So, somehow I've ended up with two wedding dresses in the midst of planning our very small budget wedding. I know, but before you get angry and stop reading, hear me out.
It's possible to find a pretty wedding dress for less than you think.
It's also possible to find more than one pretty wedding dress for less than you think.
My original dress budget was $250. I spent $180 total on these dresses combined, and I'm not keeping both of them--I intend to sell the first one for the amount I purchased it, at least. It's an absolutely beautiful dress from the 1970s in mint condition. I purchased it for $110.
Isn't it lovely? And guess where I bought it? Dun dun dun...EBAY. I spent hours on Etsy admiring their collection of vintage dresses, and I decided to compare their secondhand prices to those of other online sellers. I had never purchased anything from Ebay, so I made sure the sellers I considered had strong, realistic reviews. After two weeks of following the bidding on this dress, I decided to go for it.
I was sure this was my dress for several weeks after I got it in the mail. I purchased it knowing it would be too small around my back, but had intentions to alter the cut of the back anyway. I took it home to show my Matron of Honor, Nataley, who was graciously willing to try her hand at the alterations herself. She's great with that kind of stuff, but I could tell she was a bit nervous about the pressure of tearing apart a wedding dress. I felt pretty relaxed about the idea, but started looking to see if I could find anything else I loved in my size. Back to Etsy I went, because I still felt a little zing of pride when thinking about telling people I bought my wedding dress on Ebay--I know several of my loved ones may not approve.
There were a lotttt more, but they've sold since then. And although these are still considered very affordable wedding dress options, I wasn't willing to go over the budget. And I'm not saying there aren't cheaper options on Etsy, there definitely are, I was just too anxious to wait for a dress I absolutely loved to pop up. So back to Ebay I went.
...And I found my dress! This one I'm keeping--I'm done looking. It fits perfectly, length and everything, which is crazy considering I'm on the shorter side (5'2)!
I'm obviously not going to post a photo of the entire dress on here, because Daniel is a sweet man and reads what I write. We may not be doing a completely traditional wedding, but I still don't want him to see my dress beforehand. But here's a little sneak:
I love it! :) And...it was only $70. And the woman who sold it to me seemed very sweet and a bit sad to part with it, but I'm so happy she did! It'll accumulate more happy memories, and I can't wait to wear it for my man!
I feel like I should feel a bit strange about not going to a bridal boutique to try on dresses, but I'm not terribly upset about missing that whole experience. I didn't want to try on dresses that were completely out of the question with how we're doing our wedding--I didn't want to fall in love with "the dress" I would never have. I was able to look through thousands of dresses online and not get talked into wavering on my budget. I was still able to buy and try on my two favorite dresses and make a decision from there without overspending. And after I sell the first dress, I'll be way under budget so we can hopefully donate the rest of my dress money to our Pure Charity projects! Hooray!
I'll leave you with the first photo we've seen from our engagement shoot last weekend. I'll do a full post on our experience with Kinsey in a week or two, but I am just thrilled and excited to get this little peek into what she captured. She is a fantastic photographer, and even more importantly, a beautiful person--we had the best time hanging out with her!
Pretty dress--even if it is just the hemline! And, pretty sure I'm seriously in love with the back of that Etsy dress.
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