services like multiple fittings and alterations, which tend to be priced in with wedding dresses and charged separately otherwise.
A lot of that cost differential is high-touch, small-floorspace, low-volume boutiques that throw a lot of effort into the buying experience; budget sensitive buyers can and do cut a lot out of that already, through discount bridal shops that have a sales experience more like traditional retail (despite providing all the same substantive services lie fitting and alterations/customization.)
The rest of it is the substantive services like multiple fittings and alterations, which tend to be priced in with wedding dresses and charged separately otherwise.