Wedding Dress/ Flowers/ some decorations for under $600; Can anybody help??

Question

My mother already paid for the reception and honeymoon; but now she says I have to buy the dress, flowers and some of the decorations myself. The wedding is on April 1st so my budget is only at $600 with my tax return. Because there are so many risks, I would rather not ebay it, is there anything to help save money without looking like a trashy wedding??

Answer 1

Here at our Goodwill I saw a bunch of perfect wedding dresses
Really
Check consignment stores as well
Big savings after all you hopefully only wear it once
Blessings

Answer 2

Not sure if there's one near you, but I bought my dress at Group USA. None of the wedding dresses were over $600 and they have a lot of really nice dresses. You can check out their website at www.groupusa.com. Sometimes you can get lucky and find something cheap at David's Bridal as well.

I didn't decorate the church at all and didn't go overboard on the flowers. It was very simple and very elegant. The only flowers we had were mine, the bridal party, the parents, and the grandparents. My friend was even simpler than that and had artificial flowers that we all carried and each of us had two flowers, that was it.

As for any other decorations, the only thing I did on my own was center pieces for the reception because I didn't like what the hall had. Oh, and the favors for the guests.

Don't stress over it too much. I got engaged in May and married in September of the same year. There's nothing wrong with keeping it simple. We got a lot of compliments on our wedding.

Answer 3

I agree with everyone about looking at thrift/consignment stores for your dress. David's is also a good choice. Do you know anyone that you could borrow their dress? It's not that big of a deal to where someone Else's dress. My two sisters-in-law did that. They got married a couple of years apart. The dress was beautiful, and do you really remember what the bride wore a year ago? She will, but no one else will. As far as decorations go, it's Valentines Day season. Go to the 99cent Stores and see what they have. They have some really cute stuff. I saw a vase with a heart cut out in the center. It's pink, but if that's not one of your colors, spray paint it whatever color you want. They also have fish bowls. Fish are cheap, and you can float candles in them. Get the flowers from Costco/Sam's Club/Trader Joe's. My other sister in law used a dried flower bouquet. It was beautiful, and she still has it. Is there any chance the groom or his family will help with the flowers? He is suppose to buy your bouquet. You could make the corsages yourself. Go to Michael's and they will show you how. They are a great help. You could even ask them for inexpensive ideas. I bet someone at Tall Mouse would too. Do you have any creative friends? Ask them to help come up with some ideas. Good luck.

Answer 4

Check with your local thrift stores for a dress. There are some that actually specialize in wedding gowns. If that is not an option try to rent a dress. I had the wedding gown of my dreams for less than a third of the purchase price, granted I did not keep it, but then I did not have the enormous cleaning and preserving bill, either. As far as the flowers and decorations, there are plenty of diy craft stores that really only require a hot glue gun and some silk flowers. Not creative, talk to your local florist of letting you "showcase" their abilities. Don't stress, it can be done.

Answer 5

If you want to buy the dress, I would consider David's bridal. Personally, with it being so close I would check some local bridal stores to see if they rent wedding gowns. That way you could have more money to spend on flowers and other things. Michael's and Walmart are great places to get silk flowers from. You could get all white ones and find fabric spray paint the colors you want. Also check out www.save-on-crafts.com. Here you can purchase silk flowers in bulk. Hey, make an evening out of making arrangements with your bridesmaids after all that's what they are for! Michael's and Walmart will also have everything you need for decor. Good Luck!

Answer 6

You can get creative with your decorations and get some books out from the library about weddigns and making your own decorations, then get supplies at michaels and jo-anns (craft superstores!) I used to work at jo-anns and they have an entire section with wedding stuff, even veils. For the dress, a consignment shop is a good idea becasue they are more selective about their products, but i dont recommend goodwill for them. I have never seen anything like a wedding dress worth buying at goodwill. Also, they sometimes have sales on dresses at bridal shops. Another good place is if you have a mall that has a Jessica McClintock store, some of those dresses, which I think are meant to be prom dresses, look like bridal gowns. I hope this helped!

Answer 7

i think i might be able to help you. I just recently got married a few months ago and when i was buying my decorations i could not decide between two colors so i purchased both and decided later. I was able to do this because I used fake flowers. with fake flowers you dont have to worry about the flowers wilting or turning brown. I can send you a picture of the flowers so you can get an idea but the one that i have available are cream and soft pink. if you are interested email me back and i will let you know how many decorations i have.

Answer 8

David's bridal usually has a $99 dress sale. Call and ask if they are having one now or any time soon. Call three florists and go over what you want (and you'll want to scale it down - the flowers can be very expensive also). Take the middle quote. I'd eBay the decorations - you've got plenty of time and just pay for the protection that will let you send it back if you aren't happy with it.

you'll be fine! congratulations & good luck!

Answer 9

I have bought two online. I bought a Maggie Sottero dress that was $1,299.00 on Ebay for $222.00. The dress was new with tags. It was BEAUTIFUL...I mean stunning. Not a thing wrong with it at all. Lakhouse Bridal on Ebay. I bought a second, less formal dress also from another seller. An Oleg Cassini gown that came from David's Bridal. I had seen it at David's and liked it but I thought that $1000.00 was to much to spend on a second dress to run around the reception in. I found it on Ebay for $300.00. The woman who bought it simply did not like the color once she got it home and in real lighting. She sent me the receipt from David's and all. Just make sure it is a reputable seller. Read the small/fine print about shipping costs and return policy if there is something wrong. And most of all MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE, make sure it's gonna fit you close enough that it can be altered to fit perfectly.

Answer 10

In the flower department you can definitly save money by doing the arrangments and bouquests yourself.
I bought all of my flowers at my mocal grocery store they happend to be guy one get one free so I saved alot of money.
We made 20 table arrangments, 1 bridal boquet huge, 5 bridesmaids bouquets good size, 5 corsages, 9 boutineers, 4 big bouqets for decorations and flowers for the cake all for around $500 dollars and I mainly had roses you obviously can do it alot cheaper I had alot of flowers I went all out but I probably would have paid atleast $2000 if I had gone through a florist. I got alot of tips online on how to make bouquets, corsoges and boutineers. Good luck also check davids bridal you may be able to find a gown out of season on sale or on clearence. I have two champane colored bridesmaids dresses up for sale on ebay as well as a mother of the bride dress. Email me if you have any qestions.

Answer 11

David's Bridal has really inexpensive dresses. Or try eBay, it isn't as bad as you think -- I sold my dress for $75 after my wedding - it was in great shape and the people were thrilled with it. For flowers, you can try the local floral district if you have one -- buy wholesale flowers and have friends help with the arranging. Stores like Michaels also have inexpensive vases and decorations. Try also a place like TJMaxx, HomeGoods, Marshalls -- never know what you'll find there.

Good luck.