How do you find an offbeat dress?

phoenixqueene

I am planning a completely non-traditional wedding, hooray! This will be my second marriage, so I figure anything goes, and my man is no ordinary guy. We like going against the norm.

My question is, where can you go to find an untraditional, non-white wedding gown? It is hard enough looking for them online. I even thought of looking at prom dresses, but I feel like they are made so cheaply sometimes. For those of you who have found your dream dress, where did you go to get it? Was it a local place?Did you buy a prom dress? Or did you have to buy it online and hope it looks good on you? 

emmyg65

I bought a bridesmaid's dress. Also look at cocktail dresses or gowns. Places like Nordstrom and Macy's have some pretty, long dresses. And of course, there are tons of cute shorter dresses.

holymatrimonybatman

i bought a vintage dress from a thrift shop. i wasn't even looking for the dress, that was the kooky thing. 

phira

I had been looking at bridesmaids dresses, but wasn't finding the right kind of dress for me. I looked at all those white wedding dresses and think, "Okay, that's perfect ... except why isn't it in blue?"

My cousin suggested I look at evening gowns, instead of bridesmaids dresses. I ended up finding a lovely designer evening gown that was certainly more expensive than the bridesmaids dresses I'd been looking at, but it was exactly what I wanted. I highly recommend this route.

There are also a lot of designer prom gowns, so it's not all just like ... the junior's section of the department store.

bearslayerwife

www.pacificplex.com

Anaelsea

www.bhldn.com

hellohkb

I suggest looking at stores or websites that sell prom or evening gowns. I've seen some gorgeous ones on Mori Lee's and Jovani's websites. Very unique and very stunning.

kerbohl

I ended up getting a white dress that I know I could customize, because I had no luck finding the dress I wanted in blue.  I hope you have better luck than I did!

BarryToBeX3

My mom had her offbeat wedding dress made by her sister. It was a light pink with those big hippie sleeves and super short.

I found a cheap dress on ebay ($11) and tie dyed the inner layer. When I got it, it didn't fit, but I'm hoping I can find someone who can let it out for me. 

stephalovely

Etsy!

lookame3639

I went to a store outside the city, they carry lots of prom and formal dresses and they get in sample bridal gowns. My wedding dress is a classic type dress but I saw a dress there(a wedding dress) which was like blue lace with a crystal type belt around the waist and train...the works. It was a really neat find but it didn't fit and wasn't good with the venue. But it was super cool

PrincessMich425

Mine is a bridesmaids dress. I didn't know where to look either and a coworker suggested it. Viola. Found one

hellohkb

BarryToBeX3 WOW! That is beautiful!!

weddingmcgee

I'm renting my dress from renttherunway.com. It's nude and it's beautiful! It's a $3000 dress that I am renting for $70. Win! I hated the idea of buying a white/ivory wedding dress and then never wearing it again. It would just take up room in my closet. Plus, I just felt silly in white. It was so.... white. Then I saw this dress and fell in love. And I get to ship it on back to NYC so some other lucky lady can wear it after me. Granted, if you buy something other than a traditional wedding dress you can wear it again. A friend of mine bought a dress from Nordstrom and actually wore it to a military ball about a year after her wedding. 

cowgirl_tarr

I'm going with a long white tutu... My sister hates the idea but I am having a Paris themed wedding and I think it fits in with all my other ideas.

at8408

I got a mother of the bride dress at Macy's. It is super similar to some of the Demetrios styles they carry, but I was able to choose the color.

tegannie

I'm having a medieval themed wedding, so I wanted a medievalish wedding dress. I found mine at a vendor at Texas Renaissance Festival called Boss Wench (thier website is bosswench.com).  I got the wedding version of the Lady Madison, added a few extra skirts and one of their corests, ad I love it!

seestarsbythesea

I've been looking on etsy.com for a bohemian off-white or pale-pink long lace dress.

GuitarSlayer

Vintage shops, both online and locally.  They don't necessarily have to specialize in bridal either -- some places have formal gowns on the racks along with everything else in their stock.  You may have to canvas an area and check whenever you go on vacation.  Make contacts with a few people that own these shops, and see if they can keep their eye out for your "look."  Also, tailors still make dresses -- not as common as it once was, but they have all the skills to do it.

weddingcactus

I noticed that some of the wedding dress designers also have evening gown collections. I was just looking at Liancarlo and noticed they have some really gorgeous evening gowns, as well as some really stunning black and white wedding dresses. 

aggiespartan

I got very lucky and found a dress maker with very reasonable prices. He does wedding gowns and wedding party dresses. I just took him pictures of what I liked, and we combined one of the tops he normally uses with a skirt that he is going to recreate for me. He even helped me make a decision between a few skirts based on what he thought my personality was and my venue. It was a great experience. My first fitting is in October and I'm very excited and nervous.

onikisuen

Prom stores, consignment shops, tailors, online shops like Modcloth. Shoot Offbeat gowns are just about everywhere. I'm having mine custom made through either Coco's Chateau or weddingdressfantasy.com (they're both based in NJ so I just have to drive up for fittings)

pineapplesmoothie

I would recommend simplybridal.com.  I went with a short white dress, but it was also available in ALL (or most) the bridesmaids colors.  I actually almost ordered the blush, but went ivory in the end.