DAY 86
EVERY bride I have ever seen on their wedding day has been beautiful. I mean that. I don’t know if it is the glow of happiness coming from within or the extra time spent in preparation, but they truly are all lovely. I don’t know about you, but I would also say that I really can’t remember specifically what any of their wedding dresses looked like other than most were white. Which is why I have never really understood the time and money that goes into the selection of a wedding dress. I did a quick internet search on “Buying a Wedding Dress” and there were THOUSANDS of entries, all very series, about the proper selection method.
I will begin by saying, I’m on the left side of the bell curve (or the right side, I can’t ever remember which side indicates less or more than the median; statistics was never my strong suit) in that I bought my wedding dress for $50 on my lunch hour one day. It was new, but needed a trip to the dry cleaner as it had been tried on a few times and the hem was dirty (which was less than $100).
I happened upon this bridal boutique in Omaha, NE a couple of weeks ago.
Although the mannequin does look a bit aggressive
Believe it or not, this store is actually at the front of an upscale Goodwill and sells all used dresses. The prices were from about $24.99 to $79.99. I think this is a great idea, I mean there must be millions of used dresses hanging around out there, given all the married people out there (some multiple times).
So, I did a little research on second hand wedding gowns. There is actually a whole industry for those out there as well.
There are quite a few internet sites in which you can either list or buy wedding gowns. The prices vary from $50- $15,000 (that was not a typo). My favorite was one called PreOwned Wedding Dresses, another was Bravo Bride.
There are also options to rent wedding dresses. If you are interested in this, search by your city online. That is good information, isn’t it? I just basically pointed at a set of encyclopedias and told you to “look it up yourself”, like I was your sixth grade teacher .
I know many of us keep our wedding gowns in the hope that our daughters will wear them, but did you? Does anybody actually wear their mothers wedding gown? I’m sure there are some people, but I’ve never met them. I say sell it now, pocket a few bucks and apply it to your daughters trendy consigned dress in 20-30 years.
Even if you are not buying or selling a second hand dress to keep additional sequins and lace out of tomorrow’s landfill, the money savings alone seems to make it worth exploring. People in the US spend more yearly on weddings than the GDP of most Eastern European countries (well the small ones anyway and I probably wouldn’t quote me given that I made that up). What I didn’t make up, according to Reuters, is the average cost of a U.S. wedding was $27,021 last year. This is the equivalent of an 11 1/2% down payment on a $234,550 new home which according to US Census Data was the average selling price of a home in May 2012.
Some things just don’t make sense to me…
I think it would also be interesting to add in the amount spent by guests on plane tickets, hotel accommodations, rental car and gas, food, any lost time from work to attend the wedding, money spent by guests on wedding gifts, babysitters, etc.
This is an economic discussion about marginal utility of money to brides, grooms, and guests. Different people have different curves for the utility. What is the value of a good memory, or the value of a special feeling the bride gets from that dress or the value of the special feeling the guest gets from attending the wedding and sharing the experience? Basically, what is the value of entertainment (non-essential items) in our lives? Food, clothing, shelter is all we need to physically stay alive. How much return do you get from spending money on the feeling of riding your Harley motorcycle, your wedding dress, giving money to charity, or drinking alcohol versus water?
I like that all the money spent is re-used in the economy. That $27,021 spent on the average wedding (does that include the honeymoon costs?) goes to people that will in turn spend that money on food, gas, entertainment, house payments, etc…which in turn gets passed on to other people for their use, etc etc. Isn’t a free market economy great!!?? The money has to go somewhere, eventually. Either it’s spent on something more utilitarian, like food, or something less utilitarian, like playing craps in Vegas. Of course, you could save the money instead, and invest it in the stock market for future use, or pay down your mortgage…and then watch the value of your stocks or house plummet, and then that saved money just disappeared…
Thanks for the thoughtful and entertaining blog Kerry. Cheers, Steve
Dearest Kerry, my maid of honor.
I can’t believe that you don’t remember my dress…
My stepmom and I designed and made it together. I was even sewing additional sequins and beads on the bodice the night before the wedding. I spent around $100 on the materials to make it. I still have it all professionally boxed in my guest room closet. I don’t know what I’m saving it for, I have 3 sons.
I wore the dress almost 21 years ago, with you by my side, marrying my knight in shining armor.
Still Married, and husband is still shiny.
I am enjoying reading your blog, I miss you.
Dawn Sharkey Snow
Dawn- Of all the beautiful brides, you were one of the most beautiful, but I don’t really remember your dress. I do remember the green dresses that accidentally got ordered with the black lace overlay that had to be cut off. I am glad you are still shiny happy people. Twenty-one years has gone fast.
For sure…the advantages of buying a dress that was worn one time is a no brainer.
What a great idea–I will mail them mine!
Love the blog, Kerri! I bought a used wedding dress for $200. It hadn’t ever been in a wedding, but had been bought, altered, and returned by a sobbing no longer bride-to-be. My wedding dress has been reused twice since then. I cut the bottom up and made a Baptism outfit for my son. Then I used the beaded bodice of my dress, my mom’s wedding dress, and my MIL’s wedding dress to make a Baptism quilt for my daughter. Since i also got to wear my dress twice, I’d say it definitely got its use!
Hi Kerry,
I found your blog through The Minimalist Mom, and while I don’t wish to take over for you, I am enjoying going back through and reading about your year. I am currently pregnant with my first and have this idea about minimalist living with a newborn. Until now, I truly felt that this idea was purly idealistic. After reading your blog and subsequently using the google, I have a renewed confidence that it can be done! It would bring me great joy to be able to witness the look of horror on my mother and M-I-L’s faces when they get to check my baby registry for the first time and it has a total of 11 items on it =)
Thanks for the note. Yes, babies really don’t need much stuff. But, don’t beat yourself up if you decide you really need a couple of extra crib sheets or other special things down the road. For my second, I actually bought a round corral gate thing just to keep my other child from bonking her with toys while my back was turned (on accident, I’m sure). You can always pacify your parents by telling they you will let them know as soon as you need things. Grandma’s love to buy stuff 😉 Congrats on your pregnancy
I got my wedding dress from a local Goodwill for $75 (It was supposed to be $99, but I had a 25% off coupon that I got in the mail on my birthday.). I’m not sure if it was worn before, but I wore it twice — once for my wedding, and again a few weeks later when we went to my husbands birth-state to celebrate with all the relatives that couldn’t make it to our wedding.