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!

Magazines/Internet

Get some ideas before you even think about going shopping. If you have an idea of what you like and don’t like it will be easier to find similar dresses once you get to the store. It will also help your consultant find dresses you will like.

Set a Budget

It is so easy to want to go hog wild on your wedding dress. It is your wedding day after all and hopefully will only happen once in your life. However, if you spend more than you should on your dress you will have to scrimp on something else. Before you even set foot in a bridal shop know how much you can and can not spend on your dress. The flowers will thank you.

Leave time for the dress to arrive

Make sure you leave more than enough time for the dress to be sent out, made and returned to you. This process usually takes at least 4 to 6 months so plan accordingly. If you don’t have that much time to wait you might try an “off the rack” store or even think about renting your bridal gown.

Have a general idea of the styles you like

This goes along with number one. If you have no idea what you want or like it will be difficult once you get in a store filled with wedding dresses to find something that you like. It will also make it more difficult for the consultant to help you find the perfect dress, as she has no guidelines about what to bring you.

Have an open mind

Even though it’s important to have a good idea of what you’re looking for it’s also good to have an open mind. Remember your bridal consultant does this every day. She is also very familiar with the dresses in her shop and will be able to find things you might not have thought of. This is her profession, trust her and keep an open mind when she brings you dresses you didn’t really have in mind. It might be your perfect dress.

Look at your behind

Everyone else is going to have a good look. When the bride is walking up the aisle and standing at the altar the view everyone else has is of your backside. Make sure whatever style dress you decide on looks good from the back. Also make sure the veil you choose doesn’t “cut you in half”.

Be practical

Think about your venue and where you will be holding your reception. If you are having your wedding in a small church or other small space you probably do not want to choose a huge dress. It will be very difficult to move around and you risk tearing your dress. If you are having your wedding on the beach you probably do not want to choose a ballgown, it’s just not practical for walking in the sand.

Think about the season

When is your wedding going to be held? If it’s in the winter you may want to consider a long sleeve dress or at least something with a little bit of sleeve. As well if you are having your dress in the middle of summer you will want to alter your choices as well.

Take 1-2 people with you

Don’t take your whole entourage. It’s not feasible for the boutique and you will get more opinions than you really need. You will probably have to take your mom, then choose one other friend to take, especially if you and your mom have differing tastes. Having 2 people with you will allow you to get a couple of opinions as well as views from all angles.

Try on the veil

Try on your veil while you are trying on your dress. This will give you a full picture of the whole look. You also want to make sure your veil works well with the dress you have chosen.

Think about your accessories

Make sure they are going to fit together. You want to think about necklines if you have a particular necklace you plan on wearing. Also if you are wearing a tiara, you want to make sure it will look right with your veil. Also think about your shoes, and other jewelry ~ you want to get a feel for the whole picture while you are there, and before you have purchased.

Planning to lose weight?

Be realistic. Think about the time you have before your wedding, and how much you can reasonably lose between now and then. Remember, it is much easier to take a dress in and can be almost impossible to let one out. If you buy a dress in a size expecting to lose the weight and then you don’t it can be a nightmare.

There you go. 12 tips to help you find your perfect wedding dress. Good luck, and remember this is supposed to be fun! Let go and laugh a little, it’s a once in a lifetime experience, enjoy it.

First of all, if you are doing your own measurements DON’T do them yourself, have someone else come over and help you. You just can’t get accurate measurements measuring your own body.

Secondly, make sure you are wearing the undergarments you will be wearing with your dress when you take your measurements. You want to make sure the dress will fit over your undergarments.

Ok, on with the measuring.

Bust

You want to make sure when measuring the bust that you measure across the fullest part of your chest. So to do this make sure you are standing naturally with your heels together and arms resting naturally at your side. Put the measuring tape so it covers the widest part of your back as well as the fullest part of your chest. You want to keep your thumbs on the inside of the tape so you give yourself just a little extra room, and don’t pull the tape super tight.

Waist

When measuring your waist you again want to stand naturally with your heels together. Put your hands on your hips, this is generally your natural waist line. It’s so hard to tell where our waists are these days with all the low rise jeans. Do NOT pull your stomach in, just stand naturally. Go ahead and measure at the point where your hands rest on your hips. Keep your thumbs on the inside of the tape and don’t pull it tight.

Hips

Stand naturally with your heels together again. Now measuring your hips is going to depend on the type of dress you are going to buy. If you are getting a sheath dress you want to measure at the fullest part of your rear end. If you are getting an A Line dress make sure to measure at the fullest part of your hips. Again, keep fingers on the inside of the tape and don’t pull the tape really tight.

Dress Length

This measurement is for those tall brides out there. If you are going to be 5′8″ or taller (wearing your wedding heels) you want to talk to your dress provider about getting extra dress length. Traditionally extra dress length is about an extra 5 inches. You want to mention that you will need extra length, because sometimes it is an extra cost. Remember, a dress can’t be lengthened once you receive it, but it can be hemmed. If you think you may need extra length in your dress go ahead and get it.

There you have it. The steps you need to take to get accurate measurements for your wedding dress. Once you have these measurements in hand you can measure against a wedding dress chart online. Wedding dresses are not custom made to your measurements, but to your size.

Wedding designers generally cut wedding dresses 2 sizes smaller than regular clothes, so you will want to get the size that corresponds with your largest measurements. Remember, it’s much easier to take a dress in, than it is to let a dress out. If you are buying your wedding dress online go ahead and go for the larger size. You would much rather have to have it altered than have it not fit at all.

What’s the difference between the traditional and modern wedding dresses?

Traditional dresses are more often white, off white or beige. The modern wedding dress comes in more colors and different cuts. It may even have interesting pieces sewn into the dress. No matter what color or cut of modern wedding dress I’m sure you will be able to find it, even red!

Modern wedding dresses are getting shorter. No longer do you have to wear a full length, floor sweeping dress for your wedding, in fact, some modern brides are even wearing tea length dresses for their wedding.

Do you have two favorite colors? You can create a custom dress that combines both of those colors! Maybe you want red trim, or pink sequins in your veil. Maybe you want a splash of colorful ribbon along the bottom hem? Anything is possible.

Not sure if you are a traditional or modern bride?

Look through magazines, get an idea of the type of dress you like. Go to bridal designers or bridal shops and look around. You can also look through the many online wedding dress retailers and see which dresses catch your eye. It will be easier when you finally go to find your dress if you have an idea of what you really like.

Remember, just because you are buying a wedding dress doesn’t mean you can’t have what you want. Cut the pictures out of the magazines, print out the pictures you like online. Cut them up, put them together. Don’t like the top of one dress, but love the bottom of another? Go ahead, put them together! Doing this you can mix and match and create your perfect dress that will be a one of a kind.

Be creative, it’s your big day! You want your wedding to express you and your style. Whether you are a traditional bride or more modern you can add your own special touches that bring out your own individuality.

A Line: This is what my dress was, and is a very forgiving wedding dress silhouette. This dress basically flairs out at the waist and looks like an A. This style of dress will make shorter brides look a little taller, as well as helping larger brides look a little smaller.

Ballgown/Full Skirt: This is the very full skirt dress. It’s kind of the classic fairy princess, fairy tale dress. The bodice is tight and the skirt is very full. This dress is great for taller brides, and will effectively hide larger sized hips. The small bride can easily be overwhelmed and disappear in this type of dress, so you may be better off looking for another style.

Sheath: A sheath dress is basically a straight dress. It hugs all the bride’s curves and accentuates them. It has no waist and skims the body. This is not the dress to wear if you are looking to hide/cover up curves. This is a great dress though if you have great shoulders, and a great figure. It also may be a perfect fit for destination weddings. They frequently will have a detachable train that works quite well for destination locations.

Mermaid: This is very similar to the sheath style dress, except the bottom flairs out. This dress type flairs at the knees and will accentuate a great figure.

Trumpet: This is a similar style to the mermaid dress, but it flairs a bit higher. It is also known as the fit and flair skirt. It’s a very slimming dress.

If you are a tomboy like me, understanding what’s what was a difficult piece of the puzzle. If you go to a salon to try on dresses, even if you have a favorite style you might want to take some suggestions from the attendant. They help women everyday find the perfect wedding dress, and they may see something that will look brilliant on you that you never would have thought of.

7 Tips to Buying a Wedding Dress on Ebay

1. Check seller feedback. The seller feedback is the place where people can comment on their interaction with any given seller. This is a great way to see how other people have experienced this seller. If you go and you see negative feedback I would avoid this seller. If however, you see positive feedback you can count that as a good mark for this seller.
2. Check shipping prices. You don’t want to get a good price on your wedding dress and get taken to the cleaners on shipping. If you end up paying an arm and a leg on shipping it doesn’t end up being a good deal at all.
3. Buy a larger size than you think you need. Remember wedding dresses generally run 2 sizes smaller than regular clothes, but go ahead and buy a size larger than that. This way you can have plenty of room to have it altered to fit your body. Remember, most dresses you can easily take in, it is much more difficult, if not impossible, to let a dress out.
4. Trying it on is the real test. Make a plan, once you have bought a cheap wedding dress on ebay that if you receive it and try it on and it isn’t what you want you will just repost it on ebay. Hey, you never know, you may end up making more on the auction than you paid for it! Have a plan, you don’t want to be stuck with a dress you don’t love.
5. Use paypal if possible. Paypal is an online payment center. It allows you to safely send money to the seller via a credit card or your bank account, but it allows you some protection from fraud. If you don’t have a paypal account they are easy to get and free.
6. Ask questions. Make sure you ask questions. Any reputable seller will answer buyer questions. If the dress is second hand, make sure you find out if there are any stains, if it has been altered, if it has been dry cleaned etc. This valuable information to have. If a seller will not respond to your questions that’s a good sign you should avoid that seller.

IF you are looking for a cheap way to buy your wedding dress, Ebay may just be your answer, remember these tips and you will find the dress of your dreams in your hands in no time.

Your bra is an important part of your wedding ensemble. You want to find a bra that is comfortable and does not show when you are wearing your dress. Choosing a bra early is important so you can wear it during your fittings. Once you have your bra and dress you want to make sure you move around like you will on your big day. You want to do this to make sure so you can make sure no matter what you do your bra doesn’t show.

Make sure to take all your accessories with you to all of your fittings. Make sure you are wearing exactly what you will be wearing on your wedding day at your fittings. You want to make sure your dress fits and looks good with all your accessories. If you decide to change any of your undergarments make sure you go for another fitting to make sure all is still in perfect order.

Tights/Hose: Will you wear them or not? If you choose to wear something on your legs you want to take into consideration the underskirt you are wearing. Some types of crinolin are very stiff and will tear your stockings. If you plan on taking your shoes off later in the evening you might want to think about wearing knee or thigh high stockings so you can easily slide them off when your shoes come off.

Veil: Try your veil on with your dress and undergarments, including whatever underskirt you will be wearing. Make sure to check how your veil looks from the back. It may seem silly, but there are some lengths that will basically “cut you in half”, and you don’t want that. Also remember the whole audience will be getting a good look at your back side so make sure it looks good.

Underskirt: There is a wide variety of underskirts available. It really depends on the type of dress and how much you want to the skirt to stand out away from your body. The fuller you want your skirt the wider underskirt you will want to get. This may be one of the items you can borrow from a friend. Just check to make sure the underskirt you’ve chosen works well with the hose you will be wearing as some will tear through.

Underwear: Yes, this really is an issue. If you are planning to wear a thong make sure you have worn one before, as some women find them incredibly uncomfortable. If you plan to go without underwear think about wearing hose with the cotton panty liner sewn in.

Last but not least, there’s enough stress involved in a wedding day to have to worry about your accessories and underthings. Make sure you bring along extras of everything, this will allow any last minute problems to just be a small blip, and not a catastrophe.

With everything that needed to be managed while I was planning my wedding, I really didn’t think too much about the first dance. Neither my fiance or I knew how to dance, so I figured we’d just kind of sway to the music get some pretty pictures and it would be over.

That’s pretty much how it went.

I had a lovely dance with my husband and the dance with my father went equally well.

What I didn’t expect was my brand new father-in-law does know how to dance, and for our dance he was not accepting “just sway to the music”. He was swinging me around the dance floor saying ~ just follow my lead.

If I had any idea how to do that I would have. I felt embarressed and scared I was going to trip over my dress and rip it or worse, fall on my face in front of everyone.

I’d already had a couple glasses of champagne and just wanted to have a quiet dance and have it over (I really don’t much enjoy dancing), but at that moment I was kicking myself for not having taken dancing lessons before the big day.

I had thought about it, but setting it up and working out all the details just didn’t make it to the top of the priority list. It never entered my mind I could find the dance lessons online! I wish it would have.

Maybe we could have gotten a couple decent pictures, without the whole deer in the headlights look on my face, of my first dance with my father-in-law. Do yourself a favor and learn how to dance. You only need to learn a few steps to make that first dance perfect. Plus, it will be a skill you can use for the rest of your life!

If you wonder whether or not you are being a Bridezilla, the answer is probably yes. Here are some warning signs to look for to see if you are turning into Bridezilla. Remember, just because you have looked through the beautiful, cheap wedding dresses and picked out your favorite, you’ve booked the church and the reception hall doesn’t mean your wedding party has to come.

If you don’t want to end up standing at the altar by yourself on your big day, make sure to keep your Bridezilla behavior in check.

Bridezilla Warning Signs

• Feeling you are entitled to special treatment because it’s your “special day”. It’s true it is your wedding day, but remember people are doing this with you because they love you. If you continue to abuse them they will possible quit.
• Spending hours checking your online bridal registry to see what people have bought. You may also be expecting lavish gifts and many bridal showers. You have got to be kidding. The gifts are the very least of this process. Why not call one of your wedding party and ask them how they are feeling, what’s going on with them.
• Expecting perfection. It just isn’t going to happen. If you expect perfection, not only will you get on everyone’s nerves, you will also be disappointed. There is no such thing as perfection, and when you expect it, especially on your wedding day it is a recipe for disaster. Why not set a different expectation for your wedding? Fun, companionship, serenity?? These are all great expectations, and will make not only your wedding party a little happier, but you as well.
• Not focusing on your marriage, because all you can think about is the wedding. Your wedding is a big day ~ that’s a given, however, your marriage is the rest of your life. It is a big change and needs to be nourished throughout this process.
• Spending hours upon hours on online chatrooms talking about your wedding. Yes it’s fun to talk about your wedding, but don’t you have some other things in your life that need attention?
• Thinking about your wedding day 24/7. This goes with the above sign. Yes, it is normal to think about your wedding, but there are other aspects of life that still need to be tended to. If all you can think and talk about is your wedding chances are you are turning into Bridezilla.

Bridezilla Warning Signs that Wedding Disaster is Immanent

• Dictating personal grooming for your wedding party. There are some things it’s perfectly ok to ask for from your wedding party. Their personal grooming is NOT one of them. Get over yourself.
• Micromanaging your wedding professionals. If your photographer, wedding planner or any other wedding professional is no longer taking your calls and ducking you every chance they can you may be nearing a disaster for your wedding day. If you push your wedding professionals over the edge they will quit and you will be left in a lurch. Most wedding professionals need to be hired well in advance of the day. You may not be able to get another at the last minute.
• Everyone is arguing. This is a sure sign of Bridezilla. When everyone is arguing with you and each other things have gotten out of hand. A wedding is a happy celebration of love. It should not be an ongoing argument.
• Losing it over the little things. If you are losing it over a run in your stockings or a smudge in your nail polish you need to take a step back and a deep breath and look at yourself. These small things are bound to happen and ruining your big day over them is NOT worth it.
• Groom is getting sick of hearing you. If your groom is not looking forward to his wedding (yes, it’s his wedding too) you have a problem. Most men are not as involved with the wedding as women, but you don’t want them to dread the big day either.

It’s a funny term and people joke about it, but turning into Bridezilla really isn’t funny. In fact, it’s a nightmare for the wedding party, your family and friends. Please take a look at these warning signs, and if you see them in yourself please, take moment and a deep breath and see if you can’t change your attitude.

You will enjoy your wedding day much more and so will everyone else.