My son’s teacher in elementary school would wear her gown every Purim. She dressed as Queen Esther. Oh, she was divorced.
I know in other countries, many brides rent their dresses, but not in the US. There are sites where one could rent ball gowns, but I haven’t really seen wedding dresses. I think it could be a great business. It is really a waste to spend that much money on a dress and never use it again.
I have the standard frou-frou Diana-inspired wedding dress of 1986. My parents had set a budget of $1,000. We all went shopping together (my dad was in the fashion business and has a great eye, so it was not unusual for him to accompany my mom and me clothes shopping). We go to the first store, which was either Saks or Neiman’s. Try on dress #1 in that price range. Nice but not “it.” Salesgirl brings out dress #2, says this is a bit above your price range but I think you will like it. (It was $1,800.I come out of the dressing room, my dad takes one look, starts crying and says “wrap it up”!
I doubt my D would ever wear it though - it was lovely but styles have changed and she’s built completely different from me. It’s preserved in my basement. I would sell it but H is upset at the thought and says we are not that hard up for money.
I agree the amount spent is ridiculous. I despise the mini trend a few years back of “trashing the dress” by deliberately jumping in a lake, getting mud on it, etc. after the wedding was over (and having it photographed). We don’t deliberately ruin things. I think that mini-trend seems to have faded thankfully.
I just found a web site that rents wedding gowns. Rental fee is about half of purchase price. I am not sure if it is such a great saving.
My nephew was in a production of the musical The Wedding Singer, which is set in the 80s and has several wedding scenes. My dress is very 80s (just celebrated #32) and would be perfect as a costume. Between the wedding dresses and the bridesmaid dresses and wedding guests I saw many familiar fashions on that stage!
My sister and I both wore my mother’s gown - at the time I wasn’t too happy about it but it was very important to my now deceased father. It was a beautiful gown, but my mother was married in winter and I was married in late summer - long sleeved satin is not what you want to be wearing!
I brought my wedding dress to a consignment shop and never saw it again ( first wedding )
It was made by a designer that made no two dresses alike. It was worn in a fashion show, so they sold it to me as a sample for a much lower price than it would have been in their shop.
I think it cost me $300 or so.
I am shocked at what people spend on dresses now. My daughters used to watch " Say yes to the dress "
All those gowns looked the same to me to be honest, and the prices are outrageous IMO.
My daughter found hers online and they custom made it for her, according to her measurements. I was worried , but it is lovely !
I volunteer at a charity thrift store. Folks bring old wedding dresses from time to time. We price them at $75 each…and they always sell…quickly. Some are not used for weddings. Purchasers have told me that they were using the fabric for crafts, making a christiening gown, etc.
D is marrying on Saturday. The cost of her dress was far less disturbing to me than the cost of the veil. When the kids were in elementary school and our academic team spent $500 on a set of buzzers (mid-90s), I thought I needed to be in that business because they seemed like a slick version of an easy science fair project in electricity. Now I feel the same way about veils. A little tulle net gathered on a comb for $300+. Wish I could get a piece of that action!
Look on etsy for veils. You’ll find tons - both vintage and new - for much, much less than $300!
^^^My daughter doesn’t want to wear a veil and so that saves money (that is not her reason)!
The year I got married, white dresses were in style. I got mine a couple days before wedding from some mall chain store, not Casual Corner, but something like that. Sixty dollars. I think my mom threw it out during one of her moves.
When my D was looking at prom dresses, we discovered Rent the Runway offers many dresses that could be used for weddings-quite a few of the pictures posted by renters mentioned using them as wedding dresses. They’re not as frou-frou as the big-budget gowns out there but they seem to be lovely dresses.
My dress in 1984 cost $260 - and it was the most expensive single thing I bought for years after. Poofy sleeves and a train. It did suit me, though. It’s still hanging in a closet and will eventually be tossed.
I did want to wear my mom’s dress - it was very simple - but my friend the patter maker/seamstress couldn’t make it work. We used part of mom’s head dress in mine and then for my daughters’ first communion veils.
My grandma’s dress from early '30s was beautiful. Net overlay, long, straight. It was only when looking at photos this year that I realized that she had a little jacket over it. My niece ended up with a dress that evoked it. Grandma’s dress is upstairs someplace, and the hope is that one day one of the other 5 girls will have it copied.
I watch say yes to the dress every so often and marvel at the women who spend $10K and up. I can find much better uses for that kind of $$, but I am definitely not in the high-powered, high-society demographic that apparently needs to have the dress.
I bought mine at a consignment store. It was a funny shop, they mostly sold beautiful crafts, but had some gorgeous consignment stuff as well. The dress was so gorgeous they had it hanging on a wall. They thought it was from the 1930’s. I loved it and it fit like a glove and I liked it better than any new dress I’d seen, so I bought it. I hope the first person to wear it also had a happy marriage.
My mother’s wedding dress was gorgeous, but it didn’t hold up and she’s a couple of inches shorter than me as well.
My daughter and her friends got a lot of wear out of mine, as they used it as a play costume for years.
I’m wondering if there’s a marketplace for people to buy high-quality used and vintage gowns. I’d certainly steer my daughter in that direction if she decided to marry. I know there was a shop in Sudbury MA that made wedding gowns out of antique lace and table linens. I don’t know if it’s still there, but I love the idea.
There is a thriving market for them. I’ve seen lots of high-quality and vintage gowns available in online stores, including Etsy, Craigs List, and in vintage/consignment boutiques. And, as someone upthread confirmed, there are also rental options. My SIL had her beautiful wedding dress made from a pattern by a local tailor. She bought the silk while on vacation in India, and had a stunning gown for a fraction of the cost. Frugal brides have been making do for ever. It’s only this Say Yes to the Dress generation that thinks you “have to” spend a fortune. (And I love Say Yes to the Dress.)
Well, I love watching Say Yes to the Dress also, but it’s really just a commercial for Kleinfeld’s and the few designers whom they favor.