In case you haven’t heard, Gilt Groupe is an members-only website that sells name-brand, highly sought after clothing, home goods and the like for deep discounts.

And lucky you…It’s Wedding Shop Week!!!

Everyday, the site highlights a different of the wedding experience. And the sales are everything you’d hope for.

Take this lovely Vera Wang bridesmaid dress for instance.

List Price: $260

Gilt Price: $149

Crazy right?!

So as I mentioned Gilt Groupe is members-only, but guess who’s got an invitation for you…

Me!

To get your goods and make everyone else wonder how you can afford to be so stylish, click to join Gilt Groupe.

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Technorati Tags: Affordable, Bridesmaid Dresses, gilt groupe, sale, vera wang

For some reason, I’m always getting requests for ivory bridesmaid dresses. I wrote once about a wedding that I saw and loved where the bridesmaids all wore ivory and decided to go on a hunt of my own.

So I’m in the store, looking through the racks and I see a couple dresses I like and of course the sales lady asks a few questions and realizes I’m looking for bridesmaid dresses. I ask about ivory dresses and you would’ve thought I committed a cardinal sin.

The woman proceeds to tell me about how it’s utterly ridiculous for anyone but the bride to be in white or ivory, especially the bridesmaids. And that my wedding will never be a success if my girls wore withe or ivory.

Needless to say, I gave her my two cents, set the items I had in my hand on the counter and left without a thing.

That said, I still love the ivory bridesmaid dress. We didn’t end up doing it, but I still think it looks so classic. So I’ve put together a short list of dresses that aren’t really sold as bridesmaid dresses but that I think would work nonetheless.

And, in case you missed it, this was the original post that sparked my love for ivory bridesmaid dresses: Overstocked and Ivory Bridesmaid Dresses

Source: Maggy London at Nordstrom

Source: Suzi Chin at Nordstrom

Source: Ellen Tracy at Bloomingdale’s

Source: Arden B.

Source: Anthropologie

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Technorati Tags: Bridesmaid Dress, Bridesmaid Dresses, Bridesmaids

I thought I was done with progress reports in school, but I guess not.

Here’s where we stand after and including the last progress report:

We have

• booked the location
• booked the DJ
• booked the photographer
• sent most of the save the dates
• got a friend to commit design the invitations (more on this later)
• gotten 2 caterer quotes (more on this below)
• stored my dress for the last 6 months
• ordered the bridesmaid dresses

We’ll just go with this list for now. No need to bring attention to the mile-long list of un-done things.

The caterer situation is really in limbo right now. The tasting I thought we were going to have fell through because the event was cancelled. They have another big event coming in March. We can either wait to taste the food then (if the event is not cancelled again) or we can pay to have a private tasting before that. This happens to be the most expensive of the two quotes.

The other caterer sent us a very generic one meat-one starch-one vegetable-plasticware-coffee and lemonade quote. I really dont want run of the mill. Of everything at the wedding, I’m pretty dead set on this because I like food way too much to compromise. So I replied to them with this message and I’m still waiting for their answer. This, of course, is the less expensive of the two quotes.

I’m thinking all the other stuff not mentioned above in the back of my head. Right now though – it’s one thing at a time.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, Bridesmaid Dresses, Caterer, Checklist, progress, Reception, Save the Dates, Venue

We have a dress!

My bridesmaids and I got together yesterday and pored over hundreds of dresses before finally deciding on one. They will be wearing a dress we found at Nordstrom by Suzi Chin. It’s affordable, has straps for support and can be worn again.

If this dress looks familiar, it’s because it was featured in one my original sets of dresses that I thought the girls might end up wearing. It got a lukewarm reception then, but as we were scrolling through Nordstrom’s site, everyone seemed to like it.

Next up are shoes. I first suggested black shoes, because everyone could wear a pair they already have. Apparently, my girls had other ideas. They don’t mind spending the extra money because it gives them an excuse to shop and they don’t want to wear all black. Which is fine with me. There were suggestions for gold or silver, either of which might be okay.

The shoes can wait for now, I’m just happy to have another thing off the list. Check.

——————-

Side note: If you’re in the same boat we were in and need some dress resources, try these retailers:

jcrew, nordstrom, marciano, overstock, windsor store, ann taylor, white house black market, banana republic, edressme, shopstyle

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Technorati Tags: Bridesmaid, Bridesmaid Dresses, Bridesmaids, Dress, Dresses, Inexpensive, knee-length, Nordstrom, Suzi Chin

New stuff for me to lust over on J.Crew’s site include

these:

and this, which has a similar neckline to my dress and comes in several colors including black:

Both are $200+, which is more than I’d planned on spending on either. Oh well. Such is life.

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Technorati Tags: Bridesmaid Dresses, Dress, JCrew, Shoes

I was in Anthropologie today picking up a few tops and I saw this dress. I really like it, but I don’t know if it would work as a bridesmaid dress. Plus, it’s $188. And while I don’t think that’s out of the question, we’ve definitely already seen some dresses for less that we like more. But I still like it.

I also like this idea, posted by Heather at We Met in a Bar. All the bridesmaids wore black dresses of their own choosing and they were all tied together with a red ribbon around the waist. This way my girls could save some money if they wanted to and wear something already have. And everyone would still look coherent and it would be apparent that they are in fact bridesmaid. The one change I’d make: I’d probably tie the ribbons in front.

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Technorati Tags: Black, Bridesmaid Dress, Bridesmaid Dresses, Bridesmaids

Okay ladies. This is primarily for my bridesmaids. Two new bridesmaid dresses to weigh in on. I know the one on the right is in ivory. I wasn’t looking for it – it found me. Both are about $150 and are listed in the cocktail dresses/evening dresses category. Let me know if you like either of these.

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Technorati Tags: Bridesmaid Dresses, Bridesmaids, Dresses

With our economy in such a dismal state, brides aren’t the only ones who need to save money. Don’t forget about your girls/bridesmaids/ladies in waiting. Just like you want an affordable bridal gown, they want affordable bridesmaid dresses.

1. Look for dresses not labeled Bridesmaid Dress. Everything made especially for the wedding industry will always undoubtedly cost more. Cocktail dresses come in different lengths and colors and will work fine for bridesmaid dresses. A lot of designated bridesmaid dresses will look cheaper than a cocktail dress anyway.
2. Shop clearance. JCrew, Ann Taylor, etc. A lot of the major retailers now have wedding/celebration sections and will stock certain dresses in a variety of colors and sizes with the idea that they will be worn as bridesmaid dresses.
3. Resist the urge to match exact colors. Chances are Blue Sky During a Perfect Dawn probably isn’t available in the dress you want. So let it go. I promise it won’t ruin the wedding.
4. Order online and use coupon codes. I’m a sucker for a good coupon code. Sites like retailmenot.com provide codes for percentages off purchase and shipping discounts on lots of online retailers.
5. Buy in bulk for a discount. If you can purchase all your bridesmaid dresses at once, you could work out a discount with the retailer.
6. Let go of the brand/designer name (Bill Levkoff, Hilary Morgan, Jim Hjelm, Alfred Angelo). Even if you like the style of a certain designer, don’t let the name become the determining factor. At the wedding, no one will no what brand your bridesmaid dresses are and that dress will probably sit in the back of the closet with every other brand name bridesmaid dress after the wedding anyway.
7. Let your bridesmaids have some input. If they like it, it softens the financial blow. Plus, if it’s something they feel comfortable wearing again, they really do get their money’s worth.
8. Let them wear what they already have. They can choose colors complimentary to the wedding and you an tie them all together with matching shawls, cardigans, or just their bouquets, depending on your style. This is probably the most inexpensive option. Shoot – it’s pretty much free.
9. Buy at the end of the season. It’s the best time to find a discount. When retailers have new stock to bring in, they’ll slash prices to get the old stock out of there.
10. Choose short dresses. These are less likely to need hem alterations. Although these are usually the cheapest of all alterations, every little bit helps.

To help bring my points home, here we have a lovely little number from JCrew that comes in a few different colors and can definitely be worn again. It was $150, but is now on sale for $69.99. So get out your little checklist and get ready to check another thing off. Following these rules, your girls will be outfitted in no time. I’m sure there are other ways to save, but I’m tapped out at the moment. Share your ideas in the comments. We could all use the help.

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Technorati Tags: Affordable, Ann Taylor, Bridesmaid, Bridesmaid Dresses, Bridesmaids, Cheap, Clearance, coupon, discount, Dress, Dresses, Free, Inexpensive, JCrew