The Laundry List (Literally)

The first subject of much bridal stress: Oh, what to wear?

Well, I gave myself a $400 budget for the wedding dress. I know this sounds preposterous to some of you brides-to-be. But believe me, it can be done. And here's another wrench to throw in the mix: I'm a plus-sized bride (Regular size 14, formal size 16)...and not to mention busty (36-E bra size). For the smaller brides out there, finding a dress at $400 might be a bit easier.

So, I had visions of a couture ball gown & I started researching online. I started at Ebay and even came across a cool site called Recycledbride.com where you can purchase previously worn wedding gowns. (They've recently changed their name to Tradesy.com BTW). I'm always hesitant though to purchase site-unseen. But at least the site offers a buyer guarantee.

Here are examples of what I had envisioned, a strapless tiered ruffle ball gown:

All of these dresses range between $1000 - $4000

So, I visited a couple local discount bridal shops and tried about 15 dresses before I decided to visit David's Bridal. I went with the hope to buy one of their $99 dresses, but I found that none of them fit the desired "Couture" effect. So, I shopped the sale rack and stumbled upon this very pretty gown, previously priced at $1150, and guess what? It was a final sale at the cost of $349.99!! On top of that, all the sale items had an additional $50 off. So my final price, with tax was around $325! And here it is, a Galina Signature Dress, (In which I found had been created by Viola Chan and is still sold in Europe for $1400.)

I don't think I'll have any problem feeling like a couture bride in this dress! & I came pretty close to my inspiration gowns, don't you think!?

All that was needed to complete my look was a mermaid petticoat (Also at David's Bridal for $49-regular priced), and shoes (I scored a pair of Vera Wang flats while at David's, originally $68. I got them for $49)

My mother told me it wouldn't feel real until I bought the dress, and I have to agree. It's all coming together now!

Dress link: Click Here

Shoe Link: Click Here

So my current tally (with tax) so far:

Dress: $325

Petticoat: $54

Shoes: $54

Total: $433 for dress, undergarments and shoes.

Budget left: $2567