Choosing Your Wedding Gown

The perfect wedding gown can transform a girl-next-door into a bridal goddess. But the price tag for goddess-like wedding attire can run a penny-pinching bride into debt. Designer gowns (ie. Vera Wang, Klein, Romona Keveza, Oleg Cassini, Rivini) can easily retail anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 just for the gown itself. Then tack on gloves, veil (easily $100 to $300) and any other kinds of accessories including jewelry, and the bride’s bill alone can topple $6,000. But savy brides know they can find beautiful wedding gowns and dresses for less on various Internet sites or with a little shopping around. Jennifer Bloom shopped from bridal boutique to exclusive department store until she found the perfect wedding gown with a luxury price of $3525.00 “Then I went home, powered up the computer, and found the exact same dress by the exact designer on a website for $2,000 less,” she said. Using her credit card, Jennifer paid for the gown and shipping costs. Two weeks later, the gown arrived in a heavy box with plenty of plastic-wrapping for protection. “I worried about it being shipped. Would it be damaged? What if it was the wrong one? Fortunately, the wedding was six months away, and I felt I had plenty of time even if I received the wrong order,” she says. The website had cautioned that the gown might take up to six weeks to receive, depending on the number of orders for that particular gown. The fitting was another story. A tailor fashioned the dress into the dimensions Jennifer needed at a cost of another $100. Then she and her bridesmaids shopped for a veil. They found the perfect one. The they headed to a fabric store for material, lace and a headpiece to make a copy. “When people asked where I got my gown, they were astonished to learn that I got both my gown and my veil at such a discount,” says Jennifer. “What I saved on my gown enabled me to spend more money on gifts for my bridesmaids and add more expensive flowers to the floral arrangement.” Jennifer figures she probably spent an extra hour or two on the Internet searching for her dress, time she would have spent being pinned and measured at a bridal boutique. “It was more than worth the effort,” says Jennifer. The other way to fight designer fees is to find a gown, ask for front, side and rear views of the dress, and ask your favorite tailor to fashion one similar for you. But be aware that tailors’ prices vary from one to the other. And you’ll be responsible for finding and purchasing the fabric for your dress. “The fabrics can vary so dramatically. They make look the same but they may actually be of a lesser quality than the retail, designer version,” says Leslie Connor, a tailor who specializes in wedding gowns and bridal party wear. And good fabric isn’t cheap. Italian imports may cost as much as $150 a yard, and construction of a gown may take up to 10 yards. Factor in a tailor’s hourly costs and additional fittings, and the gown may cost as much as originally priced. “But the beauty of a perfectly-tailored wedding gown is just that…it’s perfectly tailored,” says Leslie. Again the results are near designer-perfect. “You won’t be fitting into someone else’s design,” says Leslie. “You’ll be wearing a design made especially for you.” Another option for discount-savvy brides is to search the Internet for used gowns. E-bay frequently carries gowns, and other auction sites may also provide access to a used gown. “I looked at those websites,” says Jennifer. “I considered it because I’m sure the gowns have only worn once, but I decided not to take my chances.” The wedding gowns offered are usually of a high-quality, and most have already been dry-cleaned and potentially arranged for storage. But the gowns are non-returnable, and sometimes sizes may vary. The advantage to an auction site is that some gowns are actually being sold by retailers who are looking for ways to rid themselves of last year’s stock or close out a business. “Some of the buys on the internet are amazing,” says Bonnie Timberlake, who frequently purchases jeans and tops on the Internet. “But you have to bid. And you have to be ready not to win.” Bonnie has surfed the auction sites several times looking for a gown by designer Jessica McClintock. “Twice, I’ve lost out to the other bidders because I didn’t have access to a computer when the bids were closing.” Bonnie is in no rush, but as her date nears she may cave in and hit the retail circuit. “A wedding gown will cost me next to nothing if I nab the one I want,” says Bonnie, whose bids have gone in at about $200. The winning bids were only for a couple hundred dollars more. “But I want to look my best no matter what,” says Bonnie. The final look is what matters most whether purchased for designer retail prices, via the Internet or at a discount location. “Every bride wants to feel special on her wedding day, and the dress is what matters most,” says Bonnie.