21 Proven Wedding Money Saving Tips: Save Money On Your Wedding Dress

 Dress by Bonny Bridals

Your wedding dress is the most important and most photographed article of clothing you will ever purchase.  You want to look fabulous, but you don't want to break the bank.  Here are proven tips to save on THE dress and where to look for the hottest deal. 

• Shop within your budget.  Don't try on dresses that are so outside your budget that it is unworkable. Don't allow any salesperson to talk you into a dress you can't afford, don't be pressured into anything!

• Shop off season.  The months of November and December are the doldrums in bridal dress sales.  The bridal shops slash prices of dresses for a lot of reasons:   They need to cut their inventory for end of the year taxes.  They need money to PAY their taxes.  They need rack space for next seasons dresses AND they  need money to pay for all the inventory coming into the shop.  

• Shop the sale rack. Every salon has one, the bargains are screaming! 

•  Shop sample sales, blow out sales and trunk shows.

• Buy a dress with good bones:  built in crinoline, boning, built in bra as it will save you money on expensive add ons.

• Buy a dress off the rack.  Don't hesitate to ask if the shop will discount the dress if you buy the rack sample or if you are willing to pay cash. 

• Shop Ebay.  Look for the word authentic in a designers dress name.  Ask the seller if the dress is authentic or a knock off.  Inspired means knock off and is probably an import from China and it won't have same fit, look or quality.   There are a lot of bona fide bargains on Ebay from bridal salons selling excess stock below their cost.

•   Shop resale stores.  Many resale shops have brand new wedding dresses that they've purchased from bridal salons or from canceled weddings. 

• Shop closeout stores.  

•   Think outside of the box:  A white, ivory or pastel prom or formal dress are STEALS after prom time, shop in May,June or July.

• Shop for the silhouette and fit that flatters your body.  Simple dresses can be accessorized to have the same impact as a dress with costly lace and beading.

•   Polyester fabric is less costly than silk and most of your guests won't be able to tell the difference.  If you fall in love with a silk dress that is out of your budget, ask if the same dress can be ordered in polyester.

• Wear your mother's wedding dress or another heirloom family dress.

•   Borrow a dress.

• Order a bridesmaid dress in white or ivory. Savings run into the 4 digits.  This season Bill Levkoff bridesmaids have some amazing chiffon dresses that would make a gorgeous informal dress.  Other companies have beading and embellishment on dresses that rock as wedding dresses.

•    Shop online at discount web sites such as House of Brides, not only can you score a discount on an authentic dress, you can get free shipping and no sales tax.

•  David's Bridal had a discount online outlet.
• Shop vintage antique stores for rocking styles for a non traditional bride!

•  Pre Owned Wedding Dresses have designer dresses at less than retail prices.

•   Check the department store sales racks, I've seen Jessica McClintock dresses marked down to a twenty dollar bill.

• Shop factory stores. 

•   Craig's list always has new wedding dresses, as well as pre worn or vintage dresses. You deal directly with the seller which gives you the opportunity to negotiate on price.  

• The number one way to save on your wedding dress: Shop with an open mind!  You never know what might cross your path if you are open to opportunities.  

Buy Your Wedding Dress in December and Save Money!

Now is the time to buy that wedding dress if you want to save
yourself a lot of cash. December is the doldrums in the bridal
industry. Bridal shops are willing to make a deal and eBay
has deals on CURRENT, NAME BRAND wedding dresses
at a fraction of retail.

Bridal shops have to make room for new inventory, pay
year end taxes and make payroll. Ask for a discount,
nicely, of course. Don't expect to get a wedding dress
for three grand for a hundred bucks, but make a
reasonable offer.They may offer to throw in some
freebies that you need like
a veil, tiara, crinoline or bra. Free is good, its money
in the bank in savings. Ask them "Is this the best you
can do on this dress? What if I take the sample on
the rack and pay today?" Smile, smile, smile!
Most will be willing to negotiate in this economy.
You'll have your dress, they'll have some cash flow.
Win/win situation.

eBay has great deals on wedding dresses just make
sure you are not buying a knock off from China.
If the deal is too good to be true, it probably
is...you can't buy a wedding dress for 97 cents.
Geeze, you can't buy a tee shirt for 97 cents. But
now is the time to snag that deal on a bargain
wedding dress.

Here are two sellers that I know personally that
are selling name brand dresses at a steal!
I can personally vouch for them both:

Name brand wedding dresses at a discount!
Casablanca current styles at below retail, other
famous name wedding dresses starting at $90!

Wedding dresses from $99.00. This seller has
a lot of couture dresses at give away prices.

Trashing The Wedding Dress Ceremony

Photo by Brooke Mayo Photography

I stumbled upon a post from Elite
Bridal Concierge regarding trashing the wedding
dress in a photo session after the wedding. It made
me curious. Great blog, by the way, recommend you
check it out!

Can I begin to tell you the horror I felt as I scoped
the net to get more info on this new trend? Hey,
I sell the dresses. We coddle the dresses. A dress
is precious to me. We treat the dress with respect.
We hand press it so it is as close to perfect as it
can be so when she slips it on, its magical.
We even place it in the car for the bride. I've treated
these dresses better than my husband...so when I see
a picture of a bride cutting her dress with scissors
or laying in the water, it freaks me out.

OMG, Could this be the same Bridezilla, I mean bride,
who exploded over a missing bead? The one who checked
the dress out with a magnifying glass before the wedding
is the one laying in the water in that same dress AFTER
the wedding? How could she trash the dress?

So now I know its for artistic and creative photos
after the wedding. I get it. I've checked out Trash
the Dress and love the art of the photos.

Here's my bride Corey who did the entire trash
the dress thing. Corey is one of the most fun and
really cool people I've met. She was NOT a Bridezilla.
She jumped into a swimming pool in her gown and
the next day went para sailing over the ocean in her
gown and ended up in the ocean. The dress survived!
Yes!!! To see the pics of Corey go to Brooke
Mayo Photography. Love her work!

Couture Wedding Dresses, How Ugly is Ugly?

Couture fashion is sometime a
head smacker. Couture dresses
are one of a kind made for the
runway to get the buzz going for
their line. Who would wear these
dresses? Probably no one and
they probably aren't being produced,
but they are current runway dresses.

It takes a special bride.
Are you that one bride?






Vera Wang's dresses. From the bag
lady line? Scary. Or maybe its the
hairdo that is scary. Or maybe its the
expressions on the faces of the models.
They look miserable.



The I forgot to put on the top of my
dress~dress.
I've actually seen this dress, it looks
like a bustiere bra You can see through it
Save your money, buy a bra and a slip and
get the same look for about a hundred bucks.
Your future mother in law will have a heart
and you probably can't get into any church.
But you WILL be the center of attention.
Definitely a BOLD look.



I'm wearing the cake dress. So 80's.
Buy a dress at a resale shop for the
same look. Love the Madonna gauntlets
(fingerless gloves).


The black widow wedding dress.
This is so Anna Nicole, RIP.


This dress won't look good on anyone
unless you are as tall as Lebron James.
A total cha cha dress. The peplum is
80's, the skirt late 80's.



This dress is so 70's. It looks like
you are wearing your mom's wedding dress.
Her taste has to be better than this confection.



WTF? This looks like a costume
out of a Russian museum. Note the
head gear. Love the apron.




How ugly is ugly? Cut a hole
in the bodice of a dress and put a
clear plastic strap to keep the girls
in check. Horrible. Perfect for
the gals with "enhancements", who are
totally lacking in taste.

This Week's Head Smacker!

Hang in there, I have a point!

"Beth" walked into the bridal salon today. I recognized her, she'd been in a lot of times trying on wedding dresses. Beth was crying. She's purchased her wedding dress off the rack at a big box bridal store on sale. She begged me to help her, said she was having problems with getting her wedding dress altered. No one would touch the dress, and price quotes if she did were running over $750.00.

Always up to a challenge and feeling sorry for her, I said I'd help if I could. What is the problem with the dress?

Beth: (sobbing) "Its too big for me".

Me: "Let me see the dress. OMG, this is a size 12. You are what? A size one?"

Beth: "No, I'm a size zero."

Me: " I am not sure it can be done, that's a full 6 dress sizes. The neckline is too big and its already cut and can't be made smaller. The bodice has darts that are cut and in the wrong spot for you and the armholes are too big. I don't think it can be done without putting a new top on the dress." (Hello...out there....do you hear me Beth?)

Beth: "I want the trail cut off and the lace rounded like it is on the trail. (the train of the dress) I don't want it bubbled up in the back. (She means bustled, I'm translating because I speak bride).

Me: " Beth, it can't be done by just cutting off the train. Your dress has a carriage back that is edged in lace and it can't be put back on because of the way its cut. You'd have to take the dress apart at the top and the side seams and reset the zipper. Its major to do it from the top. "

Beth: "But that's what I want. I spent $250 for this dress 'cause I don't want to spend a lot on a dress that I am only wearing one time. But now I want to wear it again."

*Me...eyes rolling....thinking...where in God's name are you going to wear THIS formal wedding dress again? A Halloween party?*

She says church or another wedding.

*ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??? You'd go to church or someone else's wedding wearing a formal wedding dress? Were you hit in the head or are you THAT stupid?*

Me...drawing diagrams, talking about dress construction, talking to the wall. So I come out and ask her...."Beth, why would you buy a dress that is too big, needs cleaned and has a train if you don't want a train?"

Beth: "Because it was in my price range. "

I told her something she didn't want to hear as nicely as I could, but I wanted to scream at her:

You were sold a bill of goods by a really good COMMISSIONED salesperson who didn't give a damn about you. You spent $250 and your alterations are going to cost you triple that amount and its going to look like crap. That's a thousand dollars. Add another $100 for cleaning. Your bargain is a really expensive bargain. You could have ordered a brand new pristine dress that fits you and needs only minor alterations for half that amount. Or you could have bought an informal wedding dress without a train in your size for the amount you paid for your too big, dirty dress. Of course, I didn't say what I though,but I wanted to! When she walked out the door, I did the old head smack and muttered wtf a few times.

I know she'll schlep the dress to a dozen more places until she finds someone who will rig her dress together. She'll either wear it and tell everyone her wedding was ruined by that seamstress, or she'll buy another dress at the last minute and tell everyone costs and stress ruined her wedding. She'll blame everyone but herself.

My point:

• Don't be talked into anything when you are shopping for your wedding dress. If it doesn't feel right, don't buy it. Don't be high pressured.
  
  
• When you are considering buying an off the rack dress....ask the in store seamstress to look at the dress and give you an estimate of your alterations costs. Every dress needs some form of alterations UNLESS you fit the size chart exactly and are 5 foot 9. The odds of that are slim and none. You have to factor the cost of alterations and add it to the cost of the dress.
  

• Add all the extras such as cleaning into your bargain dress. I personally would not buy a dirty dress, no matter how cheap the price. Not only is it a hygiene issue, but cleaning and pressing is expensive.

• If the decide to buy a dress off the rack, don't buy it because its a bargain you can make over. Buy it because you love it. Buy it because it makes you look fabulous and FEEL fabulous. Don't buy it just because its cheap, you'll so regret it.
  

Before You Order That Wedding Dress Directly From China...

You have to read this!

You've seen the wedding dresses on the web that tell you that you can save hundreds or thousands of dollars on your wedding dress by buying direct from China. Are you willing to gamble your money on the most important dress of your life by buying an unseen dress from an unknown source? Before you click the buy button, please make sure you know WHAT you are buying.

There are some amazing deals on wedding dresses. Some are from major bridal manufacturers and are bona fide bargains, some are cheap imported "knock offs" of designer gowns. Don't risk being disappointed when your dream gown arrives and it isn't what you are expecting and looks nothing like the picture on the web site.

Buyer beware, if the deal is too good to be true, it probably isn't a deal! You cannot buy a great wedding dress for $29.95. Its not possible and it's not going to happen. You will receive exactly what you've paid for, a $29.00 dress.

The internet is over run with imports from the far east. They are NOT the manufacturers of the original wedding dresses you've seen in the bridal magazines and on the racks in bridal salons. They are not made in the same factories as the original gown. These are "knock off" dresses. The quality is inferior, the fit is inferior, the designs are either outdated or modified from the original or may look nothing like the original. The fabric or embroidery or beading may be different. There are bridal salons that will put the knock off dress next to the original dress so you can compare what you will actually receive when you order direct. It's an eye opener. Think of it as the difference between Nordstrom's and a big box retailer.

The photos you see online belong to the major bridal manufacturers. They've designed, manufactured and marketed the design. The knock off artists illegally use photos from the original designers catalog or web site. That's a violation of copyright laws. You are led to think that the gown is a major brand name, but its not. The knock off artists are stealing.

You will not only pay an inflated shipping fee from China to the USA, you are also liable for customs fees once your purchase hits the USA. Customs fees are nonnegotiable. You won't know the amount of the fee until the dress is delivered. You pay the customs fees or you don't get your gown. Add that onto the bargain price, and ask yourself, "Am I saving money?"

Things you need to know:

There is a big difference in the quality of bridal fabrics. There are different grades of satin, silk, etc. The fine fabric you seen on the gown on the rack is not going to be the same. Inferior fabrics will be lightweight and show more wrinkles. They may also water spot when the dress is steamed and pressed and are very difficult to press.

There is a major difference in the cut of the dress that will affect the fit of the gown. Quality dresses have boning in the dress to keep it up. It may also have an inner elastic belt to keep the dress in place and to pull in the waistline. Some quality dresses will have a completely built in inner bra. They are masterpieces of design. Don't expect to get that in a bargain knock off dress.

A quality dress will have a built in crinoline that is encased between layers of fabric so the crinoline doesn't scratch your body. You won't need to wear an additional crinoline with your dress. An inferior dress may have rough crinoline without a lining so that the crinoline rubs your skin. You'll have to buy a crinoline to keep your stockings and skin from scratching. That's another added expense.

A quality dress will be lined in a satin or similar fabric so that it is not see through. This is important especially if you are buying a sleek gown fashioned of chiffon or charmuese. An inferior dress will have a cheap taffeta lining and as a result, you can probably see through the dress. You'll have to do a lot of shopping to find a long slip to wear under this sleek dress, they just aren't that readily available and may not do the job. You may have to take the dress to a seamstress to have it relined, more added expense.

A quality dress will have small intricate embroidery, fine lace and hand sewn bead work. The bead work will be authentic crystals. A knock off dress may have glued on sequins instead of beads, cheap lace, garish embroidery and plastic "crystals".

Beware of any company that guarantees you a custom made dress to your measurements and deliver it in 4 weeks from China. They can't guarantee you the exact time, because there is no way to determine how long the dress will be held in US customs. There is no way to expedite anything through customs.

Check the sellers feedback. Many of the sellers sell on independent web sites and on Ebay. Ebay has feedback for a reason. It will tell you the integrity and reliability of the seller.

Even if you think this is just a dress you will only wear one day in your life, you'll want to look beautiful and feel beautiful on your wedding day. Its the most important dress you will ever purchase in your life. Add up the extra expenses involved in your bargain dress and then decide if you are wiling to gamble with your wedding dress.

For more information on this topic,Click here.

Rose Trifero is an internationally known expert in the field of weddings and bridal fashions. She has been involved in the industry for over 30 years and has written and been quoted in national bridal magazines including Vows, the magazine for bridal professionals. She is also the force behind http://www.beachbride2be.com , a source of information for destination weddings.