(Note to my Mr. - This post is not for your eyes! Serious consequences will occur should you give into temptation...)
Wedding dreses do not have to cost thousands! There's the option of wearing a BM dress, making your own, or even buying a dress that is not custom-made (but I can understand why you would want to). So I'd like to share my story as proof that you can find the dress of your dreams for much less than you think. But because I don't want this post to be only about me, I've decided to color the parts which I recommend others doing as well.
The first place I went to look for a dress was to magazines and online. Doing this gave me a good idea of what was out there and what I might want. I searched various styles and prices, and decided that I wanted a strapless, A-line white dress with a small train for $99. The best price I could find for my simple yet pretty dress was at JessicaMcClintock(dot)com. It was perfect in every way of what I wanted - except for the price (remember, I like the challenge of finding what I want for the lowest price). So with that dress (which we will call Stephanie) in mind, I headed out to the Jessica McClintock Outlet in San Francisco, which was having a 50% off everything summer sale, to try on dresses for size and do the whole "might look better on you than on the rack" thing that we can't do from our computers.
Taking the advice of many, I only took two people, one being my BM, Y. As we were looking through the racks, I found some dresses that were nice but not quite the whole shebang. Thankfully, because I read that your bridal size will probably be bigger than your normal size, I wasn't as alarmed nor feel as fat as I would have had it been the first encounter with sizing. My BM was a great help, not only in looking for a dress, but also, driving, zipping, squeezing, hanging, and "Awwww"ing. But the greatest help was her finding Stephanie! After trying on the dress, I knew it was "perfect." Though the retail price was $400, the outlet price was still about half of that price. So I went to the counter and asked about the price, and was told that it was only $40. I thought I had heard wrong but upon questioning, it was indeed less than half of my budget for my dress.
This was great, so while I was asking, I decided to ask about the price for BM dresses, too. 75% off. This sale was crazy (either that or I was losing it and hearing things that I wanted to hear). Though I had to look through hundreds of dresses, the hard work was worth it. I found the silvery-blue kneelength dresses for each of my gals and was able to go home as one happily buzzing Bee.
This was great, so while I was asking, I decided to ask about the price for BM dresses, too. 75% off. This sale was crazy (either that or I was losing it and hearing things that I wanted to hear). Though I had to look through hundreds of dresses, the hard work was worth it. I found the silvery-blue kneelength dresses for each of my gals and was able to go home as one happily buzzing Bee.
Budget for dress: $100
Actual cost of dress: $37.50
Actual cost of BM dresses: $12.50
Actual cost of bargain-hunting: Priceless
And now I present to you, Stephanie (photo taken from JM):
Actual cost of bargain-hunting: Priceless
And now I present to you, Stephanie (photo taken from JM):
What and where was your best bargain find?
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