The gown of your dreams might have a pricetag from your nightmares. Many of the top designer styles are, of course, priced into the stratosphere, but you can find your dress or one just like it for far, far less. There are lots of tried-and-true secrets that brides have used to buy their dream wedding gowns at a fraction of the designer gown cost, and you too may soon be telling everyone about how you ‘beat the system.’ You don’t have to scout garage sales, looking for a used dress hanging from a tree limb, and you don’t have to settle for a ho-hum gown that doesn’t thrill you. It does take some extra time, and looking in the right place, but you can get a gorgeous wedding gown on a budget. Here are our top tips:

•Sign on to mailing lists. Go to every bridal gown salon in the area and sign on to their e-mail alerts lists. You’ll get advance, VIP notice of gown sales and last-minute scheduled designer trunk and sample sales. You took the time to sign on, you get an advantage over all the other less-savvy brides in your area when you get the VIP invite for the secret sale.

•Check out your favorite designers’ Web sites for the dates, times and locations of their sample sales and trunk sales. Not trunk shows, but rather their sales – where they’re unloading all of their gowns to make room for their new lines.

•Hit the department stores’ formal gowns sections, especially right after the winter holidays, to get bargains on gorgeous dresses that can be turned into your dream wedding dress style.

•Find a great seamstress who can take your store-bought gown and create a gorgeous train, remove sleeves, and fashion your gown for less.

•Use that same seamstress to copy a designer style. You buy the fabric, she or he makes the dress. Brides who have done this say that they saved over 40%.

•Find a gown at consignment shops, where all of the brides who don’t want to save their gowns put them to make some money back. Don’t worry about ‘bad luck,’ though. It’s really good luck to find that Vera Wang for $100!

•A consignment shop gown can also be ‘tweaked’ by a great seamstress, changing the bodice, adding or removing sleeves, shortening the train, etc.

•Use an heirloom gown. Perhaps your sister or sister-in-law, or a friend, would let you buy her gown if she doesn’t wish to preserve it (not everyone does!). Many brides say their friend was happy to get her 50% of the original cost back.

•Check gown rental shops, the new trend coming up. Some tux places now rent wedding gowns, for just a fraction of the retail price. The owners go to designer gown sample sales (they were on the VIP list!) and they only rent each gown 2-3 times to make sure it’s fresh and unstained. If you’re not the sentimental type and wouldn’t need to preserve your gown, this option could get you into your dream designer dress for far, far less.

•Check out non-bridal stores. Little dress shops often have small sections where they keep their formals and wedding gowns.

•Check out the outlets. Some carry wedding and formal gowns, or gowns that would work perfectly for your bridesmaids, Moms and the little girls.

•Use coupons and special sales days at the department stores. A recent Macy’s sale delivered 15% off formal dresses, which saved the bride a lot on her gown and bridesmaids’ dresses.

•Negotiate for a discount when a sale or sample gown is stained. At the dress shop, if you’re shopping off the sale rack, be assertive (but never aggressive) about getting an extra 10% off because the dress is scuffed at the bottom.

•Use your credit card to buy your gown – never put down cash – and enjoy your money-back or rewards points for the purchase.

•Spend lots of time shopping for your gown – most brides go to 3-5 stores before buying. Don’t buy the first nice dress you see, even if you love it. Shopping allows you to really comparison-check.

•If you’re shopping off of eBay or another auction site, be really careful about the authenticity of a designer gown for sale. Check a seller’s credentials well.

•If you’re ordering your gown from a Web site, rather than in-person at a store (which really is the best way, but sometimes you have no other options…or you fell in love with a gown), check out their size measurements well and go a little bit bigger than you are so that a seamstress can take it in when it arrives. Be careful about ordering online – only use a store that has a street address and a good return policy. This one is at your own risk.

•Use an heirloom gown in the family. Perhaps your mother’s gown was perfectly preserved and she would love for you to wear it. Just a few adjustments, and you’ve saved thousands.

•Think twice about having extra adornments added to your gown. Those beads and crystals sewn on by hand add up to a big price. Keep it simple and elegant.

•Skip the crinoline purchase. Gowns aren’t that poufy anymore, and those that are have a built-in crinoline.

•Don’t spend a fortune on your veil. In some instances, they can be more expensive than the gown! See if you can borrow a veil from a friend (they’re often way more likely to lend out a headpiece and veil than a gown) or have a crafty volunteer make your veil for you using inexpensive kits from a craft store. Done well, these look every bit as elegant as a designer veil.

•Or, skip the veil and headpiece and just use jeweled hairclips (heirloom), or pearl pushpins (from the craft store) or single tiny flowers tucked into your updo.

•Don’t scrimp on good alterations. This is too important a job, considering that good tailoring makes a gown look perfect on your body. Comparison shop and get plenty of referrals from recently married friends.

•Keep your gown hanging high up on a doorframe, covered in plastic the days before you wear it. It costs money for a last-minute pressing that will be needed if you hang it in the closet.



Sharon Naylor is the author of 1000 Best Wedding Bargains, and
over 30 additional wedding books, www.sharonnaylor.