Marriage madness across America has wedding costs soaring

For last-minute shoppers, large stores such as David’s Bridal and Kleinfeld Bridal (the Manhattan store featured on the reality show “Say Yes to the Dress”) said they can accommodate requests on short notice, given their large selection of off-the-rack and sample gowns. To deal with the pent-up demand, David’s has boosted its number of stylists by 20% over pre-pandemic levels, hiring more of them to help brides pick dresses and accessories, Chief Executive Officer James Marcum said in an interview. (Zhang, whose wedding is Aug. 20, said she over-budgeted, since she knew she’d have limited options. Her gown cost around $1,285 before taxes.)