New Hampshire

Tell me if I'm crazy, please! Kinda long...

Hey ladies!

Newbie here!  I posted my first post the other day on the Wedding Classifieds board because I was hoping to find someone that was selling a Maggie Sottero Leoni dress.  I tried it on at Modern Bride, but forgot to look at the price tag before doing so, and it is $1400!  I have checked my area craigslist as well the craigslist sites for many major cities and anywhere I have family that could pick it up for me.  In doing a google search, the only places I could find that were selling the dress used were in Northern Ireland and the UK.  I also checked out sites such as Once Wed and other sites designed to buy/sell used dresses.

So, I have only been looking for a couple of weeks and my wedding is not until June, so I know that I have plenty of time and should not panic. BUT, I did find the dress on a Canadian craigslist.  Here's where the crazy part comes in: it is a seven hour one way drive (380 miles).  The dress is listed at $800 (roughly 840 once converted to USD).  If I figure in 100 bucks for gas (I drive a Civic) and maybe $40 for tolls, I am saving approx $450. 

The dress I tried on in the store was a size four and was so tight, my ribs hurt.  The dress for sale is size 8, which I think will probably be perfect, but even with alterations, I would still be saving money (I don't know how much alterations would cost).

What do you think of this plan?  Is it crazy?  Should I keep looking locally?  I was thinking of possibly driving up during my vaca in September and bringing some friends along to make it into a road trip adventure.  (I wouldn't go alone anyway for safety reasons.)  Other than driving up, I'm not sure how else to do the transaction.  If I sent the money and something was wrong with the dress, what recourse would I have?

One last point-I was thinking that I could probably sell the dress after the wedding for at least $600, so I would recoup most of my money after the fact. 

Re: Tell me if I'm crazy, please! Kinda long...

  • edited December 2011
    Crazy. Way too far to drive to save a few hundred dollars. Your time is worth more than that. Did you try looking on ebay? or other online shops?
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  • edited December 2011

    LOL!  Yeah I did try ebay and other online shops.  I was thinking it may not be so crazy if she could ship it, but I'm just a little nervous about going that route in case if something is wrong with the dress. 

  • edited December 2011
    Yeah, CL is generally a cash/in-person transaction. I'm assuming the CL dress is a used dress too. Are there any trunk shows coming up that might have this dress at a discount? I think you are better off ordering a new dress than gambling on a used one that isn't *that* much of a discount and is very difficult to get.

    You have plenty of time to shop around more. Why don't you get a quote on when a new dress would need to be ordered by and then set that as your deadline in searching for a used/cheaper one. You can always cut back on other areas of your wedding to be able to afford the dress. $1400 is not outrageous :)
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  • edited December 2011
    Have you tried NetBride or Pearl's Place?  Generally they can quote you a price for a brand NEW dress shipped to your home that's less than the salon price.  Both places have gotten good reviews around here.  Personally, I would not drive that far for a dress.  I would either keep looking or try to find a way to get it cheaper. 

    And remember, Modern Bride does include some of their alterations in the price, which may be worth it for you dependng on your situation.  I also bought my dress at Modern Bride and waited to buy it the day after Thanksgiving when they have a big sale.  You could call and see if they're still planning on having the sale this year.

    Hope this helps a bit!
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  • edited December 2011
    Hi cgpm!  I just got great inspiration from your planning bio! Did you do engagement pics with your photographer?  I can't believe how inexpensive she is, and you gave her a great review!

    Also, don't those after thanksgiving sales only pertain to in stock dresses?  The one I tried on was way too small.  I know Madeleine's Daughter has an after Thanksgiving sale advertised, too, so maybe I can check that out.
  • mlhw NHmlhw NH member
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    edited December 2011
    There is a second hand shop in Somersworth, NH.  It's on route 108.  When I googled it to find the info it says that the phone number is 603 617 3620.  And it is at 217 NH 108 Somersworth NH.  You could give him a call and see what he's got.  I stopped in a few times looking for flowergirl dresses and didn't have luck.  I was looking for two of the same in two different sizes though.  Hope this helps. 
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  • DrPB2b13DrPB2b13 member
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    edited December 2011
    If you don't mind purchasing a used dress, a couple of my friends have had good luck at http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/

    They tell you whether the dresses are used, new with tags, or samples, as well as the sizes and how it has been cleaned and preserved since it was worn.

    Your other option is, of course, to email the person selling the dress on Craigslist and ask if they'd be willing to ship it if you sent a check.
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  • dls.1215dls.1215 member
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    edited December 2011
    That may be a little crazy of a plan, what if you get up there and the dress is in worse condition than listed and you don't want it anymore?  Your out the money for gas and a few days of your time.  Modern Bride has sales every year at Thanksgiving I believe and its off ordered dresses so you could get your size.  Good luck!
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  • edited December 2011
    I think by the time you go through all of that trouble, it would have just been worth it to buy the dress from the get-go.  I say just wait until a sale comes up and jump on it.  Good luck!
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  • edited December 2011
    You're crazy! haha No dress is worth that much work! I'm sure you can find a similar dress from another designer, shop around!
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  • edited December 2011
    Rule number one of wedding dress shopping: Determine a budget that you won't go over! LOL. Check out preownedweddingdresses.com, you can search by size, style, designer, etc. Also, Maggie Sottero usually has a bunch of dresses that are similar styles. Sottero and Midgley's Bennett looks very similar and is priced at around $988. I'd call Modern Bride and ask what their price would be. I did this with them for my dress, (Sottero and Midgley Adorae). I had called a few other bridal salons in the region and they quoted $1149, Modern Bride quoted me $998 with a free bustle and press. You can always say you saw the dress at another store for less money, oftentimes they're willing to work with you. They may knock off a couple hundred bucks and make it a little more doable. GL!
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  • edited December 2011
    Basically, I think it worked out to be 10% off if you bought the dress new and kept the alterations package, 20% if you bought the dress new and didn't take the alterations package.  I didn't need a bustle so I didn't take the alterations package and just took the 20% off.  You could take your dress elsewhere to be altered for less.

    We did not do e-pics with our photographer, although she does them.  She really was great to work with and I highly recommend her.  If you'd like to see our pro pics, I uploaded them to our Shutterfly share site at:  http://thematthewswedding.shutterfly.com

    I'm glad my bio inspired someone!  Haha!
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  • mariegramariegra member
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    edited December 2011
    Don't do it....many, reasons...most of which have already been mentioned.  Legally, you'd have no recourse if anything went wrong dealing with a private international transaction.  I recommend you either continue looking for a better deal locally, or reconsider your choice of dresses to something more affordable.  Just because I really like certain things doesn't mean I can always afford it, you know?  Sometimes, we have to deal with more realistic expectations.
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  • MOG730MOG730 member
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    edited December 2011
    You may have to pay "duty tax" on your purchase, so that would reduce your savings as well.  If you plan on smuggleing it, confiscation would be very costly too.  Best to hope for MB sale.
  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-hampshire_tell-im-crazy-please-kinda-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:101Discussion:640c168f-a8e6-4630-8362-c200b29ca503Post:1ed8a318-ed22-4625-812a-e04baacb9c4f">Re: Tell me if I'm crazy, please! Kinda long...</a>:
    [QUOTE]<strong>Hi cgpm!  I just got great inspiration from your planning bio! Did you do engagement pics with your photographer?  I can't believe how inexpensive she is, and you gave her a great review!</strong> Also, don't those after thanksgiving sales only pertain to in stock dresses?  The one I tried on was way too small.  I know Madeleine's Daughter has an after Thanksgiving sale advertised, too, so maybe I can check that out.
    Posted by NinjaBikeBride[/QUOTE]


    Hey! So I am new to the site and tried to go to CGPM's bio site to find who her photographer was since I'm considering doing engagement photos... but I couldn;t figure out where to look! And everytime I clicked "my vendors" it just brought me to my own page lol I won't ask you to explain the ways of the site to me, but can you please let me know the name of the photography that was used? Thanks :)


    As for the actual questions posted (lol) I would do as others suggested and find out if there is an after thanksgiving sale. I think the ride is not worth the money (especially since it might not be in the best of condition once you get there) and I think since you have so much time to look you will be better off trying to catch it on sale or trying to find something similar.
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  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_new-hampshire_tell-im-crazy-please-kinda-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:101Discussion:640c168f-a8e6-4630-8362-c200b29ca503Post:90175989-db4d-42e4-8a97-5ca1efe49263">Re: Tell me if I'm crazy, please! Kinda long...</a>:
    [QUOTE]  She really was great to work with and I highly recommend her.  If you'd like to see our pro pics, I uploaded them to our Shutterfly share site at:  <a href="http://thematthewswedding.shutterfly.com" rel="nofollow">http://thematthewswedding.shutterfly.com</a> I'm glad my bio inspired someone!  Haha!
    Posted by cg-pm52111[/QUOTE]

    Hi msowena!

    Here is the quote from cgpm about her photographer.  If you click on her bio and go into married bio, then click on reviews, it will give you her photographers name and her review of her.

    HTH!
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