Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

Hi everyone! I'm not a bride who cares to spend a ton of money on my wedding dress but at the same time, I want to look elegant and beautiful. I know it can be done from looking at tons of forums and pictures. So I was wondering if anyone had any ideas where I could look for wedding dresses for $400 and under? So far I've made an appt with David's Bridal for a week or so from now but I want to check out other places as well. If you know of any stores and/or reputable websites or sellers, please let me know. I'd really appreciate any suggestions! :)

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

NY Bridal Outlet in Farmingdale has a lot of off the rack dresses you can look through.I'm not sure how many fit that price range but I know that they are some there that do.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

Crashing. Go up to vows in Massachusetts. I got my dress there and they had tons around that price.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

Rk bridal in the city

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

i got mine from bridal world in baldwin, they have dresses in all price ranges

Re: Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

---

Posted by killerqueen

NY Bridal Outlet in Farmingdale has a lot of off the rack dresses you can look through.I'm not sure how many fit that price range but I know that they are some there that do.

---

This! Got my dress there. It's a sample. A little more then I wanted to pay, but I was too in love with it. And they cap alterations at $250 which is nice. All alterations are done at village bridal in babylon.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

My dress is from BHLDN (Anthropologie's bridal line)--they have a few styles that are on sale for around $400.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

I got my dress at RK Bridal in the city. I spent $650 (after tax). I know they have an off the rack section that looked like a good size. I'm a plus size girl so I had that added bonus of finding a dress for cheap.

I hear J.Crew has few dresses under that price.

If you could find a place that sells Dessy dresses, they have dresses under that price range. I was looking into getting one, but I would have to order it online.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

Thank you ladies!!! I've heard of RK Bridal before but from what I understood, don't you have to pick out the dresses yourselves? If anyone has gone there before I'd love to hear how your experience was! And the thing about stores like J. Crew and BHLDN is that they don't seem to sell mermaid dresses But I guess I would understand why they don't since that's not their typical style. I appreciate everyone's suggestions! After researching all these places you've suggested, I made appointments with NY Bridal Outlet and Bridal World for this week and next week Hoping I will find a great gown that will WOW me!

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

I had an attendant at RK Bridal, someone helped me right away. I did print out dresses from their site that I liked and gave the attendant the photos (I think most places recommend bringing examples of what you like anyway). She only had 1 of the dresses from the photos I gave her, but she was able to pick out more dresses for me that were similar to the photos.

I will say RK Bridal has A LOT of dresses. It's a great place to go if you know what you want.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

I agree-- when I went to RK they give you an attendant. She'll be able to pick out dresses in your price point and help you since she knows the stock. The woman I had, Olga, was super helpful and very nice. I found all their staff was really helpful-- we went back to look at bridesmaids dresses later and those people were nice as well. I just recommend going on a weekday. I went on a Friday during the summer around lunch and waited less than 10 minutes for an attendant. I've heard it's much worse on Saturdays.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

I went to RK Bridal on a Monday around 1:30 and was helped right away. Very quiet around that time.

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

I have heard it is really busy on the weekends - unfortunately that is the only time I can go! I am hoping it won't be too crowded!

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

Okay ladies. Here's an update. I went to NY Bridal Outlet in Farmingdale today and they only had one gown that I liked. It was gorgeous but was a couple of sizes too big so they had to pin it. I put it on hold but will probably be letting it go since they only hold dresses for 24 hrs. I'll post pictures on the LIW 2015 Brides FB page at some point. I also went to David's Bridal and tried on a couple of dresses. I liked a bunch of them but I'm not sure I LOVE any of them. One thing I'm afraid of is what if I never find a dress that I LOVE? Then what? Does that mean that whichever dress I choose I'll just be settling or is it possible to pick a dress that you just like and not LOVE or have some kind of 'Aha!' moment with? It was also a weird experience to try on dresses because my mom and two sisters would love one dress that I just felt was '...meh' or okay. Then when I liked a dress a lot, they would be less excited since I guess it's not one they loved. Idk it was just something I noticed. Not saying they were terrible to react that way. Idk. Does anyone sort of understand what I'm trying to say in all of this? My biggest worry in this right now is what if I never look in the mirror after trying a dress and say 'WOW! That's the one!'?

Re: Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

---

Posted by missmarryme46

Okay ladies. Here's an update. I went to NY Bridal Outlet in Farmingdale today and they only had one gown that I liked. It was gorgeous but was a couple of sizes too big so they had to pin it. I put it on hold but will probably be letting it go since they only hold dresses for 24 hrs. I'll post pictures on the LIW 2015 Brides FB page at some point. I also went to David's Bridal and tried on a couple of dresses. I liked a bunch of them but I'm not sure I LOVE any of them. One thing I'm afraid of is what if I never find a dress that I LOVE? Then what? Does that mean that whichever dress I choose I'll just be settling or is it possible to pick a dress that you just like and not LOVE or have some kind of 'Aha!' moment with? It was also a weird experience to try on dresses because my mom and two sisters would love one dress that I just felt was '...meh' or okay. Then when I liked a dress a lot, they would be less excited since I guess it's not one they loved. Idk it was just something I noticed. Not saying they were terrible to react that way. Idk. Does anyone sort of understand what I'm trying to say in all of this? My biggest worry in this right now is what if I never look in the mirror after trying a dress and say 'WOW! That's the one!'?

---

Did you notice if they had Mori Lee dresses at this place? And how were the prices?

Re: Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

---

Posted by missmarryme46

Okay ladies. Here's an update. I went to NY Bridal Outlet in Farmingdale today and they only had one gown that I liked. It was gorgeous but was a couple of sizes too big so they had to pin it. I put it on hold but will probably be letting it go since they only hold dresses for 24 hrs. I'll post pictures on the LIW 2015 Brides FB page at some point. I also went to David's Bridal and tried on a couple of dresses. I liked a bunch of them but I'm not sure I LOVE any of them. One thing I'm afraid of is what if I never find a dress that I LOVE? Then what? Does that mean that whichever dress I choose I'll just be settling or is it possible to pick a dress that you just like and not LOVE or have some kind of 'Aha!' moment with? It was also a weird experience to try on dresses because my mom and two sisters would love one dress that I just felt was '...meh' or okay. Then when I liked a dress a lot, they would be less excited since I guess it's not one they loved. Idk it was just something I noticed. Not saying they were terrible to react that way. Idk. Does anyone sort of understand what I'm trying to say in all of this? My biggest worry in this right now is what if I never look in the mirror after trying a dress and say 'WOW! That's the one!'?

---

To be honest, I didn't have a 'that's the one' feeling either. I tried on over 100 dresses and for whatever reason just never found one where I was like one of those girls that's crying and so excited and knows 110% its their dress. The one I ended up getting, I actually tried it on 3 separate times and every time was like ehhh maybe. I kind of gave up on expecting to have that reaction though and tried to not stress so much over the dress. Of course the dress is important and you should and will look gorgeous but I just focused on the most important part of everything, being married. The dress I got is beautiful and as long as I don't look back at the pictures in 20 years and think why did I wear that ugly dress then I am satisfied with it. You will find your dress, with a 'wow, that's the one' moment or not!
And I also am having a few alterations made to it to have a lower back etc, maybe after that I will have that moment, and maybe slightly altering a dress you like will turn it into one you love??

Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

Def go to RK Bridal. Just got my dress there last Friday. I had an amazing experience. Everyone was so helpful!!

Re: Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

---

Posted by kellynicole91

Did you notice if they had Mori Lee dresses at this place? And how were the prices?

---

I'm not sure if they had any Mori Lee dresses. I was too focused on the prices to look at names lol I tried on a beautiful gown that was a couple sizes up and about $600 (overbudget -__-') but actually I really think it is the one. Even though I'm afraid of how much it would cost to alter the dress to my size. After my sisters sent me the pictures of me in the different dresses I tried on that day, I realized that that might be the best way to pick my dress. After all, after my wedding day, I will be seeing that dress in a whoooole bunch of pictures. So it makes sense that I should love it but especially in the pictures. The only thing is that I put it on a 24 hr hold and they said they would contact me to see if I still want it, but nobody contacted me. So I'm hoping they didn't just take it off hold and sell it to someone else without calling me to ask if I wanted it. I would really be upset smh. But I'm going to call/stalk them today to find out if they kept it.

I wanted to make it to at least one other bridal salon before I make my decision. I think that I'll go to Bridal World in Baldwin next and that's it since I have a tendency to be terribly indecisive. The city is never convenient for me and I am not a great navigator of the city so I'm not trying to get lost over there lol But I'm sure RK Bridal is just as lovely as some of you ladies have mentioned! If I could put these dresses on hold for days then I think I'd trek it to RKB but being that a lot of these dresses are time sensitive (b/c many of them are discontinued/off-the-rack/on sale) it'd probably be wise not to wait much longer before I decide after seeing a dress I like.

Re: Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

---

Posted by BOUSA312

To be honest, I didn't have a 'that's the one' feeling either. I tried on over 100 dresses and for whatever reason just never found one where I was like one of those girls that's crying and so excited and knows 110% its their dress. The one I ended up getting, I actually tried it on 3 separate times and every time was like ehhh maybe. I kind of gave up on expecting to have that reaction though and tried to not stress so much over the dress. Of course the dress is important and you should and will look gorgeous but I just focused on the most important part of everything, being married. The dress I got is beautiful and as long as I don't look back at the pictures in 20 years and think why did I wear that ugly dress then I am satisfied with it. You will find your dress, with a 'wow, that's the one' moment or not!
And I also am having a few alterations made to it to have a lower back etc, maybe after that I will have that moment, and maybe slightly altering a dress you like will turn it into one you love??

---

It's sooo funny you said that! I had just given myself a bit of a pep talk after I posted that post. I said to myself, Yes, I understand that you want to be in a beautiful and even jaw-dropping gown...but is that what I'm doing all of this for?? NO!! If we had no money/support at all I would be just as content in my street clothes getting married to the man that I love and want to wake up to for the rest of my life. It is a total blessing that we are getting the help we have received thus far with finances and just support in general. So I definitely shouldn't be ridden with disappointment just because I don't 'LOVE' a certain dress or have that 'WOW' moment. You are totally right that I will find my dress with or without that moment and that I should focus on the most important part -- being married! Thank you so much for helping to put things into perspective!

Re: Dress Hunting! Any Ideas??

---

Posted by kellynicole91

Did you notice if they had Mori Lee dresses at this place? And how were the prices?

---

I know RK Bridal has Mori Lee. My dress is a Mori Lee. They seemed to be the most budget friendly dress line I could find.