It started off from the book Bridal Bargains. I went straight to http://discountbridalservice.com/, which is actually a parked domain containing links to other bridal stores. If you click on the Wedding Gowns link, you’ll be directed to another parked domain. As I had been warned not to go to David’s Bridal, I just visited Romantic Gowns. Holy crap! They actually have some really cheap wedding gowns here, and they don’t look at all that bad! You can even find ones that are cheaper than $199. Now, I’m not going to sacrifice the beauty of my wedding just so I could save a ton of money. But with Romantic Gowns, I have a feeling you will find something you really like here. The Traditional section have some really pretty dresses I would love to try myself.
Weddingo
Got $239.99? You will love the wedding dresses at Weddingo.net. A quick note: The site is amazing. I forgot to mention some really interesting difference between Romantic Gowns and Weddingo. The former actually boasts of a big size range, yet the smallest they’ll sell you is a Size 2. I am a size 1. Sometimes I can squeeze myself in to a Size 0, but I won’t risk that on a wedding dress. Anyways, something about the Weddingo you will really like is that they custom make the dress for you! On the other hand, since you expect a gown that fits, then you cannot return the item as soon as you buy it. Fair enough.
They will tell you how to measure yourself and it will take at least 25 days to finish making your wedding dress. This works for me, since I know being a petite girl it has always been a difficult task to find clothes that fit. Especially shoes! They also offer free shipping to USA, Canada, and some other European countries.
I do not like having to browse through various designers when I’m picking my wedding gown. Merchants who wish to make it easier for customers to buy their products should simply display the items on the front page with corresponding prices. Wedding Channel, for instance, is one of those bridal stores that do not add the prices on the botttom of the items along with the style of the dress. I like the fact though that you get to narrow down your choices with a dropdown list of designers, silhouttes, necklines, and price range. But sadly, they don’t have options for size. And hey, to be able to check the details on a particular gown you’re looking for, you have to sign up as a member! Horrible. Why do I have to put up with this?
The whole point, Wedding Channel says, is to personalize the wedding planning information for you. If you would like more junk mail and a personal url for your wedding, then go ahead and sign up. To make it even worse, after you did, and you finally get to see the details of your gown, they won’t show you the exact price of it because they can be bought from different retailers all over the country. So go check the Local Vendors tab, and you will be redirected to a resource page for your wedding needs. It was like, what was the whole point of buying online on a single merchant if we were gonna have to eventually go drive to the nearest bridal store? Needless to say, the Wedding Channel is extremely disappointing. The bottomline is I will probably still be looking at their wide selections, but only as a last minute resort.
So how many wedding gown designers there are in the entire planet Earth? Do you think you have all the time in the world to check out what they sell if you only had 80 years to live and 3 months to get ready for your wedding? With House of Brides, it looks you are gonna have to spend all those 3 months browsing through their designer collection. Not a good idea.
It’s nice though that unlike the Wedding Channel, they post the price along with the designer and style of the dress on their online catalog. Oh, saves me the worry. Except for some like Allure Bridals, where you have to call to find out the price. They have some really beautiful collections, but I hate to bother and ring them up. Maybe I’ll look elsewhere. The House of Brides show a lot of pictures in their catalog in nice, realistic color, but they do not have photos of the gown on different angles such as the back side. And just like Romantic Gowns, their smallest size is 2. Note on designer Destinations by Mon Cheri: They have the type of gowns that I’m looking for, but the prices are on the high end side.
Aphrobridal
Most of Aphrobridal’s wedding gowns are affordable, ranging from the $150 to $300 range. Even train gowns may cost as little as $220! Looking at their selection though, I have a feeling I have already seen some wedding dresses in other websites.
After having picked a favorite, Aphrobridal gives the option of a tailored size or custom made. Just like Weddingo, they will ask for measurements that you can fill out in the order form. They do not charge for extra fee to tailor dress in custom size smaller than Standard Size # 16. They will also allow you to cancel your order after 24 hours, but not after 72 hours. Although I have found a really beautiful and elegant dress I will probably buy soon, I will still keep on looking and browsing at their site. They have tons of styles in their catalog! They also sell accessories and holiday dresses. I would check the Top Selling Dresses section for more wedding dress ideas.
