Craigslist Wedding Dress?

nakabi

I think it is very smart that you would rather save your money for something a little more lasting.
Are there any consignment stores in your area? I have never been married, but I have seen some gorgeous wedding dresses at consignment stores very reasonably priced. Craigslist is just a little scary to me. You would have to be in someone's home, undressed, to try the dress on. YIKES!
My friend got married in the spring. She used the church gym for the reception - free and she got the tables and chairs for free. They also had white table cloths. We purchased massive amounts of red roses at the local warehouse club (Sam's) and made our own bouquets and flower arrangements. It was very simple, but looked very elegant, and didn't cost a lot.

I agree with this!

I would definitely check out the consignment stores! We have several here that have dresses for under $100 and they are gorgeous!!!! I bought a new one (first one I saw in a magazine that was exactly what I wanted) and got it for $300 (original price was over $1100).
We did all of our flowers and got married at our church. Total cost for the wedding was $3000. We saved a ton of money and a lot of people told us it was the most beautiful wedding they had ever gone to!
As long as you feel beautiful in your wedding dress, who cares how you got it or how much it costs?

Congrats and all the best!

ajbeans

I don't see any problem in buying a previously worn wedding dress - provided it's been professionally cleaned it should look as good as new.

Ultimately, it's all about the commitment two people are making together, not how much you spend.

Enjoy!

Just wanted to say, if you can't have it professionally cleaned, you can do it yourself if you're careful. The reason I got such a deep discount on my dress was because it was a little dingy from hanging in the shop so long, plus it had some stain spots on the back of unknown origin. When we got it home, my mom filled the tub with lukewarm water and Oxi-Clean, and soaked the dress in there for a little while. I can't remember how long. Anyway, it came out sparkling white, no stains whatsoever. So it is possible to clean yourself if you need to, you'll just need to be careful. Spot-test before you dunk the whole thing, just in case it discolors the fabric. You never know.

JustLindaLou

I found the exact dress I wanted at a "rack" store - brand new $600 dress for $100.
We wanted a Mexican fiesta theme, turned out the hotel where we had the reception offered a Mexican buffet for business lunches that was 1/5 the cost of the wedding menus, and the food was fantastic. (So were were able ot have open bar and still paid less than the wedding menu prices!)
We also decorated the tables with sombreros ($1/each) instead of bouquets, everyone had a blast wearing them and we have some really fun pictures.
Our splurges were the photographer and our honeymoon.

alyssaguirguis

Not about the dress but other money saving tips:
If you get married at right time of year, you need minimal decorations. A couple from our church got married this past Saturday, and the Christmas decor was still up. Beautiful, awesome pics and they didn't buy a thing. Same goes for Easter time if you get married in church. If you don't, I say get married outside and let nature do most of the decorating. There's lots of DIY info too for cheap centerpieces, etc.
Figure out what's important to you and put your money there. We wanted a dynamite photog and we paid a lot, but other aspects we held back on. We did not offer an open bar, for example, just a champagne toast and soft drinks. We also cut on things that aren't important to anyone...namely favors. We had our place cards tucked into two-packs of glass coasters. Combo place card and favor and each two pack cost about a dollar. There's no real need for a DJ if you have someone to MC the event (usually family members or someone from the event location can do it)...just have them announce time to cut cake, time for first dance, etc. You can rent big speakers from rent a center for like 30 bucks a day, with a mic, and set it up with an iPod. Then you make music mixes you like...one for arrival, one or dinner, one for dancing.
Also..this may sound knida bad but call in favors from anyone you know with a wedding related skill! Lot's of people make very pro-looking cakes now. Pay me, but they will usually charge way less than a pro bakery. Flowers can be arranged by amateurs and be lovely. Photography, DJ, hair/make up can often be done by someone you know and be beautiful. We bought invites with many of the formal parts, but emailed save the date, and printed place cards, programs, thank yous ourselves (could also do save the date and thank you at sites like shutterfly for much helper andSO cute...ESP if you don't specify wedding).
Finally, Limit your Guest List! Decide how many people you can pay for and then choose accordingly. We paid for our own wedding and I had fight after fight with my family about this, but in the end, my money so I won. I'm not inviting my dads friends from work just bc they bought girl scout cookies from me 20 yrs ago. I didn't invite a lot of very extended fam members (second cousins, etc) though my aunt invited some of them to my shower so I had to invite them, but if you're firm you can cut the list and every head you cut from reception is another $75 or so to put toward your honeymoon. ;-)

Congratulations of your upcoming wedding! :-)

Puffins1958

I agree, there is no reason why you should be stressing over money ... at what's supposed to be a very happy time in your life. I would rent a dress and do whatever it takes to make is a FABULOUS day, not a stress filled one. CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

ChristinelovesCraig

If you find a dress that needs to be cleaned, save yourself some money before you send it to the dry cleaners. If it is a polyester blended dress (not silk!!!!) you can wash it on gentle with some woolite or oxi-clean at home in a large capacity washer. Wash it inside out to protect the beadwork and do not dry it in the dryer. Hand it inside out by the lingerie straps somewhere high where it won't drag on the floor for a few days and it should look perfect if it doesn't have any stains like grease or makeup. Just normal wear and tear from samples being tried on should come out in the wash.

jbenton091011

Let me just start off by saying, the idea of spending a ton of money on one day makes me feel ill. What are your thoughts on a previously used wedding dress?

For that matter, does anyone have any ideas on how to do a "budget friendly" wedding?(I still want to have the dance and the dinner and the family there)

Firstly, Congratulations!! I loved planning my wedding and loved even more, finding a good bargain.

YEAH!! I'm all for you there! Weddings are so costly, and to wear a dress once and then have it chucked in a cupboard or given away is a dreadful thought when you have to spend so much money on it. I had mine made. I found a supplier on eBay and contacted them and had the dress made to measure for a fraction of the cost. To buy the wedding dress retail was going to cost £1200 but to have it made in China cost me £259 (including delivery!). I've had a friends dress made for her in China too and it cost me £99 including delivery. Scour the websites. Make contact with the suppliers you find on eBay and look into low cost wedding dresses made in China. The original versions come from there too the majority of the time. I was complimented over and over again on my dress. It was exceptionally well made and the material (though not dupon silk) was of excellent quality.

I saved money on my mom's dress and bridesmaid dresses by having all their outfits made to measure in China too. Just make sure that you measure and then measure again and that you have someone else measure you not yourself. Believe me, that doesn't work :-)

All the best and Good Luck!!

margueritebelmares05

I had our pastor and about 20 close family meet at a public park that had some places for people to sit, but we all just met there and had what we lovingly refer to as a "guerilla wedding." Then we all took off for a restaurant and did like a buffet catering deal. So we saved a lot of money like that. If you are entertaining the idea of buying a used wedding dress we are on the same side. You're going to wear it only once. Cut some costs and spend it on something more meaningful somewhere else.

bhalter

I think it's a great idea if you can find something you like! And sometimes the dresses on The Knot and Craigslist are even brand new - a lot are ones the brides bought and then later found their "dream dress" and weren't able to return the first one, so they heavily discount it to try to make part of their money back.

We're going for frugal! My bridesmaids will all be in casual dresses (hopefully) under $40/dress. We're making all of my reception centerpieces, and I'm going to making all the bouquets from wholesale online silk flowers. We're not having a ring bearer/flower girl, and we're not doing favors at the wedding. (I have NEVER kept a favor I got at a wedding, and typically, most of the weddings in my area don't do favors.) We're also doing suits for the guys, which are cheaper than tuxes.

umachanxo

Do silk flowers.
My wedding is costing only a couple thousand. I'm having a fully catered sit down meal at my reception and managed to get 100 plates for only $1200.

My dress is new, and it's a designer costing $1,000. I waited until after a gala and got it at $300.

Look for sales, any deals, and you should be all set.

finding_my_way

do what feels right to you. I am trying to plan the wedding on a SERIOUS budget and do not want to spend much on my wedding dress so I will go either preowned or Amazon actually has some really cute formal gowns for under $100.

margieward82

My dress came from Sear's on clearence, so I say go for it! You also might check out the deptatment stores after prom or Christmas dance to see what is on clearence. If I could have found a used dress, I would have been all over it! But I'm an odd size and we had an "odd" theme for our wedding.

As far as saving money, I'd look at invites that you print at home yourself (from Target or Michael's), we did donuts stacked in a tower instead of a groom's cake, table linens we had 2 runners on each round table (to make an "x") instead of colored table clothes, bought colored bandanas ($1 each) and used as part of the centerpiece (under a hurricane w/ candle) and on the buffet line for color, as check Oriental Trading Co for fun little stuff to decorate with

Have fun and congrats!

MadeInDR022

I have heard that somepeople rent their dress... I personally don't know if it is anything more than rumors but it could be true if you look into it.

My two cousins rented their weeding dresses, so no rumor
My mom found her dress at a Salvation Army...kinda tacky you think, but she had some things altered and what not and she looked amazing! I say go for it!

jennilea6

I say go for it. Anything that saves you money is going to benefit YOU in the end -- money you can spend on something else at the wedding, perhaps a grander honeymoon, paying off debt or sprucing up the new home together. No one cares if it is used -- and it's none of their business anyway! Congratulations and best wishes to you at this exciting time!!!

SabrinaJL

My sister got married on New Years Day in a $38 wedding dress she bought from a thrift store and she looked gorgeous. It was a beautiful dress.

rml_16

As far as the dress, do what makes you happy and comfortable. My best friend found a new dress through David's website for about $150.

krista010105

well i had a small wedding at a friends grandparents house. and i made my dress. i bought a very nice sleep satin looking white shoulder strap dress for $20 at a thrist store, had it cleaned at the cleaners then i sewed on my own sequins and burgendy trim my self. and it was good enough for me.

mummy_gerdes

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

my wedding was amazing - i loved it!

i dont know what your budget is like or where you live, but i got married a year ago and spent £4000 or just under on a church with the whole she bang, dress bridesmaids dress, suits, car, buffet for 75 bubbly on every table hall and dj - the whole lot basically. try asking friends and family if they know of any one with a nice car who wouldn't mind being a chauffeur for the day - my mums work friend did it for me and it was lovely as we knew him, a got a promotional offer on my dress - if i spent £500 or more i got a bridesmaids dress for free, i used my mums veil and bought my tiara off ebay, our hall was fantastic - everything was included in the price. we also had a later wedding - 3pm so people had lunch then we had a buffet for the evening that way you only pay out for 1 meal. hope this helps.

krista010105

save money any way you can. i dont understand people that spend $5000 on a wedding dress. or thousands on huge fancy meals and a well known location. find a new location that is trying to get established. they will offer lower rates.

momma3sweetgirls

Go for it! My dress was a sample gown at a store, was tried on by hundreds of people and it was dirt cheap! I saved money by having only 1 attendant (my sister) and her dress was of her choosing. Wedding cake is another potentially expensive item. I paid less than $100 for a beautiful AND delicous 3 tiered cake. I ordered it from a grocery store bakery!