'Compromise your budget, not your look'

BY KIRK STARRATT

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

When it comes to planning a wedding, most people don’t want to scrimp. But everyone has a budget to work with and sometimes the pricetag on that seemingly perfect dress can be enough to crush a bride’s sartorial excitement.

Trish Robicheau, owner of “Just As Nice” Bridal and Formal Wear Consignment and Sales in New Minas, says the most expensive items when planning a wedding are usually the wedding dress and the meal. Since you probably want to feed your guests, sometimes brides have to find a way to make the purchase of a dress more affordable.

She said women often have a vision of what they would consider to be the perfect dress, but their dreams are downsized when they see the price and realize they can’t afford it.

“As a wedding photographer, I see every weekend what brides are paying on their wedding day,” she said. “Buying a used dress is starting to be a little more common.”

As well, a lot of people are waiting to marry later in life. Robicheau said women with more life experience who are paying their own expenses tend to be more aware of the costs and take a closer look at where they’re spending their money.

Not for everyone

It’s important to note that buying a used dress isn’t for everyone. However, Robicheau said just because you buy a dress on consignment doesn’t mean you can’t look great on your wedding day.

By doing so, more money in a wedding budget can be freed up for a better meal, better wine or even help put a down payment on a new home. Robicheau said second-hand wedding consignment has become a booming niche market in the United States.

If you think about it, grooms don’t mind wearing a rented tuxedo. Robicheau said, although it’s special, your wedding is only one day and brides will have all sorts of beautiful memories to hold on to aside from saving their wedding dress. If you plan to keep your dress, it can be expensive to have it stored properly and it can take up a lot of room.

“It will just be stuck in a box under the bed for years,” she said. Some women save their wedding dress hoping one day to see their daughter wear it. However, with changing fashion trends, chances are that by the time the daughter is old enough to get married, she probably won’t want to wear it anyway.

Has to be cleaned and in near-perfect condition

Because fashions change every year, it’s important to decide early whether or not you want to sell the dress. Most shops that take wedding dresses on consignment will only take dresses three to five years old.

Any dress you intend to sell on consignment first has to be cleaned and it must be in near-perfect condition. Holding on to the original sales receipt is a good idea too, so you can demonstrate the savings to potential buyers.

“Nobody needs to know your dress is second-hand,” Robicheau said. “If there’s a small flaw, like a bead missing, most of the time people won’t notice that.”

Selling a wedding dress on consignment is also a way to recoup some of the cost of a wedding. Lots of young married couples are saddled with debt, and wedding costs can soon get out of control with DJs, flowers and meals to pay for. It all adds up.

Weddings can easily cost $5,000 to $10,000 without being extravagant and up to $1,500 of that expense usually includes a new dress that requires alterations.

Robicheau said women should shop around for the right dress and usually don’t buy the first one they try on. If there’s any doubt at all, wait it out. After all, you want to be sure because it’s your special day.

“You don’t want to compromise too much,” she said. “Compromise your budget, not your look.”