I am a bargain hunter by nature. I’m not sure where I got it from, when it started, or what comes over me when I find a great deal, but I simply MUST shop. I get an instant rush of adrenaline when I find a 50% rack, hear about a clearance sale or stumble across those end of the season markdowns. Now that I am a mom, my latest obsession is finding great deals on children’s clothing. But in my previous life as a young, carefree, newly engaged woman in my early twenties, I decided to apply this bargain-shopping concept to something most people wouldn’t think of – my wedding day.
There are those of us out there blessed with the $20,000+ budget solely dedicated to making their wedding day everything they’d ever dreamed of. If ice sculptures, seaside wedding venues and an elaborate reception are your thing, then more power to you! I however tend to be a more casual, laid back type person, and therefore I knew an overblown budget would not be necessary. I knew I could still have the perfect wedding and not spend a fortune on a dress I’d only wear once, wedding favors that most people can’t find a use for, or a cake that many people wouldn’t eat. My wedding day was everything I wanted it to be and more, and the price tag was much lower than most of the dream weddings you hear about nowadays.
Just a few months after getting engaged I began the daunting task of shopping for a dress. I had a specific style of dress in mind, and therefore ventured onto the internet to see if there were any local dress shops that had what I was looking for. That’s when I came across a beautiful dress – on Ebay. It was perfect, exactly what I had in mind, and the price was unbelievable at only $100. As it turns out a bridal shop in Rhode Island was liquidating last season’s dresses on Ebay, and the dress retailed for $600 originally. I couldn’t believe what a steal it was.
I had done my share of Ebaying in the past, both buying and selling, so I was familiar with the site. As their saying goes, “Whatever it is, you can find it on Ebay”. But a wedding dress? Was that really something I wanted to purchase over the internet? On Ebay nonetheless? It seemed a bit extreme, but while I weighed the pros and cons of the situation, all the while I could hear the bargain hunter in me screaming, “How can you possibly pass up a deal like this?!
Immediately I was on the phone trying to convince my mother that we needed to buy this dress. I emailed her the link and she agreed that the dress was beautiful. Initially we were very concerned about the condition of the dress. Although the description indicated it was in perfect condition, there was no way to know for sure if it was clean, if it was torn, or if it was the right size. After emailing back and forth with the seller several times, we decided to take a gamble and buy the dress hoping for the best possible outcome. My mother, of course, made me promise not to tell anyone where we’d gotten it. Initially she was mortified that I’d shop online for things like this, but I believe in the end she was thankful I was cutting costs since my parents were paying the bill!
When it finally arrived, the dress was in excellent condition. No stains, no rips, no signs of ever being worn. After some minor alterations that cost a mere $80, the dress was ready. All for less than $200!
It was at this point that the bargain hunter in me was officially set loose. I knew if I could purchase my wedding dress on Ebay, there was no limit to the amount of other wedding related items I could find for sale on their site. Since Ebay is often a place where you can buy things in large numbers at inexpensive prices, right away the wedding favors were brought to mind. I purchased tiny gift boxes for each place setting, along with burgundy bows (burgundy was my wedding color) and inside each box placed a flower bulb for our guests to plant in honor of our marriage. I made 130 favors at a cost of $80 total, a mere $1.63 each!
I found a veil, which matched my dress almost perfectly, for $20. And since we were planning on using a decorative birdcage four our guests to place our wedding cards in, I sought one out on Ebay…only $10. This particular birdcage has gone on to participate in several other weddings as well, everyone loved it and many have asked to borrow it. I was also able to purchase a very simple yet elegant porcelain cake topper for the wedding cake for only $15, again, on Ebay.
I went on to find a beautiful Lenox wedding album for our wedding photos and two dresses and a purse for our honeymoon in Hawaii! A fitting end to my Ebay-assisted wedding experience.
While the final price tag on my wedding day was just over $10,000, there are simply some things (such as the reception hall, the photographer and the fresh flowers) that you just can’t buy online. But I’m certain that my Ebay shopping drastically reduced the costs that are normally incurred while planning a wedding, probably by a few thousand dollars. So while some may think it tacky or tasteless or downright cheap, it was and always will be my wedding day. It is a memory I’ll always cherish of a perfect, special day designed by me, and more importantly, it was such a bargain!”
