One-stop gown shop

Maybe it’s because I have wedding gowns on the brain lately, but I have yet another great source for getting your wedding gown for less! House of Brides is the world’s largest wedding store, offering discounts on hundreds of designer wedding gowns, bridesmaids dresses, flower girl dresses, mother-of-the-bride dresses, headpieces, shoes, jewelry, and more!! Offering the same great gowns you’d find in your local boutiques, once you’ve tried on and fallen in love with your dream dress, head on over to Houseofbrides.com and snag it up for hundreds less than retail…leaving you more money for that awesome veil and shoes!

Speaking of veils and shoes, House of Brides is offering a free headpiece/veil ($120 value) and bridal shoes ($50 value) when you purchase a dress from one of their select designers. Free veil and shoes?? Yes please!! And with all the money you’ve saved, you can afford those fancy letterpress invitations…or treat yourself to a pre-wedding spa treatment. However you spend it, you can give yourself some major high faves for getting more bang for your buck. 

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Power to the brides

I mentioned in one of my recent Real Weddings posts that bride Tosha found her awesome dress at a site called Bride Power. Well this site is worth mentioning twice…maybe three times. Because they offer 100% authentic designer gowns at ridiculously discounted prices (at least 40% off!!). Vera Wang, Monique Lhullier, Jenny Packham, Oscar de la Renta, they’re all here…plus tons more! Bride Power carries hundreds of designer samples and overstocks, passing huge savings onto you. The only catch is, often they only have one of each style of dress, so if you see the one you have taped above your desk from the bridal magazine, you gotta snatch it up quick! most of the dresses come in size 10, so keep that in mind as far as how you will need it altered and if altering to your size is possible (wedding gowns can usually be taken in up to 2 sizes, and let out 1 or 2 sizes…dresses with corset backs are more flexible with alterations).

Gowns are returnable if necessary, minus the shipping costs (which will run you about $40), so if you have the opportunity to try on the dress in your area at a local boutique (or at VOWS in Massachusetts, the brick and mortar home to Bridepower.com), then that should help guarantee that you get the right dress the first time.

Check out these unbelievable gowns in stock at Bride Power right now!:

Jenny Packham. Est. value: $4800 BP price: $2400!!

Monique Lhullier. Est. value: $3200 BP price: $1100!!

Vera Wang. Est. value: $5000 BP price: $1400!!

So if you have your heart set on a designer gown, you’d be crazy not to check out Bride Power!! Your dream dress may just become completely affordable. Ahhh, the sweet smell of victory.

Happy planning!

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Wedding gowns: Part III

OK, today’s wedding gown post is for those looking to get a little creative. The dresses and ideas I’m about to present may not be traditional…they may need embellishment…they may not even be wedding dresses! (at first)…but in the end, they are all definitely unique, gorgeous, and gloriously within budget.

Here are some non-traditional ways to make a big statement minus the big price tag:

Go custom-made. Now this may not seem like a cheaper route, but you’d be surprised at the gorgeous one-of-a-kind gowns you can find for under $1,000. Below, you’ll find some beauties from Etsy (the world of handmade) for prices I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised to see—

Price: $654.00

Price: $799.00

Price: $499.00

Price: $658.00

Price: $349.99

Check out J.Crew. They have their fair share of pricey gowns, but they also have gorgeous inexpensive gowns that are stylish and well-made.

While some will love the simplicity of their dresses, others will be longing for more detail. Here are the dresses along with my ideas for “sprucing them up”—

Price for dress alone: $395.00

+ White bloom sash ($40) = $435.00

Price for dress alone: $425.00

+ Couture wrap w/ brooch ($50)= $475.00

Price for dress alone: $250.00
+  Romantic sash ($40) = $290.00

Dress up a white dress. Much like the J. Crew gowns above, you can find simple, beautiful white dresses almost anywhere for affordable prices. Embellish them with sashes, brooches, wraps, boleros, even add lace or beading for minimal costs. Check out places like Macys.com, Nordstrom.com, edressme.com, simplydresses.com, just to name a few. There’s no limit to how creative you can get to make a “simple” white dress into a beautiful bridal gown.

These are just a few more ways to find yourself in a beautiful wedding gown that you (and your budget) can be proud of.

Did you score a magnificent dress for an even more magnificent price? Where and how did you do it? Inquiring wedding dress bargainistas of the world wanna know…

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Wedding gowns: Part 1

For the next few days, I wanna talk wedding gowns…that illustrious dress that you will wear only once, yet can end up being one of the biggest budget busters. We all want a beautiful dress that we will look amazing in, and those Vera’s and Monique’s are very loudly and clearly calling our names…so what to do when your heart says “couture” and your head says “cost-effective?”

Today, I bring you Option 1-

Buy that awesome designer gown used. I know, I know…you want it to be brand spankin’ new and worn by only you. But hear me out. THE DRESS HAS ONLY BEEN WORN ONCE!!! Once! Outfits at the departments store have been tried on more times. And NO ONE HAS TO KNOW. For sometimes half the original sticker price, you can get an amazingly beautiful designer dress, have it altered, AND professionally dry cleaned so it’s perfect for your day…and even more perfect for your budget.

Check out these amazing deals on designer gowns listed on Once Wed right now:

Lazaro
List Price: $1,500
Retail: $4,075

Monique Lhuillier
List Price: $1,750
Retail: $2,200

Casablanca
List Price: $569
Retail: $769

Melissa Sweet
List Price: $1,900
Retail: $3,950

Monique Lhuillier
List Price: $2,500
Retail: $6,000

Vera Wang
List Price: $1,800
Retail: $3,000

These are just a FEW of the MANY used designer dresses there are for sale. Soooo, it might be time to rethink that “have to have it new” mantra when these beauties are out there and just waiting for you to snag them at great prices.

Did  you snag a great deal on your wedding gown? Where’d you find it?

Look forward to Option 2 tomorrow!

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