An upcoming bride like you has a lot of things going on, right? You have to schedule your wedding date, send out invites, go to cake tastings, make the necessary arrangements and choose colors and designs for the wedding venue and the reception – but wait! Those preparations are all for your family and friends to take part in. What about you? Have you considered how you’d look like on that day when you’ll be a legal wife to be bound by love and commitment to the man you love? Have you decided on what to wear?

Of course, you can have a wedding dress tailored especially for you – it’s your special day, after all. But then you’ll have to check with your designer to make sure that you’ll be getting what you want; have many fittings to ensure that the dress of your choice will bring out your best features; not to mention that a new wedding dress can reach skyrocketing prices to the tune of hundreds, even thousands of dollars!

Advantages of Preowned Wedding Dresses

The fashionable ladies, of course, will choose new dresses, but the wise ones will opt for preowned wedding dresses. Why? Here are some of the reasons:

Economy

Yes, the price is more than absolutely right! With preowned wedding dresses, you get to have beautiful clothes at ridiculously low prices. You can buy one for as low as $50 or even less, depending on your haggling ability. Not into cheap wear? Then go for designer ones. And the good news is, you can get these designer wedding dresses for a slashed price of up to 50-60% off. Now, that’s a lot of savings that you could use for your wedding’s food, souvenirs or even a honeymoon package. Wise, isn’t it?

Variety

Oscar dela Renta, Amsale, Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Kenneth Pool – just a few of the famous designers whose creations you can wear on your special day. Of course, their garbs are priced a thousand up, but those prices are way, way cheaper than a new dress of the same caliber. Now, if you’re not into designer mode, you can choose from a wide array of beautiful dresses that come in all colors and designs.

Convenience

With secondhand wedding attire, you don’t have to wait forever to see the final product. You don’t have to resort to guesswork just to imagine how the fabric will feel against your skin or how comfortable your movements will be when you’re wearing it. Once you choose, you get to wear it, have adjustments made, and take it home. No waiting, no fuss translates to ultra comfort and convenience for you.

Flexibility

Most preowned wedding dresses come from abroad so you’ll have wider, even better selections in terms of size and design. A petite woman, for example, may find the right fit from wedding dresses that come from Asian countries. On the other hand, huge women may find the right sizes from those that hail from European or American origins. Have you been dreaming of an oriental wedding? Well, you just might get the dress you desire from Asian countries like China, Japan, Thailand or the Philippines.

Quality

Some people think that second hand clothes have inferior quality as they have already been used. How utterly wrong they are. If there’s one piece of clothing that a woman takes care of, it’s the one she wore the day she said “I do” to the man she loves. That’s why most preowned wedding dresses look like they’re just out of the box. This is most especially true with designer clothes as their creators made sure that they used quality materials lest their famous names be compromised.

Environmental friendly

The earth will smile at you for your efforts at green living. Yes, because you’ll be reusing a wedding dress that would have been destined to the attic of its previous owner. Plus, you can even resell it or lend it to a friend or relative, which will even up your advocacy for a greener, better world.

How to Choose Preowned Wedding Dresses

Okay, so you’ve decided to get a second hand dress. But this doesn’t mean that you can just pick and buy any dress that catches your fancy. Here are some tips on how to get a preowned wedding dress that will turn you into a beautiful, blushing bride:

1. Consider your body shape. Get naked and take a good look at yourself in front of a huge mirror. Do you have a wide upper body, small waist and wide hips? Then you must have an apple-shaped body. You’re a pear if you have a narrow upper body that gets wider towards the hips; rectangular if you have almost the same upper and lower body measurements and hourglass if you’ve got the right measurements at the right body parts. Why do we have to detail each body shape? It’s because this is the first consideration you have to make on choosing a wedding dress. Otherwise, you might look awkward wearing a dress not fit for your body type. Can you imagine a woman with a pear-shaped body wearing a dress for a woman with an hourglass figure?

2. Think about your wedding’s theme. This is equally important. A Hello Kitty designer wedding dress will look good on a wedding with the same theme but not in a rustic setting. To be on the safe side, choose a dress that has a classical design that will fit most themes. For example, a vintage dress will look good in a rustic wedding, fairy tale wedding, etc.

3. Decide on a budget. Remember that weddings don’t come cheap. You’ll shell out a lot of cash for the invitations, venue, reception, food, etc. It would be very unwise to wear designer clothes that will consequently dent your wedding fund, don’t you think? Of course, this is not to say that you shouldn’t wear the dress of your dreams because it’s the most special day of your life. If things go well, it might be the only time you’re going to wear that dress, so why not make the most out of it, right? Sure, you can, only if it suits your budget. It can be very frustrating to have a dream wedding only to find that your new husband is up to his neck in debt.

4. Browse the web. There’s an abundance of online stores that sell preowned wedding dresses in the World Wide Web.  You’ll have a lot to choose from just in a single website, get an idea of their prices and compare quality and cost with other websites as well. All these can be done at home, without having to spend cash for gas or transportation or dealing with heavy traffic. Fast, convenient and easy.

5. Check out thrift stores. Are online store not your thing? Then, you might want to check out thrift stores or garage sales. There’s always that woman who’d rather sell her wedding dress than let it gather dust in the attic. There’s also that woman who has to sell her dress because she has to go abroad or move into a smaller home. You might also want to ask friends or relatives if they know of somebody who’d want to sell her dress.

6. Try it on. Once you’ve chosen a certain dress, try it on. Raise and move your arms in different directions to check if the arm and the armpit areas feel the way they should. Sway a little and walk around to check for comfort. Sit on a chair to see if it tightens around the waist or abdominal area. Walk around to see how the dress moves with your body. This is also the best time to examine it closely for signs of wear and tear. Loose buttons or hooks can be replaced easily, but red wine and food stains might be difficult to remove. It will also be a good idea to take your mom, sister or friend with you to check on small damages that you might overlook.

7. Choose the right accessories. And since you bought your dress for a much lower price, you can spend a portion of your savings for accessories. Most preowned wedding dress stores also offer trinkets of all shapes, colors and designs. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, anklets, veils, clips – name it, they have it. You can choose the best ones to fit your dress. You can also ask the store owner for suggestions on what he thinks will look good for you.

8. Enjoy wearing it. You know you have made the right choice so wear it with aplomb on that day when you will say I do to the man you love. Hold your head high, square your shoulders and walk gracefully with the thought that you are one wise woman that your husband can be proud of.

Buying preowned wedding dresses can give you more advantages than one. Yes, it is indeed the wise wear to say “I do”, don’t you think?