Your wedding is your magical day. Your wedding dress is going to be a substantial investment, but there are ways to find beautiful, but cheap wedding dresses. By choosing cheap wedding dresses you give yourself even more money to buy other things for your wedding. You can spend the extra money on more flowers, the photographer, or even a DJ or a band. (my personal suggestion would be to put any extra money you have toward the photographer. A bad photographer can seriously wreck your wedding memories.) So how do you find quality cheap wedding dresses that are still beautiful and you feel good about wearing? Here’s 10 places you can try.
Used Wedding Dresses
You can find cheap used wedding dresses in quite a few places. When you think about it, buying a used wedding dress is a little different than buying used clothes. A wedding dress is worn once! So it is really barely used at all. Here’s some places you can look.
Craigslist, Ebay, local thrift stores.
Here’s a hint, go to local bridal stores and try on dresses, find the ones you like the best, note the size you need and then look and see if you can find it used online.
Bridal Outlets
Take a look at bridal outlets. They may be a good drive from your house, but if you take your mom and your wedding party it can be a fun, money saving road trip.
Bridesmaids Dresses
There is a wide variety of bridesmaids dresses available, some are quite beautiful. You can find them in any color, so simply find the one you like and order it in white, off white or beige ~ or any other color if you are feeling bold. This will allow you to save a lot of money on your wedding dress.
Make Your Own
Are you a good seamstress? Is your mother or a good friend? Making your own wedding dress immediately creates an heirloom piece of clothing. It also allows you to have exactly what you want, and a custom one of a kind wedding dress that’s sure to fit you and only you.
Bridal Rental
Now this is certainly not for every bride, but it is an increasing trend. Renting your wedding dress. Men have been doing it forever! How many times do you actually take your wedding dress out and look at it, even less wear it after your big day? Of course you would still have all your wedding pictures to remember your dress by. It is possible to find and wear a designer gown you never could have bought for only a couple hundred dollars. The down side of this is you have less of a selection and sometimes you can’t alter the dress, you have to find one in your size. But if you are an average size, the price might make it worth it.
Borrow a Wedding Dress
Do you have a friend or relative that had a lovely wedding dress? Why not ask if you can borrow their dress? It may not be the right option for everyone, but it might work for some.
Online Retailers
There are so many online wedding retailers. You can find a designer dress for a fraction of the cost. You can find plus size dresses too. They usually have a huge selection or wedding dresses and you are sure to find just what you are looking for. If using an online retailer make sure you are clear about their return policy, and any other small print on the website.
Buy Cheaper Shoes
Wedding boutiques bank on you getting all wrapped up in the festivity of buying a wedding dress. Don’t get so caught up in it that you go off the deep end and buy your shoes there. You will find exactly the same shoes at a cheaper shoe retailer. Buy them there, save yourself tons of money.
Buy Cheaper Tiara
The same holds true for your tiara. Go ahead try them all on, find the one that looks best with your dress then go somewhere else to find it. It’s not like the tiara’s at the bridal shop are made from diamonds or anything. There’s no need to pay diamond prices. You can find the one you want then go to a cheaper jewelry retailer or look online for the same tiara at discount prices.
Make or Borrow Your Veil
Unless you are having an extremely ornate and decorated veil they are easy enough to make yourself. It takes minimal sewing skills and you can easily find a patter online. It’s amazing how much tulle costs at the fabric store and what a veil will cost at a bridal shop. You can also borrow a veil from a friend or family member.
There you have it ten tips to find cheap wedding dresses and still have the dress and wedding of your dreams!