Can I rent a wedding dress??

t.kaufman

I am interested in renting a wedding dress. I still want an awesome dress, but see absolutely no reason to pay $1000 for a dress that I will wear for a few hours. I have no desire to keep the dress in a box and store it for the rest of my life... it all seems kind of pointless to me.

However, I don't know if this service even exists! Has anyone on here rented a wedding gown or heard of anyone renting one? How would I find a store that does this - or will they all just laugh at me? I know I can buy a dress and then sell it after the wedding... but it is hard to sell wedding dresses and you lose most of the money you spent anyhow.

In short, I want an awesome dress for a cheap rental price. Does this exist?

mbcdefg

Yes, rental dresses exist. Consult your local board, perhaps they know of a place.

However, I just want to point out that you don't need to spend $1K to get a nice wedding gown. There are lots of resources where you can buy one for much less than that ... and if you don't feel like trying to re-sell it afterward, you could always donate it to a worthy cause, like Brides Against Breast Cancer for example, so that another woman has the opportunity to wear a lovely gown.

You could buy a gown from preownedweddingdresses.com, oncewed.com, savethedress.com, Craigslist, eBay or the Nest's Trash to Treasure board. Some of these dresses are used, and some are brand-new and are just being sold by brides who found a better dress or had to cancel their weddings.

Jcrew.com has some nice dresses for under $500. So do department store websites, like Nordstrom.com, Dillards.com and JCPenny.com. Target.com even had simple wedding dresses at one point. David's Bridal and Group USA sell wedding gowns for low prices. Some bridal salons will sell you a sample for $500 or less, depending on the designer. Alfred Angelo gowns usually aren't that expensive, and I'm sure there are other designers that people here can suggest.

You could also order a bridesmaid's dress in white or ivory. This probably wouldn't run you more than $300. And some BM gowns today could *easily* pass as wedding gowns. If they're too plain for you, you could always jazz them up with some knockout jewelry, or some accessories (colored or jeweled sash, have a seamstress add some beading, great shoes, intricate veil, etc.).

But, yes, renting a gown is totally possible. Sorry that I don't know a website offhand.

berrytr

I completely agree with mcbdefg and she had provided you with some great options.  I purchased a very simple dress from Target.com and took it to a seamstress to add some small details.  I paid less than $200 for it and it is simply lovely.

Also, try lightinthebox.com.  They have some nice dresses that are inexpensive.

Also, some larger cities like Chicago (where I live) have bridal consignment shops that sell proe-owned designer dresses at a discount.

Hope this helps.