Bridal Gown Rental

You have two options:

1) Spend a gazillion dollars on the wedding of your dreams, live it up for one whole day of your life and because you’re so busy being the center of attention the whole day, it flashes by in a blur and you barely remember a thing. Then you spend the first few years of your marriage paying off the wedding.

2) Economize where possible and spend appropriately on expensive must-haves, have a wonderful day knowing you won’t head into your marriage heavily in debt. The wedding will still flash by in a blur but it’ll be an affordable blur.

If the second appeals more to you, then start by considering bridal gown rental.

There are advantages and disadvantages to everything and even bridal gown rental has its fans and its detractors. It seems like sacrilege to wear a used gown on the most important day of your life, but let’s be real about some things. It’s not just the big bucks you need to consider. There are several things that can sway you in either direction, depending upon your requirements.

ADVANTAGES

Money

Yes, it’s perhaps the most important thing to keep uppermost in your mind when you plan your wedding. Bridal gown rental versus purchase can save you thousands of dollars. Rental costs around $200, depending on the style. Spend the difference on things that will really mean something to you, like a beautiful pair of pearl earrings.

Luggage

If your wedding is to be held in an exotic location, or even just in your home town, away from where you usually live, you’ll have to lug that gorgeous gown through airports and hope it makes it safely through baggage holds. Then you have to cart it back home again after the wedding. Why not go for bridal gown rental instead, at your wedding location?

Long term care

Wedding dresses are usually quite comprehensive concoctions of lace, satin and sequins. You can’t just hang one up, unprotected, in your wardrobe. It has to be cleaned with care and this alone can sometimes cost $100 or so. Then you have to bundle it up so that it doesn’t get damaged over the next twenty years or so, until the day when your own daughter – if you have a girl – will take a look at it and tell you it’s too outdated for her to wear. Do you have the space to store a big box for 20 years? With bridal gown rental, this problem is eliminated.

DISADVANTAGES

Ok so we’re not trying to burst your wedding bubble here. We know that there are disadvantages to bridal gown rental, and in the interests of being able to make an informed decision, read on. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which way you want to go, according to your needs and dreams.

Size and fit

Unless you’re a textbook size 0-6, sometimes it can be hard finding a bridal gown rental store that stocks your size. Plus size gowns are even more difficult to come by but there are specialists that happily deal with this market. Whatever your size, you need to make sure the dress fits you for your wedding day so the company you deal with has to be prepared to make adjustments to the fit if necessary.

Choice

While many bridal gown rental stores have quite decent selections, you might be limited in your choices if you have something in particular in mind. Some stores will actually buy in a gown if a client requests it, as long as it seems like it will be a popular choice for other brides and they can therefore justify the new purchase.

Sentimental value

If sentimentality is important to you, then bridal gown rental is not for you. You can’t pass a rented gown down to your daughter.

Now that you are equipped with all the reasons for and against bridal gown rental, you can decide what’s best for you. Try to keep in mind though that what’s most important is that your wedding day be happy and memorable, for all the right reasons.