my budget was under $1000. i thought it was silly to pay anything over $1000 for a wedding dress.
well, the one i found was from alfred angelo. i love it. they were having a $100 off sale, and we got the dress and train for $699. the veil was $200, and the tiara was around $100. so we stayed right about within budget. i don't know about how much alterations will cost though, but we did pretty well.