Where to Shop for Inexpensive Wedding Dresses?

Today, more and more brides pay attention not only to the wedding gown beauty but also to its price. Actually, not everyone can afford spending huge sums on the outfits, which will be worn only once. That’s why, we start to seek for the ways to save money on wedding attire.

In fact, the choice of inexpensive wedding dresses is very large. You just need to study this issue carefully, decide what exactly you need and find the places, where you can get what you want. So let’s get to work and discover how to get your dream dress without spending much money.

Tips on Finding Inexpensive Wedding Gowns

Girls choosing wedding dresses

Girls choosing wedding dresses

As the search of inexpensive bridal dresses isn’t one of the easiest tasks, we offer you some tips on searching for your perfect dress.

1. You can find nice cheap wedding dresses with 50% and more off if you consider the possibility of wearing a second hand wedding dress. As a rule, wedding gowns are worn for 6-8 hours and so, they can be in very good condition after being worn only once. You can shop for second hand wedding dresses at local online classifieds, consignment shops as well as sites, dedicated to buying and selling secondhand dresses, such as OnceWed, Still White or Tradesy.

While seeking for low cost bridal gowns, which were already worn, you need to pay much attention to the dress condition, how it was stored as well if it was cleaned. If you are buying online, read the description very carefully.

2. Some wedding salons have sample gowns, which are tried on by brides. From time to time, boutiques get rid of these dresses in order to make room for new collections. That’s why, they sell samples with very good discounts. Be ready that sample gowns may have some flaws. That’s why, check the dress carefully and make sure that the imperfections can be easily fixed through cleaning and mending.

3. What’s more, you are free to try shopping off-season to find wedding gown cheap price. Spring and summer are the seasons, when the majority of weddings took place. That’s why, the majority of sales happen in autumn and winter. Also, some models can have different prices, depending on the season. Thus, in winter, a strapless wedding gown may cost less than in summer while the one of thick fabrics and with sleeves can be sold with a discount in spring.

4. Nowadays, many retailers have their own wedding gown lines, which are usually much cheaper than the dresses, sold at wedding boutiques. Such affordable cheap wedding dresses from well-known retailers, for instance like J. Crew or BHLDN, may be not so luxurious like the designers’ ones and may fail to have too many styles to choose. However, the prices are more affordable thanks to the mass production and cheaper fabrics.

5. Basically, you can buy an evening or cocktail dress in white or ivory color and it will look no worse than a wedding gown. Moreover, if you consider wearing a colored wedding gown, the choice of possible dresses will be much bigger. It’s not a secret that evening and cocktail dresses cost less than bridal attires. But, actually, no one will know if you wear a wedding or evening dress if it’s of white color or its shades.

6. Simple inexpensive wedding dresses are a very good idea, which will suit you if you plan a modest wedding ceremony. Such gowns are much cheaper than traditional bridal gowns. Moreover, their main plus is that they can be worn after the wedding. Also, you can add some embellishments to the dress yourself and it will cost you less. For instance, you can complement inexpensive bridal gowns with a beautiful sash, lace bolero, jewelry and cute shoes.

7. Also, you can have a non-traditional wedding dress. For example, inexpensive beach wedding dresses as well as short wedding dresses look very cool. Or, you may have a colorful wedding dress or a thematic outfit, like a Victorian wedding dress. The other possible variants of alternatives to low price bridal dresses are jumpsuits, pant suits or a combination of a top and a skirt.

Shopping at Brick-and-Mortar Stores

Bride at a wedding boutique

Bride at a wedding boutique

The majority of brides shop for wedding dresses at brick-and-mortar stores. Though it can be very difficult and time consuming to visit a great number of stores in the search of the perfect gown, this method is the most popular. Its major plus is that you can see and try a dress on before buying it.

In fact, there are many places, where you can get cheap wedding dresses. Starting from sales at wedding boutiques and shopping at retailers’ shops, you may also find your dress at consignment or second hand shops. But no matter where you are going to buy a dress, you need to keep some things in mind.

- Set your budget beforehand. Before visiting any brick-and-mortar shop, you need to know exactly how much you can spend on a wedding dress. We don’t recommend trying on the dresses, which are too pricy for you.

- Start to shop early. When you are tight on a budget, but want to have a beautiful wedding dress, you need to start the search several months before wedding. Nobody knows how much time the search of the perfect dress may demand. So, it’s better to have a dress several months before wedding than not to have one a week before this important event.

- Make a research and find out where you can find the dress you need. For example, if you seek for something exact, like inexpensive boho wedding dresses, you need to look for the places, where you can buy them. If you don’t have any exact requirements and consider several styles and silhouettes, start the search from wedding boutiques sales and retailing shops.

- Don’t pay attention to sizes. The sizes of wedding dresses may differ a lot from the sizes of ordinary clothes. That’s why, don’t look at the numbers, but pay attention to how comfortable you feel in a dress and how nice it looks at you.

- Plan some additional costs. When you buy pre-owned wedding dresses or the ones with huge discounts, it’s possible that a dress will need some amendments. That’s why, keep in mind that you may need some additional money to mend the dress. Also, if you have a simple wedding dress, you may want to add some accessories to make it look festive. Or, it’s possible that a wedding dress will need some cleaning and it will demand some extra expenses as well.

- Know your merits and demerits. While seeking for a wedding dress, you must know your body peculiarities very well. Make an accent on the best parts of the body and hide all the imperfections. For instance, inexpensive wedding dresses with sleeves may help you to hide full arms while a strapless wedding dress may highlight your beautiful shoulders and bust.

- When you buy a pre-owned gown, a sample dress or the one at a consignment shop, have a close look at the dress. It may have some flaws like stains or be torn. Make sure that you are able to correct that before buying the dress.

Wedding Dress Shopping Online

Wedding dress online shopping

Wedding dress online shopping

Nowadays, online shopping becomes more and more popular. That’s why, even such items as wedding dresses are already sold at online stores. Though not every girl is ready to buy a wedding gown without seeing and trying it on, wedding dress online shopping gains momentum.

Among the major pluses of buying a wedding dress online are lower prices, greater choice, convenience and saving of time. You can find inexpensive wedding dresses online, which are of the same quality as their more expensive analogues at wedding boutiques. Moreover, by sitting comfortably in your favorite armchair, you will be able to have a look at a wide choice of items at various shops. It’s really energy and time saving.

However, online shopping is often associated with risks. First of all, there are many scammers and so, you need to choose the company with much care, after reading the reviews and googling its name. Secondly, you buy a dress without trying it on and there is a possibility that it can be too small or too big for you. And thirdly, you can’t touch and see how the dress looks in reality. Sometimes, the dress on the photo and the one in reality differ.

In order to minimize your risks during online shopping, have a look at the following recommendations.

- Decide what silhouette suits you the most. It may happen that you like mermaid wedding dresses, but they may be absolutely not suitable for your body type. That’s why, before seeking for the dress online, visit your local bridal boutique to find out what silhouette is the most flattering for you.

- Do a research. As it’s impossible to touch a gown while shopping online, you need to know how different fabrics look like. You can do that at a bridal store as well as the shops, which sell fabrics. Inexpensive lace wedding dresses, the ones of tulle and satin are very different and you definitely need to know what the difference is in.

- Read the description very attentively. Pay attention to all the details, provided by an online store in the dress description. If something isn’t clear, ask the consultant about help. Before ordering the dress, you must know its measurements, length, color variations, what fabrics it is made of, if it is lined or not. Also, if necessary, ask if they can add some customized features.

- Be careful with sizing. The size of your wedding dress may differ from the size you wear in everyday life. That’s why, pay extra attention to the sizing chart. If you have an opportunity, get measured by a professional as his/her data will be the most correct. However, you can also do that yourself. If you doubt, order a dress one size larger. You will be able to make in mended by a seamstress. Remember that it’s easier to make a dress smaller than bigger. Also, the length can be corrected if the dress is too long for you.

- Review shipping, cancellation and return policies. Find out in what cases you can return the item and what a time limit for that.

- Beware of website scams. That’s the most important piece of advice! Not all sites, especially the ones, selling inexpensive designer wedding dresses, are reputable. Read the reviews about the company, its products and services.

- If you seek for a dress at the final sales, you need to act very fast. Very beautiful dresses of good quality with huge discounts are sold out very fast. So, in order to get your dream dress and save your wedding budget, you need to react very fast.

- Order the dress beforehand. Never order a wedding dress a week or even less before your wedding day. Take into account that you need to try the dress on and make some alterations if necessary. You need to have at least a few weeks in store to make the dress suit you perfectly.

All in all, shopping for inexpensive wedding dresses is something that you need to prepare for beforehand. It’s not an easy task to find a cheap wedding dress of good quality, which you will fall in love with. However, if to organize everything properly, you will get exactly what you want and on a very good price.

Lesly White
 

Hi everyone! My name is Lesly White. I am the chief editor at TheBestWeddingDresses.com Blog. I am obsessed with wedding dresses and everything related to weddings. In my posts, I like to share the ideas of wedding gowns and accessories as well as provide brides with tips on how to prepare for a wedding.

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