I probably should have been embarrassed when the various profanities started spilling out of my mouth.

Should have being the operative words. But I wasn’t.

I warned my bridal consultant the first time I let a four-letter word slip. I don’t cry, I told her. I’m not a bride who cries. If I start swearing, though, look out. We either have problems or we may have found the one.

And no, I’m talking about Ben. He’s already a given. I’m talking about my wedding dress.

Not just a dress. The dress.

They always say you know it as soon as you put it on. I knew, but I almost screwed it up. When you’re a bride working on a strict budget, the price tag can stop those profanities (or tears … whichever) in their tracks.

The dress of my metaphorical dreams was about $300 over my budget. So begrudgingly, I took the dress off, tried another one on I knew would be friendlier on my wallet and decided to say yes to that dress instead.

Or did I?

More on that later.

For you Ankeny brides on a budget like me, it’s good to go start your shopping with a price range in mind, not to mention a few styles you know you’ll like that fit said price range. That’s what I did.

Unlike me, though, you don’t have to travel hours away to find an affordable dress.

Despite the fact most of my wedding business is being done away from Ankeny (Ben and I are getting married in a town about an hour and a half from here), we have local wedding dress pros right here who are used to dealing with brides on a limited budget.

The ladies at the Bridal Connection, located at 710 N. Ankeny Blvd., told me there are always options for brides to find the right dress for the right price. The first thing to look at is out-of-stock gowns or dresses and accessories from last season. Older styles are usually marked down to make room for new ones.

The Bridal Connection also holds semi-annual sales in July and right after Thanksgiving. If you must have that one-of-a-kind gown, though, the Bridal Connection also holds trunk shows that give brides an exclusive look at dresses that aren’t typically available in store.

One last tip? Buy in bulk. At the Bridal Connection, the more you buy from them — whether it’s your dress, shoes, jewelry or the groom’s tuxedo — the more discounts you get.

The staff at Bridal Connection also had some good advice for brides on a budget: allow the most important areas of your day to take priority.

Couldn’t agree more, which brings me right back to my dress.

I said yes to a second-string dress, but the more I thought about it, the more I knew I’d regret it the second I walked out of that store. I’m only getting married once and if there’s one thing I believe, even as a wedding planning novice, your dress should make jaws drop.

With one last four-letter expletive, I told my bridal consultant to bring me back the dress.

Sigh. The sacrifices I make for dropped jaws. Oh, well.

But wait!

The budget wedding gods were on my side that day. Turns out my dress was on clearance and that $250 discount put it right back at my budget.

Now on to shoes ...

Did you enjoy this column? If you did, you might enjoy my other ones!

1) Are Those Wedding Bells I Hear? You Better Believe It (Editor's Notebook)

2) Top Wedding Traditions: Guess Who's a Dirty, Rotten Rule-Breaker? (Editor's Notebook)