Cheap Wedding Dresses To Consider

If you flip through wedding magazines, they do not feature cheap wedding dresses. They show designer wedding gowns, some on anorexic waifs, others so freaky-looking that most would not be caught dead in them, certainly not I, but all very expensive, usually $1,000 or more.

If your budget is unlimited and you want one of the beautiful designer dresses in the wedding magazines, buy it with my blessings, but, if not, you can still look beautiful on your wedding day.

First, check the wedding shops when they have sales. David's bridal and other wedding shops have yearly sales where they "get rid" of last year's styles starting at $99, not a bad price! Check the department stores and catalogs for inexpensive wedding dresses. JC Penney, where I bought mine for $125 (my dress is shown in the photo below) has really great sales throughout the year so you may be able to buy a beautiful wedding gown there for a steal.

Consider purchasing a pattern that you love and the cloth you need and take them to a good seamstress in your town. Many will make beautiful bridal dresses dirt cheap because they need the money.

Case in point: When my grandfather passed away unexpectedly, my grandmother needed to support herself. She, along with my other grandmother worked in a clothing factory called Stardust, during World War II. She sewed beautifully so she set up a seamstress business in her home and got customers by word of mouth. I lived right across the road from her so I was there a lot and she had customers coming in and out of her house all during the day. Many of these customers came to her for wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses.

The gowns she created were incredible and her prices were way cheaper than bridal shops. The quality was also better because she did not leave loose threads hanging to come unraveled. The brides-to-be chose their own patterns and cloth so the dresses were as expensive as they chose them to be.

Ask around and see if some of your friends know of a good seamstress in your area. Below are some videos showing some of today's hottest new wedding dress styles. These are designer dresses so they are not cheap. You can get some great ideas and then make or design your own version of cheap wedding dresses. Get inspired from the designers. Then get creative. How can you accomplish the same look for less? Have fun with it!

Another source of cheap wedding dresses is a secondhand or thrift store. Some brides donate their beautiful dresses to these shops instead of keeping them. You can buy one for a song. And no one has to know where you got it. If someone asks, you do not have to tell them...No, I am not saying to lie, but you do not have to say that you bought it used.

Consider borrowing your wedding dress from a relative or a friend.

Ask your mother, grandmother, aunt, or cousin if you can wear her wedding dress. Say that you would be happy to return it, cleaned after the wedding. Some will pass it on to you, thrilled that you would want to wear her dress on your wedding day. Ask and see; you may be surprised.

One more thing to consider if you are a great seamstress. If you have months to plan your wedding and you love to sew and you are confident that you can do it, sew your own cheap wedding dress. Create the dress you want and save money. But, remember, you should not attempt this if you do not have the talent for it.

If you want to find inexpensive wedding dresses and wedding dress accessories, visit a David's Bridal near you or go online to their web site.

I recently read an article online about how cheap David's Bridal is and how people with money detest the store.

Back in December of 2008, we went there to find my son's fiancee's wedding dress, bridesmaid's dresses, a flower girl dress, and a mother-of-the-groom dress. Honestly, I thought the prices were quite high, but it is all a matter of how you look at things.

My daughter's bridesmaid dress cost $125 there. Don't get me wrong. It is a beautiful dress, but $125 is how much I paid for my wedding gown 22 years ago. Below, my daughter, Tiffany, in her David's Bridal bridesmaid dress. Doesn't she make a beautiful bridesmaid?

My new daughter-in-law paid about $300 for her wedding gown. Compared to the wedding gowns in magazines, that is pretty inexpensive. Her dress was beautiful. I am glad she did not spend thousands of dollars on her dress. What a waste of money that is when you will wear the dress one time, for just a few hours and that is it.

Below, two views of Cinnamon, my daughter-in-law, in her wedding dress. By the way, she did not buy the veil. She made it! Wasn't she a beautiful bride?

David's Bridal's average wedding dress sells for $550. A few times a year, they run specials, selling dresses for just $99. The dresses are beautiful and they are a great bargain. Do not believe the myths that designers and elitists tell you. Your dress does not have to be made of the most expensive materials in order for you to look great. Go with what you can afford, not with what others try to force on you. You do not have to spend a fortune on your wedding gown and wedding dress accessories.

The mother-of-the-groom dresses were way too expensive, plus they do not carry petite clothes and I am short. So I went to my local JC Penney Petite Department and got a beautiful dress with matching jacket with sequins and beads on the jacket. It was regularly $100 but was on sale for $49.99! It looks great on me and I love it. I did not need to get it altered at all.

Above is a photo of me in my mother-of-the-groom dress from JC Penney. So if you shop at David's Bridal during the sales, you can find some bargains, but most of the wedding dress accessories can be found cheaper elsewhere.