Buying a wedding dress (or jumpsuit or suit) is a big decision. More often than not these are one wear only beauties that will be shoved in a much-needed storage space, forgotten about until you move house. In this age of sharing lifts with strangers and holidaying in other people’s apartments, there are also a plethora of start-ups that have launched offering premium rental services for wedding attire, that if considered just may save you money, storage space and the headache of what the heck to do with all this stuff after your big day, (like the brides in this article, who said their ‘something borrowed’ was made a heck of a lot easier with a rented gown).
Rent your wedding dress?
Sure! Your wedding dress is probably the most expensive dress/outfit that you’ve ever purchased, and if you’ve experienced visiting a bridal salon on a limited budget, it can be a real challenge when your ‘dream dress’ is $5000 over your budget (you’ve got a budget right?).
The cost per wear ratio of a wedding dress is pretty low, with the average bride wearing her gown for 6-8 hours, it doesn’t give you a bunch of time to enjoy your big purchase in the long term.
So what are the advantages to renting a wedding gown?
- You can hire multiple gowns- costume change anyone!
- You are spoilt for choice, wearing something that has just come off the runway for ¼ of the price
- You can afford a designer gown that may be out of your price range
- Dry cleaning costs are included in the rental price (just don’t trash the gown).
- You can take advantage of a hire package and also rent your attire for other key moments of your wedding celebrations, like your bachelorette party and rehearsal dinner.
Rent The Runway offers an incredible selection of dresses and attire choices that can easily be ‘converted’ to wedding dresses. I say converted as a way not physically converting the dress (don’t do that, or you’ll get to keep it and pay for it!), I mean more of a mind shift, to not needing your dress to be purchased in a wedding dress store, or be handmade to actually make it a wedding dress.
Your wedding dress/jumpsuit/tutu, is whatever makes you glow, feel gorgeous and happy.
Tiered lace dress by Nicholas
Sugar Coat Dress by Allison Parris
One detail I adore with Rent The Runway is the customer photos. On each listing, you can scroll through tens, sometimes hundreds of images of previous customers wearing the dress and read feedback and see how it fits, wears and looks on a variety of body shapes and skin tones.
Not looking for something long and ‘wedding gowny’?
Vow to Be Chic have a collection of ‘little White Dresses’, a casual, comfortable option to wear on your wedding day, especially for a destination wedding or if you plan to tear up the dance floor at your reception. They have a big selection of fun and flirty ideas, including jumpsuits, cocktail dresses (which are great for a second dress or costume change to dance your ass off) or something more glam. All dresses pictured below can be rented for under $100.
Renting wedding veils, Jewellery and accessories:
The veil is probably the least re-worn purchase in your entire wedding budget. I mean they’re gorgeous but hardly day wear and somewhat hideously impractical for future use. Friend of the Bridechilla Podcast, Brittany Haas is the founder of Happily Ever Borrowed, a premiere online wedding shop that rents designer bridal accessories worldwide. Brittany works in fashion and has developed relationships with some of the most wanted wedding designers, such as Enchanted Atelier & Elizabeth Bower. She’s curated an exclusive collection of veils, tiaras, headpieces and jewellery to “frost yourself” on your special day. Wear it and send it back for another Bridechilla to adorn herself with!
Use the codeword BRIDECHILLA for free shipping with all of your orders from Happily Ever Borrowed.
Ana Cathedral Veil
Blanca Crystal Hairpiece
Amaia Belt
Be prepared, take all of your accessories to your trial
Remember if you are wearing a veil or fabulous hair accessory take it with you to your hair and makeup trial to ensure that your hairdresser and makeup artist can experiment with how it will sit on the day and bring your look together.
Renting FTW
The memories of your wedding day with be something that you can relieve via images and videos (and your brain) hopefully for years to come. We all know that costs can add up quickly and if you can save money and also time in the future (selling and cleaning dresses takes time), renting your wedding dress might be a great option for you. Take advantage of free shipping and try on trials that pop up regularly and make sure you know what you can and can’t do to the garment while you are renting (e.g can you change the length?). Most companies include garment insurance which will help you out if any damage occurs during your rental process.
Have you or would you rent your wedding dress? Love to hear your thoughts.
