To buy a second hand wedding dress? Would you?

[Galwayg]

We are working with a short timescale to plan our wedding. One bridal shop I have contacted has said their designers wouldn’t be able to do anything in our time frame so it would only be the ‘off the rack’ dresses available. Another has said they could do it (just) but there would be rush fees involved.

I’ve always liked one particular dress and have found that exact dress second hand online for a fraction of the price it would be new. Not to mention the fact I couldn’t physically get it new at the moment.

Do I pay the rush fee for a different dress new or go for my dream dress second hand? The only one thing holding me back from buying it is in case someone asks about it. Where did you buy it? Did you have a lot of fittings etc? 🙈 what would I say?

I bought a sample dress for £300 and that still feels mad for 1 day. I wish I had considered other options, but hindsight is a wonderful thing! No one asked me anything about my dress / which shop it was from, so I wouldn't worry about needing to concoct a story about where you got it.

My second wedding was bigger than my first and I got my dress used.

it was a Stella york and came with the £2.300 tags still in the bag! Also a veil and jewelled belt.

i paid £400 for it because the lady I bought it from happened to be the same height and bust size as me so no alterations!

i loved it, and am so glad I didn’t buy new. Both money and environmental reasons! All that beautiful fabric to wear it once is such a waste!

this dress has made 2 brides very happy and I’m going to sell it on still white, in the hope it continues to!

I would OP, I did buy my dress new (I saved up to buy it and I loved it, couldn’t find it secondhand) but when I can bare to part with it, I hope someone is as happy in it on their wedding day as I was 😁

My wedding dress came from a charity shop. Completely unplanned. I fell in love, got it for £30 and I'd still do the same (I had both time and a budget for a new dress).

Mine came from a charity shop too, £40. It was absolutely stunning and I got so many compliments especially when I told people where it had come from!

Oxfam has wonderful bridal shops. You get a private appointment. Can take 3 dresses away to decide. My d-in-law found a gorgeous brocade, bardot neckline, attached semicircle train, totally gorgeous, for £250. It was obviously a £2000+ dress.

I also bought a stunning second hand Jenny Packham wedding dress. I couldn't afford to buy new, our wedding was about reuse/recycle anyway, and also didn't want to spend ££££ on a dress I'll only wear once! Im sure i told people it was second hand, noone batted an eye lid. It cost me £120, and I did intend to sell it but it ripped (was an outdoor wedding) so never did. Now I'm even more glad it was second hand, I'd have been gutted to tear a new dress!

Be proud you are supporting the environment, you can have an amazing perfect dress, at a fraction of the price,but second hand isn't a bad thing, be proud to support it.