How to Buy a Wedding Dress on a Budget

Wednesday, June 7th

How to Buy a Wedding Dress on a Budget

Purchasing a wedding dress is one of the most important yet stressful events for the bride to be. So many factors have to be considered including the theme of the party, what style will flatter her the most and obviously the wedding dress budget. The average price of a wedding dress is between $1,000 and $2,000 at a local dress shop as a result of high overhead costs and low volume sales.

Today many brides are becoming more savvy with their efforts to shop budget smart and are taking their shopping effort to the internet. This allows them to save astronomically by bypassing retail markup and big overhead charges associated with maintaining a store front, paying for numerous employees, electricity, gas, rent and more. There are a variety of online bridal boutiques with a beautiful selection of wedding dresses from numerous designers in many styles and sizes. Shopping for a bridal dress online also saves you significant time and hassle over driving to and from various dress shops searching through their various inventories for the right dress at the right price.

Preparing for Your Wedding Dress Purchase:

• The very first step is determining your budget and how much you are willing to spend on your dress. If you start your search with no figure in mind you might not make a smart budget decision and have to incur cuts in other areas that will dampen your event. It's important to stick to the budget you identify and not quickly give in to the first dress you see. A less heard of designer can provide just as beautiful a dress as a one well known.
• Consider the entire event and what will look best given the theme, time of year and your personal style. A too formal dress with long sleeves will look awkward at a casual Summer wedding. A short informal gown will look out of place at a black tie affair. Will you be salsa dancing late in the night and need to have a gown that allows for free movement and comfort? Make a list of must haves in your dress and keep those aspects in mind as you start your search.
• Once you've achieved your wedding figure have a professional take your measurements so that you will have them available when you purchase your gown. Make sure you have on the correct bra as that can make a dramatic difference in your measurements. Unfortunately, wedding dress sizes are not standard across all brands and when ordering you'll need to utilize your specific measurements to purchase the right gown. Always error on the bigger end as dresses can be easily taken in where needed but not easily let out. Buying a smaller dress in hopes that you'll fit into it by the wedding is a risky decision. If you would like to lose weight, order the dress to fit you now and if the weight doesn't come off you'll not be naked at your wedding. If you do lose the weight a seamstress will fit the dress to your new size.

Shopping for Your Wedding Dress:

• A portion of brides are willing to wear a rental gown to their wedding. While this is not for everyone this is a way to save on a wedding dress. Use the internet to find a local wedding gown rental location nearest you and ask friends if others have had a good experience or not.
• Shop for your wedding gown online. This is one of the top ways to save on your budget. A number of online wedding dress stores are available to save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars off the cost of the dress at a retail store. If you have a specific designer or dress style in mind it's easy to find the same dress quickly from a quality wedding gown store with strong inventory. With your measurements in hand and your list of must haves pull a chair up to the internet and start wedding dress shopping.
• Choose an online wedding dress store that allows you to return your dress should you change your mind. This is an important aspect of successfully buying a dress online.
• Utilize independent product reviews to research the online seller before making your final decision. These companies take away much of the hassle for you by identifying return policies, history, customer service levels, selection, costs and more.

Buying an affordable wedding dress doesn't have to be stressful or a budget breaker. Taking steps to plan ahead before shopping and buying your dress online will help you cut hundreds to thousands of dollars over purchasing from a traditional wedding shop.