How Much Wedding Dress Rental Is and How to Rent a Wedding Gown of Your Dreams

We all know that wedding gowns can be rather expensive and not every couple can afford buying a dress for $5 000 or $7 000, to tell nothing about more luxurious variants. Wedding dress rental is a great way to get a beautiful gown at a more reasonable price. Moreover, now, it has become a trend. And even the well-off brides rent wedding gowns.

But how much is wedding dress rental? Where to get the dress? What to take into account while renting a gown? And is it really a great way to save the money? Let’s consider everything in more detail.

Pros and Cons of Renting a Bridal Gown

Berta wedding dresses

If you are thinking about what's better to rent wedding dress or buy it, consider the following pros and cons of the gown rental:

Pros:

- You can save a huge sum of money by deciding to rent a wedding gown and not to buy it. Nowadays, it’s possible to pay $100-300 for rental of wedding gown.

- The designer wedding dress rental is possible. You can get a cool designer wedding gown at a more affordable price. For instance, it’s possible to find a Vera Wang dress rental for a bit more than $1000.

- You don’t have to think about what to do with a dress after wedding. Many brides store their wedding gowns for years. The others even keep the dresses for their future daughters, but they forget that wedding fashion changes. If you rent a dress, you just return it to the shop and that’s it.

A luxurious open back wedding dress

- If you have a destination wedding, you have to transport the wedding dress to the city, the ceremony will take place at. But, you can rent a dress already at the destination city and forget about all the problems with transportation.

- Along with a dress, you can rent accessories like a veil or a headpiece, shoes, jewelry etc. However, not every wedding salon offers that.

Cons:

- While the prices for wedding dress rentals can be pretty low, there can be various types of additional fees. For instance, cleaning and alteration fees aren’t always included into the price of the rent.

- Not every dress may be available for rent as some wedding salons offer only dress purchasing. Moreover, it's possible that some gowns are for sale while the others are for rent only.

- You need to be careful with the dress and keep it in mint condition. If you tear the dress or stain it, you will have to pay extra.

A Lazaro wedding gown

- If you have specific sizing issues, it’s possible that it will be hard to find the proper dress. Not every salon makes alterations if the dress is for rent.

- If you return the dress after the due date, the wedding boutique may ask you to pay additional costs for being late.

- The wedding dresses for rental may be pre-used. Sometimes, it’s almost unseen but very often, the dress isn’t in the initial condition. So, if you want to rent a new dress, ask about such a possibility at the wedding salon.

Where to Rent a Wedding Dress

A marvelous trumpet wedding dress

In fact, more and more wedding salons and boutiques offer bridal gowns to rent as this trend becomes rather popular. That’s why, you can start the search from your local shops and ask them if they offer rental services. We are sure, that even if you live in a small town, it’s possible to find the wedding dress for rent to say nothing about such big cities as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.

You can also order wedding dress rental online. Recently, many sites, which offer to rent a bridal gown, have appeared. They have pretty good selection of wedding gowns for every budget. Some sites offer to order several dresses to try at home and return the ones you don’t need after making the choice. It’s very convenient if you are a busy person.

Honestly, we think that a wedding dress must be tried on before the final decision is made. Though there is a possibility to try on the dresses from online rental services, it’s easier to go to a brick-and-mortar shop, where the shop assistants will help you to select the proper dress. Moreover, the necessary dress alterations can be made at the same shop.

The Prices for Wedding Dress Rental

A gorgeous lace wedding dress

The minimal price for wedding dresses rental is $75. The rental cost of inexpensive dresses varies between $75 and $200. However, take care that the low price doesn’t have any hidden additional fees. Also, the selection of such dresses may be rather limited.

The choice of dresses with the rental cost of $250-500 is much bigger and you will be able to find the gown in any style and color. Moreover, many companies already include alteration and cleaning fees into the cost of the rental.

If you want to have a designer wedding dress, be ready to pay $600 and more. The price for renting a wedding dress by a famous designer may reach a couple of thousand dollars. Of course, as a result, you will get an exclusive bridal gown, not everyone can afford.

The Alternative Ways of Saving Money on a Wedding Gown

Wedding dresses by Alfred Angelo Disney

Now, you know how to rent a wedding dress. In case you want to save money, but want to keep the dress, you may have some alternatives to rent bridal gowns.

Firstly, you can seek for informal wedding gowns. If you don’t plan a luxurious wedding, you can easily buy a simple and convenient dress. Also, this variant works for country and beach weddings.

Secondly, you can buy a pre-owned dress. Some brides decide to sell their gowns and, thus, you have a chance to get a luxurious wedding dress rather cheap. As a rule, a pre-owned dress costs 50-60% from the price of a new dress.

An informal wedding dress

Thirdly, some wedding gowns can be sold with discounts. For instance, it can be a dress from the past collection or the one with some small defects, which are almost invisible. In addition, there are some wedding outlet shops throughout the country.

And finally, have a look at the dresses for bridesmaids or evening dresses in white or ivory colors. Surely, there will be some cool variants, which can be worn by the bride as well.

Of course, it’s up to you to decide if to choose wedding dress rental or buy it. The dress rental has many pluses and price is the main one. You have a chance to rent a luxurious designer dress for about $1000, while its cost is $6000. So, if the minuses don’t frighten you, you can definitely rent the dress of your dreams.

In addition, here is a video with some important tips on renting a wedding gown.