Frugal brides seek to recoup the cost of expensive designer gowns
Today, the average cost of a wedding in the United States ranges between $19,000 and $32,000 and that's without the cost of the honeymoon figured into the total. Most couples have a specific budgeted allowance for individual costs, but more than half of them discover they are well over-budget before the plans are finalized.
Ask any bride-to-be what she considers the most important expenditure of the wedding and she will tell you it's the dress. While it's difficult to imagine any part of the event as unimportant, and sometimes it may be impossible to give up any of the envisioned details necessary for creating the perfect wedding, the bride is the centerpiece. It's her day, the one she's been dreaming about since she was a small girl. It's the fairytale come true, and nothing makes a bride feel more like a fairy princess than the dress she's chosen to wear.
According to the Bridal Association of America, the average cost for a wedding dress is $1,505. But that's for an average dress made of average fabric, trimmed with average trims, and designed by average industry designers. A custom-made designer dress in silk and embellished with hand-stitched lace or beading can run as much as $10,000. Such wedding dresses are the stuff of dreams, bridal dreams to be exact.
When a bride chooses a designer dress, there are other costs to be considered. Alterations can run into the hundreds, and special bras and body slimmers may be necessary, adding yet another $100 or more. Since designer dresses usually must be ordered up to five months ahead of the wedding date, most shops will charge 10 to 25% more for late orders.
The answer to the budget question regarding the price of a wedding gown seemed to be solved for many brides-to-be. Over the last decade, purchasing used gowns through Ebay and other sites designed specifically for that purpose, has become a trend. It's not unusual for a bride to find the dress of her dreams listed for resale at a fraction of the original price. Once the owner has taken her walk down the aisle, she lists it for resale in hopes of recouping some of her expenses.
Lately, perhaps because of slow economic recovery, brides have become even more anxious to make a deal. Rather than wait until after the wedding is over, newly purchased gowns are being pre-sold to the next would-be owner. According to Josie Daga, founder ofPreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, she first noticed the trend back in 2010. She claimed in a recent interview that brides used to put their dresses up for sale 3-4 months after their weddings. Now they have their dresses posted before the honeymoon, if not earlier.
Daga explains that a used gown which is less than three years old can be sold for about half the original retail price. However, pre-sell dresses are usually the most coveted styles costing more than $5,000. These will bring 70-80% of the cost back to the original owner's pocketbook. For many brides determined to have the dress of their dreams, the arrangement is a lifesaver.
