It’s one of those commonly overlooked details.

You pack everything up the night before nice and neat, labeled and organized. Your dress is steamed and bagged and ready to go.

Your wedding comes and goes and it’s time to look through your pictures.

But what is that awful metal and plastic contraption supporting your gorgeous dress?!

It’s the hanger that you grabbed last minute and didn’t even imagine would rear its ugly head. But it did.

Now all of your wedding pictures are super perfect and everything you imagined – except of course for the hanger.

Thankfully, our photographer was thoughtful enough to mention to me beforehand to bring a nice hanger for dress pictures. I happen to have a dress form that I used, but there’s no way I would’ve thought to bring it on my own.

So here’s my nudge to you, my fellow brides. Take a few minutes and spend a few dollars if you have to. Find yourself a hanger that you won’t mind looking at over and over again when you’re taking a trip down wedding memories lane.

A friend of mine recently attended a bridal shower and instead of just mentioning it to the bride, she went all the way and gave her a custom hanger as a gift. Both practical and thoughtful. It’s perfect.

My friend found her personalized hanger at the Etsy Shop, The Painted House and More. There are a bunch of different options. You can have a common word bent in the wire like love or Mrs., but you can also take it a step further and order a custom name, like Mrs. Williams, for instance.

So do yourself a favor and remember the little details like this one. Believe me you’ll be glad you did.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, Bride, Dress, Hanger, Pictures, Wedding Gown

So.. a little back story about my dress. I’ve had this dress since early 2008 when I bought it for my friend’s wedding.. She wanted it as her bridesmaids’ dress. I ended up not being in the wedding and despite several futile attempts to sell and give away this dress -it was still hanging in my closet when it came time to write up my wedding budget.

Let’s just say that already having a perfectly good dress and spending $1000 on another dress (I think I want – because I haven’t actually gone to try it on) – seemed silly to me.. And with a great seamstress – I can totally look JUST the way I want to look – fabulously chic and elegant.

So… I have a perfectly good J. Crew Dress:

Which will look totally different once my seamstress (FMIL) is done with it. We’re adding crystals to the waist, a very beautiful and sparkly lace train and matching veil and dropping the shoulders. I also have one more surprise planned that I’m going to keep secret until the reception (of course I’ll be sure to post pics after the BIG DAY).

And let’s just say that I paid more for the fabric (at 50% off than I paid for the dress) because evidently J. Crew wasn’t impressed with this dress and put it on clearance way back at the end of 2007 and then brought it back at full price about a year ago.

So – discounted dress WINS over $1000 dress and TOTALLY helps keep us close to our 12K goal.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, DIY, Dress

If you’re in the Metro Detroit area, chances are you’ve heard of Roma Sposa. It’s a couture bridal salon in Birmingham. While there’s no way I could deny that their dresses are gorgeous, I will tell you that they probably carry several gowns that cost more than our entire wedding.

But you’re in luck, my dear readers. Turns out they’re having a sale during the last weekend of this month. They’re calling it the Bride on a Budget Sales Event. There is a $5 entrance fee, but apparently it’s to benefit a charitable cause.

And get this:
Gown pricing will start at $599.

My advice is that you not go in with a single no-other-Vera-Wang-dress-will-do in mind. That’ll likely still cost you an arm, a leg, and your first born child.

Instead, go in with an open mind. Shoot, try on a dress opposite from they style you think you want for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised. And if not, no harm done.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal, Bridal Gown, Dress, Wedding Dress

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

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

I think I like the idea of the groomsmen buying suits instead of renting tuxes. Sure it may cost a little more, but they’re left with something they can keep and re-wear for years instead of returning it the next day. Not only that, but if they buy their suit, you can pretty much guarantee that other men haven’t had their ::ahem:: unmentionables hanging out in the pants.

So….

I’m trying to convince my fiance to have his guys wear tan suits with black ties. You might actually recognize these little black (bridesmaid) dresses from an earlier post. Whaddya think? Maybe I’ll add flowers in next time.

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Technorati Tags: Black, Bridesmaids, Dress, Groomsmen, suit, tan

Since I still can’t seem to find a venue, I’ve been trying to keep my sanity by looking for bridesmaid dresses from time to time. I still think I want to go with ivory. And I think I want them to be knee-length. I have a Donna Ricco dress that I really like for the good fit so I’ve been looking at some of her other dresses for my girls. I like a lot of them on her site, but none of them come in ivory. Here’s a peek at a few:

*All dresses, courtesy of DonnaRicco.com

Do any of you have any suggestions on places to look for affordable, ivory, re-wearable dresses?

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Technorati Tags: Bridesmaid, Bridesmaid Dress, Dress, ivory, knee-length

Marta!

Yes – This beautiful dress is the one that I’ve chosen. It fits almost perfectly and will need minimal alterations. I love that it’s simple, but with some interesting details. I’m not sure if it’s clear from the picture, but the top has pleat-like architectural detail that I love.

And it’s not stark white, either, which I didn’t want. It is strapless, and for a long time I didn’t think I would get a strapless dress. After trying on a few strapless dresses in a bridal salon and having the consultant tell me I could pull it off with some good alterations, I gave in.

The dress may have cost a little more than I would’ve liked, but after looking for so long and loving this one more each time I looked at it, I splurged. It probably means I’ll have to cut costs somewhere else, but I don’t regret my decision.

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Technorati Tags: Bride, Dress, gown

I didn’t go the traditional route to find my dress. Rather than visit a bunch of bridal boutiques, I started my search online. I used to work in a bridal salon, so I kind of had an idea of what I wanted. Plus, since I’m a shortie (only 5′1″) I knew I couldn’t get a huge, poofy cinderella gown. It would be way too overwhelming.

I did visit one bridal salon. The first time it was during a Monique L’huillier trunk show and the second time it was during their annual sample sale. Two very good reasons, in my opinion. Both visits were fruitless, but I wasn’t discouraged.

I scoured different used wedding dress sites online including oncewed.com, preownedweddingdresses.com, partypop.com, eBay, craigslist, and the Weddingbee Classifieds. I ended up finding my dress on Oncewed and I couldn’t be happier.

I was a little hesitant about getting a used dress, because it’s just that – used. But my persistence paid off and I got lucky. My dress was a once-tried-on sample, sold to me by the bride who’d planned on wearing it. The transaction was smooth and my dress arrived in just a few days.

The dress fits almost perfectly, is in excellent condition and I got a really, really good deal on it. I couldn’t be happier.

I know you’re probably wondering where my pictures are or what my dress looks like. I’ll just say this – the dress can be found on the designer Michelle Roth’s website. Can you guess which one it is?

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Technorati Tags: Bride, Dress