Kleinfeld's Wedding Dresses Aren't Cheap — Who Pays on 'Say Yes to the Dress'?
If you're considering applying for 'Say Yes to the Dress,' you'll want to come decided with your budget and make it realistic.
![Alex West - Author](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/jhdGEuBO4/200x200/alex-west-distractify-1679501747112.jpg)
Published July 21 2024, 10:30 a.m. ET
![Randy Fenoli poses with a rack of wedding dresses](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/480x251/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 480w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/640x335/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 640w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/768x402/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 768w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/1024x536/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 1024w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/1280x670/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 1280w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/1440x753/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 1440w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/1600x837/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 1600w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/xB6Je57eL/2160x1130/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1721421617626.jpg 2160w)
Reality television magic holds plenty of secrets and, occasionally, someone is willing to lift the lid on what's really going down. While Say Yes to the Dress might seem like a dream come true, there may be some downsides ... like the cost.
Former bride Kelly Rose Sarno explained on TikTok how the entire process really works. Plus, she revealed who is paying for the dress. After all, they certainly aren't cheap.
![A bride stuns as Randy chats with her at a fitting](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/480x252/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 480w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/640x335/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 640w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/768x402/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 768w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/1024x536/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 1024w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/1280x670/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 1280w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/1440x754/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 1440w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/1600x838/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 1600w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/SSxPVPQQm/2160x1131/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-1-1721421697775.jpg 2160w)
A bride chats with expert Randy on an episode of SYTTD
Who pays on 'Say Yes to the Dress'?
Kelly explained that she didn't have high hopes for finding the perfect dress because she was specifically searching for a red dress, something that Kleinfeld doesn't carry much of ... or any wedding dress shop for that matter.
Making it even more difficult was that she didn't truly know her budget yet, "because me and my husband were basically paying for the wedding ourselves with a little bit of help from his family," she said.
She added: "I 100 percent had to have this specific budget, so a lot of our budget went straight to the photographer and that's why I was doing a lot of stuff DIY."
As a result, she settled on a $2,000 budget "which, if you've ever watched Say Yes to the Dress, you know that $2,000 basically gets you nowhere in Kleinfeld." Plus, they weren't in a position to make a big purchase like that.
![A bride poses in a black wedding dress](https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/480x252/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 480w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/640x335/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 640w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/768x402/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 768w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/1024x536/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 1024w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/1280x670/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 1280w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/1440x754/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 1440w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/1600x838/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 1600w, https://media.distractify.com/brand-img/-GPUepdIA/2160x1131/who-pays-on-say-yes-to-the-dress-2-1721421736121.jpg 2160w)
A bride poses on SYYTD
Kelly admitted that there was a snarky moment from the employees over her smaller budget. She recalled, "So, if you watch my episode, the woman that I have ... she like went to the manager and she was like, 'So, we have Kelly and she wants a red dress.' And the manager was like, 'Awesome.' And she's like, 'And she has a $2,000 budget.' Like as if it was pennies."
The strict budget really limited her, especially because the show does not aid with the price at all. Kelly was on her own, meaning the budgets brides give on the show are real and genuine.
Furthermore, the show didn't even pay to get Kelly out to New York City to film. "We stayed in a New York City hotel and if you've ever been to a New York City hotel, they are basically a closet and Kleinfeld was not paying for us to take this trip," she said.
Kelly added: "Like, we paid for the gas. We paid for the hotel. Like Kleinfeld or TLC didn't even validating our parking. So, three of us slept on a king size bed and poor Tiffany, as pregnant as she was, slept on a pull out chair."
They did, however, try to work in her budget as much as possible and find her a deal. "So, I swear to you guys they know what they're doing," she said before describing a stunning red dress.
The issue, she said, was that it was far too small for her. Plus, there was a giant water stain going down the dress. The upside was that the imperfection caused a $10,000 dress to be marked down to $2,500, which was still out of Kelly's price range.
So, those at Kleinfeld might help you find the dress, put you on television, and show off your story, but no, they're not going to dish out money to help. After all, it wouldn't be a reality moment, would it?