When I tell people I bought my wedding dress used online, naturally I get a few concerned looks. It’s not as scary as it may sound. I promise. After I got engaged back in 2010, aside from the immediate venue search to set a date, I went straight for the dresses. I did the inevitable and fell in love with a dress I saw on Pinterest that was out of my price range. I spent months trying to find something comparable but no such luck. Then I came across a website called OnceWed, an online listing service for wedding dresses. I squealed, probably out loud, when I found my dream dress was listed at a discounted price AND in my size. You know my story ends in success but before you start binge searching dresses there a few major rules to follow.
1. Use a reputable site. My top three: OnceWed.com, PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, and tradesy.com. With anything on the internet beware of scams. Be smart. But don’t worry, almost all the sellers are just former brides trying to give a perfectly amazing dress another chance to shine. In some cases you’ll even find a dress that has never been worn before.
2. Ask questions. Once you decide this dress could be the one. Contact the seller. Ask plenty of questions like: Have any alterations been made and were they done professionally? If previously worn, has it been professionally cleaned? Are you the original owner? Find out a little history. The dress I bought was originally purchased brand new from a boutique in Washington D.C.. The dress was shipped to me with the original receipt and a diagram of the bustle. It was worn previously for only a few hours for the ceremony and pictures so it was practically brand new but for almost half the price.
*Bonus tip: Don’t be afraid to bargain a little on the price once you decide to go for it. Never hurts to try.
3. Try it on. You may be lucky enough to find your dream dress listed locally. I’ve seen listings where the seller will let you come check out the dress and even try it on. But in most cases you’ll have take to the internet again to find the dress at a local store or boutique. Make some phone calls to find the dress in stock and in your size. Older styles will be harder to find. In my case, my dream dress wasn’t in any of the stores near me because it was a style from 2006. I also didn’t have time to wait for them to ship it in to their store, but luckily they had dresses by the same designer and a very similar dress by a different designer. This helped tremendously. I was able to find out about the sizing and recreate the dress from near identical versions. The most important thing is I left the boutique feeling confident my dream dress was a reality.
4. Use Escrow.com. I don’t have to tell you how nerve-racking making a big purchase can be let alone one on the internet. Using Escrow.com was a dream. If you need a little brush up on how escrow works click here. Easy right? The best part is the option to change your mind once you hold the dress in your hands, because isn’t that everyone’s biggest concern with internet purchases? If you decline, you might be out a little cash for sign up and shipping costs but at least you have peace of mind. And if it does work out... then you’ve found your dress! Congratulations! Now go show your Mom or in my case lock yourself in your room, forbid you fiancé to come in, try on the dress and Skype your Mom, which is what happens when you’re planning a wedding long distance.
No matter how you go about finding your dress it’s sure to be a great memory. Good luck!
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| Photos by Artistic Impressions by Gina |
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