I think every bride to be dreams of her wedding dress, that moment in her life where she can look flawless. But if you have started wedding dress shopping you will know it can be pricey. I have come up with a few ways to save money while dress shopping, I have aimed this at the bride’s dresses but some tips can be applied to bridesmaid dresses too.
Dress tip one:
One thing that is getting more and more popular is Brides to be buying their dream wedding dress from Ebay. Quality and reliability varies massively, so research is vital. If you strike it right, you can get a made-to-measure dress for a fraction of a shop price. Simply search for "custom wedding dress" on eBay.
I have heard some really bad stories about sellers on ebay and how easy it it to get ripped off so remember Ebay has ratings system so carefully inspect what others have said before buying.
Dress tip two:
Secondhand dresses are becoming a massive part of saving money when planning a wedding and one way to get your hands on one is to use second-hand dress sites. They offer beautiful dresses for just a fraction of the RRP.
My advice if you are going to do this is to try on dresses in shops first. When you know the style and size you want you can then look online to see if you can find a secondhand version to get the dress much less. You could even buy accessories secondhand too.
Some sites to try are:
- SellMyWeddingDress
- Preloved
- The Dressmarket
- Gumtree
- EBay
Dress tip three:
Why not help yourself and others?
Oxfam has eleven specialist bridal departments that stock dresses from £150. Many dresses are donated by designers, straight from the catwalk and many are brand new. So not only can you bag gowns for a fraction of the price, you help a charity at the same time.
Dress tip four:
Department stores have started selling wedding dresses for a 'wedding on a budget' and BHS, Debenhams and many more offer great low cost alternatives, Its not just wedding dresses, flower girl dresses, bridesmaid dresses and even mans suits were spotted on the highstreet.
While having a look in Debenhams I found wedding dresses starting from £170 and some were on sale from just £50.
In BHS I found bridal dresses from £80-£475, as well as bridesmaids' dresses.
Hope this helps. Do you have any tips?
Luna x
