How To Save Money On Your Wedding Dress
By amy jane
The average bride spends over $2,000 on her dress. This number is for the gown alone , not including shoes, a headpiece or veil, jewelry, hosiery and all the little odds and ends that contribute to giving her that perfect look on her wedding day. Many brides consider their dress to be the most important part of their wedding and dedicate a huge amount of their overall budget to this one item.
Depending on your choices, wedding attire can eat up a large potion of your overall wedding budget. It is possible to look beautiful on your wedding day for less and to share the savings with your bridal party.
Begin your search early. If you are in a rush, it is likely that you will spend more. There are many designers and gowns with a price tag that is affordable, and you won’t be sacrificing style and beauty. If you find yourself shopping for a dress at the last minute, this can work to your advantage if you look for a sample sale at a bridal salon (most have these sales twice a year) or shop at a store where you can buy off the rack.
Lower Priced Gowns
- Wedding Dresses, Prom Dresses, Wedding Accessories at BestBridalPrices.com
Best Bridal Prices offers wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, Quinceanera gowns, and bridal accessories. - Designer Bridal Outlet
Offers discount bridal gowns and discount wedding gowns from couture from designers including Pizarro, Jim Hjelm, Christos, Vera Wang, Marisa, Amsale, Carolina Herrera, Paloma Blanca, Tomasina, Reem Acra, Lazaro, Bianch - Amsale Bridal
The Amsale Collection - Priscilla of Boston
Offers designer wedding fashions for every bride and every bridesmaid with contemporary and classic bridesmaid couture by Priscilla of Boston, Watters & Watters, Thread and Currie Bonner for Bridesmaids,
Your Gown
These are some general money saving tips to follow when selecting and ordering your wedding gown.- Take some time and look through bridal magazines. Tear out pictures of gowns you like. If you have an idea of what you want when you start trying on dresses, you will save time, and be able to find the look for the right price.
- Stay away from the big, fancy bridal salons. Their prices will be higher and the commission based sales people may be aggressive in convincing you to spend more than you planned. Start at a smaller local salon, or a salon in a different town or city. Prices may vary from neighborhood to so be thorough in your search.
- Check out the bridal selection at department stores.
- Take note of store policies regarding alterations, refund rules and guarantees. Look for the best possible service to fit your budget.
- Choose a gown to fit the formality of your wedding. A simple gown will cost less. Extensive beading and bangles will increase the cost of the gown and may require additional care.
- Consider a less expensive material. Compare prices on taffeta, silk, cotton and satin.
- Shop the sales. Some bridal salons will have yearly or bi-yearly sample gown sales, where you could possibly find a designer gown for 60-70% off of the full price. Check gowns carefully for any markings or flaws.
- Shop outlet stores.
- If you like the vintage look, check antique shops.
- Shop consignment shops. You may find a gown that has never been worn, due to a canceled wedding or an online order gone bad.
- Don’t leave a deposit on more than one gown while you are still looking.
- Be sure to keep all of your paper work, including receipts, delivery and shipping information carefully organized.
- Follow the manufacturers measurements to order your correct size. Alterations will cost less.
- Rent your gown! Formal wear rental shops for women are more common than ever. You could rent your dream dress for a fraction of buying it.
Shoes and Accessories
Depending on the style of your gown, your shoeswill probably be hidden on your big day. Look for comfortable shoes that match the formality of your wedding. plain white satin shoes are just fine.
Don’t buy your shoes at the bridal salon; they can be marked up as much as $50. Beaded shoes are really not a necessity, and it is unlikely you find a reason to wear them again.
In order to find a reasonable price for your veil and headpiece, you will need to comparison shop. Alternately, have a talented friend make one for you. Kits are available at many craft stores or online. You could go without a headpiece if your wedding is less formal. Find a great stylist to dress your hair up instead.
It's your special day! You can make it perfect without breaking the bank.
Comments
Thanks penmanzee! I think rentals are a great option for womens formal wear. You can get exactly what you want for a fraction of the price, and you don't have to figure out a way to use it again :)
You are right on the money...no pun intended! Great article!
Jennifer Melnick Carota
www.theGiftTherapist.com
Thanks Jennifer! :)
I was watching 'wedding planners' on a TV show and saw how much importance they give to the wedding gowns...even though the budget given by the would-be couple is sometimes low.With all the expenditure on place,food and other things it is really amazing how they fit in cost for the type of gown the bride chooses.This is great hub once again.Going to help a lot of couples who are going to get married.
I think renting is a great option. BUT, nowadays, many have more than 1 wedding. Oh no! So you could really get the mileage out of reusing one... ok, I'll stop being funny.
Very unique hub indeed. Thanks for the tips on saving.
Cheers.
Thanks Abhinaya!
You're welcome, nikoman :)
Nice Hub with lots of good information.
My daughter was 28 when she got married, had worked for years and was doing well financially but just refused to go nuts with a massively expensive wedding and insisted on paying for a portion of the wedding herself. She insisted that the whole wedding would fit into the budget she had set and she made it happen. We found her designer gown in a shop that was going out of business, we made her veil, her bouquet, the bridesmaids bouquets, all the buttoniers and corsages, did all the decorations for the church and the reception and prepared all the food for the reception--just her and I and her 2 aunts. We used the Fellowship Hall at the church for the main reception and got a Senior Girl Scout troop to help with the serving and clean-up for a donation for a trip they were planning. After the reception, any guests that wanted to followed to a near-by hotel bar with a dance floor where a great time was had by all. So weddings don't have to cost thousands and thousands of dollars if you just make up your mind to make it happen your way.
Hi Ruthie, thank you for sharing! There are really so many possibilities when planning a wedding, and you are right - if you are commited to staying with in a certain budget and not getting all crazy, it can absolutely be done for less! Thanks for reading and commenting!
I seem to have lost my beautiful photos on this page - i hope I can get them back:(
Great article :) if it interests you my wife and I ended up purchasing her dress thru an online retailer in China for a grand total of 170 bucks (S&H included). The dress is apraised at about 1500 in the states. It was custom tailored and upon arrival and fitting did not even need alteration. I figured we did well :)
Wow t.keely! That's an amazing deal - and one I had never thought of before. :) Thank you for commenting!
Checking out gowns at departments stores or outlet stores is indeed one effective way to finding a cheaper gown, take it a bit further and maybe you can get a custom made dress from the actual manufacturers or a seamstress overseas.
That's an excellent suggestion, espwecially if you know exactly what you are looking for. Thanks for commenting. :)
Very good advice. I knew a bride who refused to do any wise shopping and the store took her to the cleaners.
Thanks EGraf. I think every bride should look carefully at their budget and save as much money as possible for the honeymoon and life after the wedding!
I'd never heard of renting a wedding dress. My sister is planning her wedding. I'll have to send her your hubs to read for some ideas. Thanks.
Hi Mamacoots! It's just amazing what you can rent these days! You can rent designer evening wear too - for a fraction of the retail cost if you are going to be a guest at the wedding! Renting a wedding gown may seem odd to some, but I think it's a fantastic way to have the dress you want without blowing your entire budget. Thanks for sharing this hub!
thanks for sharing information, very useful for me. I just plan to married next year. I'll practice your suggestion to save the money for my wedding gown with my couple.great....thank you so much.
Thank you Prasetio. I'm glad you found this helpful! Best of luck with your wedding plans!
Some good ideas here, weddings can get seriously expensive. Somewhere aroung $25k is average now? Something like that. Great hub!
Thanks Pinkchic - many brides are looking for ways to save on the overall wedding costs and the dress is usually that last place they look for savings.
great tips you have shared here, thanks!
Thanks - glad you found it helpful!
Great hub with colorful and attractive pictures.
penmanzee 4 years ago
Great ideas. My wife rented her gown she looked great and we saved a ton.