Holy bankruptcy, Batman! $6,000 and up for a wedding dress?! Clearly I had nothing in common with these brides. I was going to have to do my research elsewhere.
Since then I've consulted my mom, my maid of honor, friends and acquaintances, and of course my good pal the internet. I threw a bit of creativity in the mix and bam! I was starting to see some beautiful dresses at a price I could live with.
I don't want to get into the specifics of what style I'm looking for. I want that to be a surprise for everyone (especially for my fiance, in case he reads my blog)! But I do want to talk about some ideas we came up with for finding an amazing dress that's under $500.
#1 - David's Bridal
This was an obvious choice. About 2/3 of the gowns here are priced at $500 and under.
#2 - Shop the bridesmaid/special occasion section
I found a couple of shops during my web search that had wedding dresses I loved, but they were all out of price range. Well, if I like their wedding dresses, wouldn't they have other styles I'd like too?... Ding ding ding! I found a bunch of dresses in the bridesmaid section of these websites that were every bit as pretty, could be ordered in white, and cost about half as much as a "wedding" dress. Score!
#3 - Shop a regular clothing store
This was my maid of honor Sophie's idea. I feel stupid for not thinking of it first! It's spring, so shops are getting in a lot of white right now. It can't hurt to check these places out!
#4 - Shop the suburbs
As one might expect, dresses in LA and Orange County cost more than you'd find in other places. Even though the styles are exactly the same. My mom did me a favor and scoped out Enid Bridal Shop in my hometown of Enid, Oklahoma. And sure enough, she was finding designer gowns at about $300. So if I haven't had any luck out here in California by late June, I will take a day of my planned vacation back to Oklahoma in July and do some shopping. Plus, that means my mom would actually get to go dress shopping with me. I know that would make her happy. :)
If anyone's got more ideas for finding great wedding dresses at awesome prices, please let me know! I had a few friends recommend renting a wedding dress, something I didn't even know you could do! And though I've decided I definitely want to own my wedding dress, I'm glad my friends told me about it! It's a really good idea for someone wanting to wear a designer gown, but doesn't have the budget for it.
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| A woman after my own heart, Kristen Wiig knows a good deal! |
Sophie and I are planning to make our first wedding dress outing by the end of this month. I'm nervous, but it's a good nervous! I've done my homework so I have a good feeling that my dreams of finding the perfect dress are well within reach!
**Louisa**
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