Wedding Dress?

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Where are the best places around to shop for a wedding dress? (The relevant tag seems mostly concerned with alterations.)

Um, particularly if one is not of the type who has thought about such things all their life (or, y'know, ever) and thus had no idea how far in advance people expect you to plan and so the event is a little over a month away leaving no time for the apparently usual 2-3 month wait. (Speaking entirely theoretically, of course, because no reasonable person would be in such a situation, right?)

Even better would be great places to rent a dress, because it seems absurd to buy one when I'll only need it the once. (Why is it so much easier to rent a tuxedo, an item whose owner could reasonably wear it time and again?)

Comments

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Personally David's Bridal is pretty good for handling wedding stuff, though I don't know how their wait would be for alterations if they're needed- the only time I've used them was for bridesmaid stuff for a friend's wedding. They also have the advantage of having a bunch of stuff online so you can look through what you like to be prepared before you go in.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

This doesn't help you if you want a traditional dress, but Rachel actually got her dress on Etsy and it was $60 and she plans on wearing it again occasionally :) (there are lots of pics posted on my facebook)

It's also strange because tuxes, while expensive, tend to be cheaper than wedding dresses. I'm pretty psyched I own one now.

[schpahky.livejournal.com]

Filene's Basement (not the one in Copley but some of the more outlying ones) will have cheaper options. Or, given the time crunch - you can order a basic dress from somewhere like J. Crew (http://www.jcrew.com/wedding/Wedding_Bride/gowns/PRDOVR~63050/63050.jsp) and probably get alterations turned around locally in a week.

I had a good experience getting a bridesmaid dress at Camilla's Bridal in Arlington, but a) expensive, and b) alterations do take a while or you will pay for rush.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

This may sound bizarre...but I found my wedding dress at the Garment District in Cambridge. Brand new, tags still on, 100% silk, and only $35. Granted, this was a super lucky deal, but it's a place to check out.

[veek.livejournal.com]

Not sure whether the time constraint might make this too difficult, but have you seen Conscious Elegance (http://consciouselegance.com/)?

[mercurysparkle.livejournal.com]

I second David's Bridal if you want to go the traditional route. They did our entire wedding party. Turn-around time was definitely under 3 weeks if we didn't have to order the dress.

You can also check Vows - Bride Power on Galen St, in Watertown.

[koshmom.livejournal.com]

If you're not all stuck on the white gown thing, you can wear whatever you want. But I tried David's Bridal just to see styles, etc. I went up to the Danvers area store. There were plenty of brides' gowns there you could buy off the rack, and many just fit me.

Be sure to go with a new, very supportive bra and if you already have the shoes, bring them too. It's hard to find white shoes this time of year.

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

I just went to one rental site, and their rentals -start- at $100. I agree that it makes more sense to buy a dress.

If you don't feel like you have to wear An Official Wedding Gown, then you'll have tons of less expensive and more immediately available options. Think "formal gown" or "fancy dress" rather than "wedding gown." I love thrift shops, of course, but if I were you I'd stick to higher end consignment stores for a better chance of finding something non-hideous, especially since you're time-crunched. If you want to wear white or a variation thereof, you can also get a dress that can be dyed afterwards so you can wear it again. Or if you want a traditional dress, you can always use it in a zombie bride costume.

[zenala.livejournal.com]

I was very pleased with Bride 'n Belle on Main St in Medford. The window displays often look cheesy, but they have a really nice selection inside, and the women running the shop are very friendly and don't try to push anything. There's also a tuxedo shop next door. Not sure about renting dresses, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you asked.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

Another idea is that if you want versatility and getting more than one wear out of a dress, is that you can go for a style that isn't as froofy and is more suitable to wear out as a fancy dress and then once the wedding's over, you can dye it a nice color and turn it into a wearing-out dress.

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

This might be more involved than you're looking for, but how about Craigslist?

http://boston.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=wedding+gown&srchType=A&minAsk=&maxAsk=

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

My wedding dress was bought second-hand; I bought it at.... I want to say the store name was Vows, but I can't remember (It was 16 years ago!). I remember it was in Newton. I was lucky- it did not need any alteration.

[spitcurl.livejournal.com]

J. Crew, Aria, Etsy (but returns can be an issue on Etsy).

J. Crew & Aria both have real silk & cotton dresses, some as low as $89 (Aria), and you can try them on in-store. You could get alterations turned around fast, if they are simple enough. Huge variety of trad & non-trad styles, but all very simple.

http://www.ariadress.com/

http://www.jcrew.com/wedding.jsp

Also check the classifieds of bridal online mags, like offbeatbrides.com or weddingbee.com, you may be able to find deals there (that are local perhaps).

going off the map

[wolftone.livejournal.com]

If you're not married (as it were) to the concept of the white wedding dress, Kim's Fashion Design (http://www.kimsfashion.com/) (warning - audio on annoying flash site) is a great place to get a custom-made asian-style dress. A high-quality silk cheongsam will run you about $600, and is totally wearable for future elegant occasions.

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolftone/5070468228/)

(They're great with men's fashion too.)

[dcltdw]

If this is for you, then congrats! :)

I think my sweetie went to Chryssie's Bridal in Canton, MA, but I might be wildly misremembering.

and thus had no idea how far in advance people expect you to plan and so the event is a little over a month away leaving no time for the apparently usual 2-3 month wait. (Speaking entirely theoretically, of course, because no reasonable person would be in such a situation, right?)

Oh, a month away is entirely reasonable. It just depends if you want to have a thousand-member-marching-band-preceding-you-through-the-streets-of-Paris kind of wedding, or something else. :)

[avecvu.livejournal.com]

http://www.renttherunway.com?

I don't know whether there is anything wedding or even wedding-y, but you might find something suitable to rent.

[satyrgrl.livejournal.com]

I got my dress at David's Bridal (in Missouri, but a chain is a chain). I maid an appointment, and certainly got enough service to fulfill my need to be the center of attention. I got an amazing dress for a pretty good price. My one true bridezilla moment happened to be directed at them, and they handled it with grace. I didn't like how the dye on my bridesmaid's shoes turned out, so they re-dyed them. Twice. Then, when I still wasn't happy, they gave me a different style which took the color better.

They're not fancy, but I'd go there again.

[turil.livejournal.com]

I've always been amused by the Voldemort's place on Somerville Ave, near Market Basket. It's not actually called Voldemort's, but it's close enough that I like to joke that it is...

After some wandering down Somerville Ave on Google street view just now, I discovered it's actually called Valdemar Studios. But it kind of looks like it's just a photo studio that does bridal photos now that I Google it. They have dresses in the window, which is why I thought they had dresses. So it's probably not useful to you. I still like the name though...

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! If you are looking for something a little offbeat but elegant and have the budget for a bit of a splurge, Maggie Flood in Sudbury might be worth checking out.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

Hey, you're getting married?! HOORAY! :)
(I am making up for my lack of helpful input by sharing my unmitigated enthusiasm.)

Alfred Angelo

[eveninparadise.livejournal.com]

I had much better luck with Alfred Angelo dresses than with David's Bridal. (And yes, I also bought my wedding dress the same month as my wedding.) Alfred Angelo dresses come off the rack in a range of sizes (0-30w) and have a slightly nicer feel for a similar price.

In my case, I knew which dress I liked and called local shops until I found it in my size. The shop I ended up with was Marry and Tux in Nashua, NH (http://marryandtuxbridal.com/), less than an hour's drive and no sales tax. Make an appointment, and you can try on a bunch of new, off-the-rack dresses from different designers. I purchased mine and took it home the same day. They also recommended a local tailor in Medford (Adam and Eva Tailor Shop), which turned my alterations around quickly.

Even though you can buy the dress in a day, you should go soon, since alterations can take a few weeks, depending on how elaborate your dress is. Good luck, and congratulations on your upcoming wedding! :)