Wedding Clothes — by Guest Mom Beth Longtine
With fours daughters it’s a given that I have sweated the whole wedding dress issue. How in the world were we going to be able to buy each of them a dress they love? Well, I am sweating no more. Seems as though the fashion industry has realized that not all women want to spend a mint on a dress they will wear once. Many designers, department stores and even bridal shops are introducing lines of dresses that cost significantly less than what was typical just a few years ago; most in the $200-500 dollar range.
So who’s making my heart sing? J. Crew, Dillards, Nordstrom, David’s Bridal and even Target. Something to remember: The style of these wedding dresses are less fitted than more expensive ones, but may still require some alterations. My daughter-in-law's J. Crew gown came in an amazingly small box, so be prepared for lots of wrinkles (but it steamed beautifully!).
At our wedding, my son and daughter-in-law chose not to have attendants, a significant cost savings. However, if you do choose to have bridesmaids, I’ve noticed a trend that I think is fantastic. Brides are asking their attendants to pick out a dress in a certain color, but in a style of their choosing. This allows your friends to find a dress that suits their taste and price range, including the option of borrowing a dress if need be!
Labels: guest mom
posted by Gabrielle of Design Mom at Thursday, April 23, 2009
8 Comments:
Great ideas and tips! This wedding theme of posts makes me want to get married again... same guy, different party! :)
that's exactly what i did - we gave our bridesmaids and groomsmen the option to pick out whatever they wanted to wear...as long as it was black and/or white or any combo. the girls were even allowed to wear pantsuits if they wanted. and amazingly enough, i didn't see what they were to wear until that morning when they got dressed. i loved it.
my maid of honor wore her dress before my wedding for her own engagement photos. definitely wearable again clothes.
I'm a bridesmaid for a gal that did the same thing... she pointed us to David's Bridal, said "truffle" and "long" and that's it. Yesterday I grabbed the ideal dress from Craigslist and saved myself 100 bucks!
I wish I had let my attendants do their own thing. I tried to give them re-useable dresses and keep it cheap, but I think I failed pretty miserably in the re-wearable department. Sigh. One of my three wedding mistakes (dresses, cheap-o flowers, and no sunscreen). Ah well, we just had our 14th anniversary and I'm sure everybody has forgiven me by now. ;)
Way to go Jenn! Love your great dress find!
My nephew's wife found her wedding dress on ebay. She knew the style she wanted and she found it in her size!! Used once, but she saved hundreds.
I sure wish there were Target wedding dresses back when I got married. Actually I don't think our city even had a Target store! I had a very short engagement so it made finding a dress and bridesmaids dresses a bit crazy. 2 of my sisters were my maid of honor and bridesmaids - so while I was at work I just sent them out and gave them some criteria and told them to find something they liked. The dresses ended up being royal blue, just below the knee and informal enough that they could be worn again for church or some special event. The best part was they were on sale or clearance and probably cost $20 or less!
You CAN "spend a mint" on a dress as you say, as long as you can get it back. Have any of you used WeddingDressMarket.com to sell you dress the week after?
oh my gosh, the dress on the right is absolutely stunning! if i could do it again (with the same groom, mind you) it would be THAT one! who is the designer? oh i'm in love...
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