How to Save on a Wedding Dress {Budget Wedding Week}

It’s anniversary week!!!  Two years ago, I married the man of my dreams and I have loved (almost) every minute of it!  😉  We did not have a specific budget for our wedding (the less we spent the better) so it was my goal to create the day of my dreams for as cheaply as I could.  I researched, got help, took full advantage of sales and, at the end of the planning, realized the whole wedding had come to $3,500!  What the what?!?!

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to share my budget wedding tips with friends and family to help them create amazing days for amazing prices!  I figured it wouldn’t be right of my to leave you all hanging.  I’m sure plenty of you would love being filled in on the tricks for weddings (or other events) of your own and that’s exactly what I’m going to do this week!

How to Save on a Wedding Dress

One of the biggest costs for a wedding can be the bride’s outfit.  Women can, and usually do, spend thousands of dollars on wedding attire.  I couldn’t afford that so did my shopping a little differently than most brides.

My Total for My Whole Bridal Look was under $250!!!

The Dress

Once Nate and I started talking about marriage, I began researching the type of dress I wanted.  As I was looking, I stumbled across a dress on sale at David’s Bridal online for $250.  It was exactly what I was looking for – for SUCH an amazing price.  I contemplated snatching it up right then and there but I restrained from doing it because I really didn’t want to buy a dress until I was engaged.  You know, the principle of the matter.  On February 12th, Nate surprised me with coming to Spokane and proposing.  February 14th, my mom and I went into David’s Bridal to see if there were other dresses I liked better.  I really didn’t so we went home without buying anything.  I jumped on the computer and saw that the price of “my dress” had gone down.  As I went to put it into my cart, I saw that there was only ONE left in my size and it was even cheaper than it had been before!  Other than that one dress, all the rest of that style were size 16.  No wonder it was priced so cheaply.  I quickly snatched up that last one in my size and, when it arrived, tried it on and started burst into happy tears.  It was definitely “the one.”  Total Cost: $199

The Veil

After I found my perfect dress, I started looking for a veil.  I knew I wanted an elbow length, one tiered, clip-in veil in ivory (since my dress was ivory) but the ones I liked kept being around $100 – a price I was not willing to spend, especially for something that I could make myself if it came to it.  I searched and searched and was just about to give in and figure out how to make what I wanted when I came across a company in Hong Kong via eBay that made the exact veil I was looking for.  Their veils were only $1 with $2 shipping!  How could I turn that deal down?  The only downside was that shipping was supposed to take a month.  Since we were still two months away from the wedding and I knew I probably couldn’t make what I wanted for $3, I purchased it, knowing that if it wasn’t what I wanted or if it took longer to ship, I’d still have time to make my own.  A WEEK later it showed up at the door and, after a steaming, it was exactly what I had been picturing.  Total Cost: $3

Our wedding colors were green and yellow and I really wanted a fun pair of shoes.  I searched and searched for the right pair of green or floral print heels and just couldn’t find them.  Finally, about a month before the wedding.  I put out a cry on Facebook for girls to tell me places they’ve found unique shoes for a decent price.  One girl commented and said she found her hot pink wedding shoes at Debs.  I immediately pulled that site up and found the perfect green heels for next to nothing with free shipping.  Into the cart they went and, a week later they showed up – exactly what I wanted for the wedding.  Total Cost: $29

The Jewelry

I really wanted fun earrings for myself and my bridesmaids.  I didn’t need them to be good quality as long as they looked awesome so I went into Claire’s.  I found adorable earrings that I thought would be so fun for me and the girls.  Best part about it was that they were buy two, get one free.  Into my cart went six pairs (I had five bridesmaids) and, of course, two pairs of clip on earrings for my beautiful flower girls.  All the earrings came to $30.  Total Cost (for my look): $3.75

Your Turn:
What are ways you saved on your wedding look?
How much did your wedding look cost?

If You Liked This Post You Might Also Enjoy:

• How to Save on Your Wedding Venue
• How to Save on Wedding Clothes for the Groom and Wedding Party
• How to Save on Wedding Flowers