By Kristina
We all know I hate when people overpay for a wedding dress they’ll only wear once, but I also appreciate the beauty of designer gowns and the way they make brides simply glow on their big day. Thankfully, Andrea Lown and Leah Andrew created a way for budget-conscious brides to get that dress—and much more—of their dreams without feeling sticker shock from the price tag: SmartBride Boutique.
This online boutique, started by the duo in 2008, provides a marketplace for brides-to-be to purchase just about anything they need for their wedding. At SmartBride Boutique, you can browse though thousands of shoes, pieces of jewelry, accessories, veils, decorations, and dresses for the entire wedding party.
When it comes to wedding dresses, the selection seems endless with page upon page of beautiful gowns to choose from. Though most of the items come from former brides, SmartBride Boutique does include a lot of new inventory from bridal boutiques making room for new samples, so it’s possible you could find a dress that’s never been worn down the aisle.
And the best part is that these new and once-worn wedding gowns are anywhere from 30-60 percent off their original price, even those with designer brands—score! This Vera Wang dress is listed at 40% off its original price and you’ll find more than 100 Maggie Sottero gowns for under $500!
Purchasing such an important dress online may be a little frightening, so SmartBride offers five tips for a successful purchase. Here are some additional ways to ease the process:
- Pay attention to size. Most of the dresses listed on SmartBride Boutique include bra, bust, waist, and hip measurements of the dress, along with the street-size associated with the dress, since wedding sizes are usually two sizes larger.
- Know what you want. With 3,000 wedding gowns to choose from, it’s good to have an idea of what kind of dress you’re looking for. SmartBride Boutique allows you to narrow your search by size, designer, color, price, neckline, and more to help you find your perfect match.
Your turn readers—would you consider buying your dress online? Have you purchased your gown through a website and have any more tips? Did you score a great deal on a designer gown? We wanna hear about it, so spill in the comments section below or shoot me an email at [email protected].
