Affordable wedding dress

Last Updated on Monday, 15 February 2010 12:02 Written by aBeauty Saturday, 16 January 2010 05:20

What is an affordable wedding dress you might ask, or at least that is the question I asked myself today. It really is a question that must be answered with a non-specific answer. Candidate answers could be it depends on your wedding dress budget. Another answer is that it depends on what you make for a living. But I don’t really like those answers to the question of what constitutes an affordable wedding dress.

You could of course give a more hard cash kind of answer. If the wedding dress costs under $1000 or just looks like a simple wedding gown, is it affordable? Or are consignment wedding dresses or wedding gown rentals a good answer to the question? I really don’t like those answers either.

In my book affordable wedding dresses are wedding dresses that you have picked out because they are what you want, and then you proceed to purchase it at a discount. I know, I know, look up the word affordable, because that isn’t what it means you might say. Well, I did, and the definition of affordable wedding dresses is that they are “believed to be within one’s financial means” source Dictionary.com

 
So my definition of an affordable wedding gown is slightly different than the dictionaries. That fine by me as long as I get my point across. And my point will soon be explained in detail.

Too many brides to be focus solely on the wedding dress it self and do not take the time to educate themselves about the process of buying an affordable wedding dress. If you simply start looking for the dress without knowing your options on where or how to buy it, you will end up purchasing it a retail price.There is nothing wrong with retail priced wedding dress, except that you most probably could have bought it a lot cheaper. Perhaps I am mixing the cheap wedding dresses with affordable wedding dresses, but for me they are almost the same.

There we are back to my definition of an affordable wedding dress, as I personally think there are differences to a cheap wedding dress. The difference is that cheap sounds cheap, is cheap and only cheap. The word doesn’t imply any quality, only quantity. In this context I define “Affordable” more qualitatively in that you get the most perfect wedding dress you can for your money.

As an example, “cheap wedding dresses” is to buy a low priced wedding dress at retail price, while “affordable wedding dresses” is to buy a dress that at retail is over your budget, perhaps way over, but by knowing where, when, and how, you are able to buy the dress at a lower price. THAT is an affordable wedding dress in my book!

Say you would die for a Christian Lacroix or Monique Lhuillier wedding dress. These can be pretty expensive, and most women would probably give up owning one of these on their wedding day if they couldn’t afford the retail price. But do you really have to buy these at the most expensive stores, and at retail when there are so many other options?

I have written about several ways to get a hold of the perfect wedding dress at an affordable price in the past. In my most affordable wedding dresses list I give you the top 10 tips for buying affordable wedding dresses, but will give you a couple of the best here right now.

Back to the Monique Lhuillier and Christian Lacroix wedding dresses. Yes, they are expensive, but with just a little look see on the Internet you will see dresses from these designer discounted hugely. The Internet is a wonderful place to find an affordable wedding dress because the online shops don’t have to rent expensive brick and mortar showrooms, usually meaning lower prices for you. One site I was on listed an assortment of one of these designers’ dresses at up to 50% discounts from retail. And that is if you have to have a new dress.

Consignment wedding dresses, which I often talk positively about on this site, sell even more affordable wedding dresses. It isn’t out of the question to see wedding dresses discounted +50% off retail.

The whole point of this post is to get across the notion that women get a lot more for their money than they think. Getting the most for your money isn’t a worthy goal in it self for such an important decision as a wedding dress. I am talking about the women that have a perfect wedding dress in mind, but can’t afford it at retail. And that is my point, there are options, and these options must be understood.

I better wrap up this post before it gets epic, but hope my message came across. In my book, an affordable wedding dress does have a low price relative to your income or budget. But more importantly, they are more beautiful than what you could afford at retail.

Top 10 most affordable wedding dresses

Last Updated on Saturday, 30 January 2010 03:42 Written by aBeauty Sunday, 10 January 2010 10:02

So you are getting married and want to save a bundle on your wedding dress? Then you have come to the right place, because this is the Top 10 Affordable Wedding Dress list! The focus of this list is to show you the best ideas for buying the perfect wedding dress at an affordable price. It really doesn’t matter if it is a cheap wedding dress or an expensive wedding dress, as many of these tips will work for both.

Now, let’s see the list already!

Buy wedding dress online

Last Updated on Sunday, 24 January 2010 03:39 Written by aBeauty Sunday, 3 January 2009 03:24

Online shopping revolutionized business by bringing business to the web, where shoppers previously had to purchase products in person. It was really only a matter of time before shopping went cyber. The question that remains is if it is smart to buy a wedding dress online?

Though it perfectly complemented the use of credit cards and the desire to perform actions easily with as little effort as possible, there is still some reluctance to buying items that need to fit properly to be of use. Buying a CD or books online is relatively risk free, and you are certain that what you get is what you want. But, to buy wedding dresses online is a completely different matter. Here are some tips that can help you buy a wedding dress online and be happy with the choice to do so.

Dresses and Gowns

Last Updated on Sunday, 24 January 2010 03:40 Written by aBeauty Tuesday, 29 December 2009 12:05

Most women have an assortment of dresses and gowns stashed somewhere in their closet, even if they do not wear them very often. Most save their wedding dress, though that may be preserved and out of the way. Others have dresses from events they have attended, and they may have been a bridesmaid a time or two for friends. Those that live solely in jeans and tee shirts still have a few in the back of the closet for things like funerals and job interviews because they know they are going to need them from time to time. No matter how often you wear these items, you need to know how to care for them so they are there when you need them again in the future.

Often neglected

Dresses and gowns can often go neglected because they are not worn as often as other items in the closet and are pushed back and forgotten until they are needed. This means that when someone pulls out a gown from the back of the closet, it has a distinct smell that tells you that it has indeed been hibernating inside of a small space with little to no ventilation. You may have to take your gowns and dresses out to be dry cleaned if this is the case. That smell will ruin your look for sure. If your closet is easily accessible and aired out often, you may not have this problem.

Affordable Wedding Dresses

Last Updated on Saturday, 16 January 2010 05:28 Written by aBeauty Tuesday, 29 December 2009 11:01

I want to welcome you to affordableweddingdresses.net and tell you about what we have in store for this web site. Weddings are notoriously expensive, and one of the most expensive items on the wedding list is the wedding dress. Being able to pick a dress that is both beautiful and feels perfect, without breaking the bank, can be a challenge.

Our main goal here is to present you with tips on how to find an affordable wedding dress that is also the dress of your dreams!

Wedding costs have skyrocketed the last decade as the standard of living has increased and credit has flourished. An upward spiral that never seems to plateau, many couples struggle to put on the wedding of their dreams. With all the expectations of society, friends and family, how are you to meet not only your dreams but also the dreams that your guests have for you?

In the midst of rising costs for goods and services is the wedding dress, which fits nicely in between. A creation priced partially for its fine fabrics, and craftmanship representing the rest. For some brides the wedding gown is the most important feature of the wedding, perhaps even make or break.

Being able to find the wedding dress of your dreams at an affordable price can therefore be a challenge. Sometimes taste and preferences simply exceeds the budget. That is exactly when you should put on your creative hat, think out of the box, and go new ways to get what you want. Perhaps it would be a little extreme to rob a bank, so here are some friendlier and law-abiding tips to get you started.

Second hand

This is definitely the best route to explore if you want to get the best “bang” for your buck. But, it is also a route that will give many a bride-to-be mixed feelings. You want you dress to be “yours”, unused and untouched. It is of course natural to feel this way. However, consider the following: Wedding dresses are probably the most carefully handled clothes on the planet. They are expensive, they are usually only used once, and many brides have them cleaned right after their wedding.

How’s that for a defense second-hand wedding dresses? If that’s not enough, consider that wedding dresses are commonly knocked down at least 50% from their off the shelf price. You can probably get it at a further discount if the deal is done privately (not through a second-hand shop).

I have to admit, when I first thought about the idea of purchasing a used wedding dress it really rubbed me the wrong way. But then I thought about what you can actually be able to afford, together with the fact that the dress will look as new. The prospect seems a lot better now, and can be a great way to get your perfect, but affordable wedding dress.

Discount dresses

If second-hand isn’t your “thing”, a discount dress can be a route you can take to find an affordable wedding dress. There are tons of discount retailers both online and offline that offer great prices all year long. But if you really want to make a bargain, try these tips:

• Search for off-season sales. Often retailers discount when volume is low
• Be on the look out for last year designs when retailer start moving in this years gowns
• Annual bridal sales at your local store
• Outlets often have the same goods as their mall counterpart, but at steep discounts.

Rent a dress

Renting a wedding dress might just make sense. After all, if all goes as planned you will only be using the dress once. Why not make it affordable and beautiful, at a fraction of the cost of owning?

Do a search online for affordable wedding dress rentals in your local area. Be sure to ask specifically for any hidden costs, like post-wedding cleaning.