As a wedding industry professional I see a lot of brides’ posts in professional groups about wedding dresses. A large amount of girls try to save some money buying a dress and then trying to sell it after. These kinds of brides are sometimes hard to work with as they constantly think about their dress and are scared to make an extra move in order to keep the dress as intact as possible. This article “Wedding Dress for a bride on a budget. 10 top decisions” is created to ease any bride’s “getting ready” process with the introduction of my ideas and experience on the subject. Girls, please, be happy at your wedding, enjoy it to the fullest and get the best memories you can out of this special day in your life.

Working with lots of wedding clients I’ve heard and seen a lot of personal stories. Recently I got to work with a bride who decided to go with her Mother’s dress. But, that’s another very sentimental story, especially because both her and her Mother became my brides.

So, now I want to give some advice for brides on a budget. I am constantly looking for all kinds of pretty dresses for my creative sessions, so believe me, I’ve done a lot of research and found a good list of affordable options. Here is what I’ve digged out so far.

Wedding dress for a bride on a budget. 10 top decisions:

• Don’t be surprised but Value Village has a lot of wedding dresses. I frequently use thrift stores to find a lot of useful stuff for my sessions. So, this section is one my favourites. Of course, you will find “your Granny’s” style of dresses but don’t be upset, there are lots of really good traditional dresses. Just check your nearest Vallue Village store regularly.
• WINS is another thrift store with a variety of used wedding dresses. The prices vary from 20-150$ according to the quality of a dress. Prices are mentioned in approximate price range. Besides, you might have a coupon to save extra money. I am all about repurposing and giving a second chance to clothes, especially when our world is mass producing so much.
• I’ve recently found another thrift store named “World Serve thrift store” that has a few racks of wedding dresses donated to them from a former wedding shops in Calgary. Their choice is the best so far. I can’t guarantee that you’ll find the one you want right away, but saving is time consuming. Finding a wedding dress in not an easy task!
• Online shops are becoming more and more popular. I am a huge fan of Amazon and I order a lot of creative session outfits online. Here I want to distinguish my favourite Mr.Pretty online shop. This website gives you an idea of separate pieces for a bridal outfit! A top and a skirt. You can reuse them if you want to. I ordered a few skirts, and was very sceptical waiting for my delivery. When they came, I was completely surprised, it exceeded any of my expectations. Exceptionally good quality for this price!
• Another online shop that I can personally recommend is Lulus. I’ve gotten few brides wearing these dresses for their wedding day, totally beautiful and tasteful. Bridesmaids outfits are frequently ordered here. Definitely recommend!
• I don’t want to mention only used or online options. These criteria might not be acceptable for some girls, it’s ok. So, among my brides I’ve met girls that found their dream dress at David’s Bridal store. Definitely worth checking in.
• Now I would like to name a few consignment stores where you can actually take a look at the dress and try it on even if it’s preowned. Everthine bridal consignment boutique is created by two long-time friends and they share their ideas on the store website: “We started Everthine because we wanted every bride (regardless of budget) to have the same experience you would find at a high end boutique without the high end prices! The majority of our gowns are brand new and are 25% to 75% off retail price.”
• Preowned wedding dresses has an online gallery where you can choose the one you like and take a look at it in the store. “You’ll find all of the new, sample and used wedding dresses in that area. Want to find something even closer? Use the zip code tool under location on our advanced search page to shop within a certain mile radius.”
• Whether you are looking to stay on budget or you are planning an Eco friendly ‘green’ wedding, Savvy Bridal Consignment MUST be on your list of places to visit.
• Avenue Magazine is destined to help out all brides to have a dream wedding. So, they’ve done research for all brides-to-be. Totally worth checking it out in order to be fully armed.

If you already found your perfect princess wedding outfit, make sure it fits you the best it can! If it doesn’t, what can you do? You can alter it. For SE calgary area I definitely recommend to check Midnapore village alterations. Or any other alteration services closest to your location.

And, to end my big article, I have to mention a very popular kind of sessions – trash the dress photoshoot. You can have this fun as part of a wedding package. This is all about memories, no need to keep this dress in your wardrobe for future generations. It’s not popular anymore…

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