Wedding Dress - would you hire or buy?

[miffymum]

I need a wedding dress for our low/no-budget wedding next year. I quite fancy buying one (I'm paying for it so ultimately can do what I want as long as it's cheap!) but my Mum thinks I should hire one and it's a waste of money as you don't usually wear it again. I don't want a meringue so I might be able to dye it but then looking at the other thread about this it seems like most dresses just end up sitting in a box.

Has anyone hired one? how much does it cost? Is it better to buy one and get it fitted properly? I'm in a silk and taffetta swirl about the whole thing.

my attitude was i am going to spend a bit of money adn i want to look chic not like a tangoed sausage in a white dress (dd was only 8 months old) i had a biggest tits in teh world and cowl dresses were not an option. i think white is v. limiting cos you defintely won't wear it again.

agree though cowl dress is lovely.

sorry i have a unspeakably sore back and should not be on wedding threads!

[takes scorched arse away]

i suspect cowl dress might be a good option for me though as i fear my tits will have reduced to practically nothing again by then and it's £75. I'm not bothered if I don't wear it again for that money and equally I don't care if I put my foot through it either. Genius. As long as I don't put my foot through it before actually getting married of course...

bargains, bargains, many-many bargains!

it's ok mmj. I'm not worried about looking like a tangoed sausage. I have v v pale celtic skin. more likely to look like a ghost but def not Miss Havisham, not in that dress.

tangoed sausage comment was about me btw. i think at size 10-12 with wee boobs the cowl dress would be v. elegant.

Just a little tip for you, dont get shoes with sequins or any embellishment on.

I did and they caught the bottom of the dress so it kind of laddered.

Oh and not to mention the fact that they really do catch so I nearly broke my neck when I got out of the car.

my dress was really, really manky at the end of the night. And I had trodden the hem down in a few places and knowcked off half the scattered pearls round the hemline...

Then I left it on a train

Very glad it wasn't hired...

wow. i never knew getting married was literaly so hazardous...

plain shoes for me then.

If you have new shoes, scuff the soles of them on your doorstep/pavement before venturing anywhere as you will slip and slide on wooden floors, carpets and the likes.

T'is a very dangerous time for brides IMO!!

(well, for women...why would they be brides any other time? )

Yikes. Best do a risk assessment then before I leave the house. Maybe stick to trainers and avoid wearing other clothing until reaching the ceremony in case of rips. Might upset MIL though...

Right. That's definitively it then - I'm not wearing someone else's sweat and I can't believe it would actually be a lot cheaper than these dresses anyway.

I can't belive they don't clean them. How disgusting.

I think i will wear heels though in all seriousness. I never get to wear them normally now with DD so it always feels incredibly indulgent if i put some on.

My dress was made (ridiculously cheaply!!) but I splashed out on my footwear...

But, again...BHS does nice enough, elegant bridal shoes very cheaply. They have ones on sale starting from £7.50!!!

My friend had a very nice, expensive dress but her shoes were from BHS and looked fantastic.

possibly liposuction as well, but I won't be doing that.

Thanks TMMJ and everyone else for all the help. I feel really inspired.

Have to go now - DD has woken up and needs to be entertained!

def heels - I wore some lovely glittery strappy heels from River Island! Only £35 abnd I've worn them loads since (christmas parties and the like). I love that I can wear them again