Destination Wedding Dresses at Discount Prices

Few things cause brides as much anxiety as the dress. It has to be perfect. Some girls just know when they find “the one,” but others stress and labor over the decision.

I predict that 2010 will be the year of couture and homemade dresses. Why have a mass market dress when you can have something one of a kind?

Sure, there are ways to get couture designer dresses at less than couture prices. There’s the inevitable recommendation to hit up sample sales or trunk shows (ever tried to find one of these?). Of course, there’s the insanity of the Filene’s Basement “Running of the Brides” – then again, you’re shopping at Filene’s Basement and you have to go to Boston.

Then, there’s the recommendation (typically from your grandmother) that you should go to thrift shops or the modern version – Craig’s List. The idea of either of these just seems too much like being on welfare for my taste.

There are two other reasonable alternatives. The website Oncewed.com has a page where brides sell their gowns after the wedding. This is like the thrift shop or Craigslist without making you feel cheap. And if you are more socially conscious, why not buy your dress and help a good cause? Brides Against Breast Cancer has sales across the country of great dresses at reasonable prices with the proceeds going to a good cause.

Finally, there’s one more great way to get a custom wedding dress without the hassle – Etsy. The crafty website Etsy and many of its artisan vendors sell couture wedding dresses. If Etsy isn’t your style, you can try custom dress shops in your area. In this way, you can get a handmade dress designed especially for you. What can make a girl feel more special than something one of a kind?

Happy dress hunting!

Wedding Weight Loss

For many women, weight loss goes hand-in-hand with getting married. No one wants to wear a white (a notoriously slimming color, right?) dress and look unappealing in their wedding photos. Plus, most girls grow up waiting for their wedding day to be the best day of their life, so of course they want to look and feel their best.

An entire industry has been built around losing weight in preparation for the wedding. Everything from Bridal Bootcamp and Buff Brides to your local fitness club promise to help women get in shape for their special day. While I admit that my destination wedding (and particularly my wedding dress) was a huge motivation to slim down, I really wanted to get healthier and more toned as a life change. That meant the tried and true standby of eating less and moving more.

One tool that was particularly helpful in my journey to get healthy was SparkPeople.com. SparkPeople is a totally free website that helps you keep track of what you eat and how much you exercise, but it allows help you set other goals such as drinking enough water, stopping self-critical thoughts and doing things for others. It's certainly a weight loss website, but it's also about overall wellness. The site also features numerous message boards that provide a lot of support from people going through the same experiences.

From the time of our engagement to our wedding, I lost 75 pounds. When I ordered my dress 9 months before the wedding, I ordered the size I was at the time -- I've lost and regained weight in the past and didn't want to get stuck with a dress that was too small. By the time my destination wedding rolled around, I couldn't have been more excited to have it taken in several sizes.

There are a lot of different programs out there. You just need to find the one that works with you and stick with it. If I can lose 75 pounds before my wedding, anyone can do it!

Economics Favor U.S. Destination Weddings

It’s no secret that the U.S. has been leading the global economy into a worldwide slowdown (or recession). As such, the U.S. dollar is at near lows against other major world currencies. So how does this impact destination weddings?

The first impact is that it is much more expensive for U.S. couples to have destination weddings overseas, or at least in countries where the currencies are not pegged to the U.S. dollar (like the Bahamas, etc.). If money is a consideration for couples, they should think about having their destination wedding here in the U.S.

But the good news (at least for wedding vendors) is that this makes the services of wedding providers in the U.S. much cheaper for those in other countries. We were returning from Europe at the end of June and there were several women on the plane coming to the U.S. to buy wedding dresses. European couples can also stay in the U.S. and have a very economic destination wedding.

Your wedding is one of the most important days in your life. However, financial considerations do impact your wedding decisions, so plan carefully.

More Top 10 Destination Wedding Tips

Destination I Do, one of the destination wedding magazines out there, has a really good article that is a “must read” for anyone planning destination weddings – their Top 20 Do’s and Don’ts of Destination Weddings.

Below is their list of Top 10 Destination Wedding "Dont’s," but the commentary is ours:

1. Sweat the small stuff – Quoting from Destination I Do, they say, “Things may go wrong with a hometown wedding or a destination wedding. Make sure to keep it all in perspective and enjoy the process every step of the way.”
2. Wait to the last minute to send your invitations – This is really important. We sent out Save the Dates about 8 or 9 months in advance and then sent out invites out about 3 months in advance.
3. Assume people know where they are going – OMG. Seriously. This is so true. Laura’s grandmother gave the invite to her travel agent. Instead of getting tickets to Grand Bahama Island, the travel agent booked them into Nausau. Once your guests arrive in the location, they will also need directions (either actual directions or explanations about getting cabs or ground transportation).
4. Expect too much of others – Quoting again from Destination I Do, “Sure it’s ‘your big day’ but know that your bridesmaids, groomsmen and family members are not your temporary slaves. Sure you can expect them to help out, but keep it realistic, give others duties you know they can handle, yet still allow them the ability to enjoy your event too.”
5. Let “Aunt Flow” pay you a visit – Proper planning will help you avoid PMS and menstruation during your wedding.
6. Leave guests hanging – Have some activities for your guests, but don’t dominate their time. (See A Mini-Vacation for your Guests and Our Destination Wedding)
7. Expect that everyone will come – This is very true. Remember, you are asking a lot of your guests. It’s a major expense and time out of people’s lives. Be understanding if not everyone can make it.
8. Forget to check the average traffic flow in the area you will be saying “I Do” – Location, Location, Location. It’s really important to try and do a location visit so you can see the layout.
9. Choose a dress because of what is “IN” – Enough said on this one.
10. Haul your dress around with you on your honeymoon – This is helpful, but not critical. For us, we did carry the dress on the honeymoon. We live away from our families and guests, so we had nobody to bring it back for us. We carried it with us without incident. (See The Dress)

For the list of Top 10 Destination Wedding "Do" Tips, see Top 10 Destination Wedding Tips.

The full article from Destination I Do is worth the read.

The Dress

Ah, the dress. For most brides, the dress is the most important part of the wedding. It sets the tone for the festivities, and, let's be honest, the dress gives every woman the opportunity to be a princess for a day. However, dresses for destination weddings can be more complicated than dresses for traditional weddings because of two particular factors—traveling with the dress and dealing with the weather and location at the destination.

The actual act of getting the dress from point to point is not as difficult as one might imagine. Most airlines are very willing to help brides transport their gowns safely, and flight attendants will often do their best to make room in the first class closet. It can help to approach the gate attendant before the flight boards and/or to speak to the flight attendant as soon as you step on the plane. (And it should go without saying that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.) Our experience - and we ultimately flew with the dress four times - was seamless, even on Bahamas Air, which didn't even have overhead compartments large enough for standard sized carry-ons. Some people find it useful to take a steamer with them or utilize hotel services once they arrive at the destination to take care of any wrinkles. Laura had a somewhat "poufy dress," so we didn't encounter any wrinkle issues.

The weather and physical location of the wedding can also be significant factors in deciding on the dress. If your destination is often very warm or humid, you're probably better off with a gown made of lightweight fabric that doesn't have a lot of underskirts or netting. Brides getting married directly on the beach may want to avoid long trains simply because of the messiness of sand getting caught in the dress. All these considerations are important, but the decision is completely individual. If a bride has had her heart set on a "big dress" with a train for years and that's what makes her feel like a beautiful bride, a little sand getting in the way won't particularly matter.

Popular dress brands include: Amsale, Alfred Angelo, Vera Wang, Jim Hjelm, Maggie Sottero, Watters & Watters, Melissa Sweet, Priscilla of Boston, Reem Acra and Monique Lhullier. Two very popular discount bridal stores with very positive reviews: Pearl's Place and House of Brides.

Disney Launches Wedding Gowns

Disney has launched a line of wedding gowns, which I have discussed in Fairy-Tale Wedding Dress? Disney Does Weddings back on February 22. Since I wrote on the topic, Reuters covered the story and has provided a photo (see picture below).

The "news" is that the gowns were debuted on Sunday in New York. The gowns will range in price from $1,500-$3,000.

According to the Reuters story:

The company was encouraged to delve into the high-end wedding business by the 2,000 weddings it hosts each year at its U.S. resorts — Walt Disney World and Disneyland — and its cruise line, according to McFann [Korri McFann, marketing manager for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings and Honeymoons].

Disney hopes to capitalize on soaring demand for destination weddings, in which couples and their guests turn their nuptials into wedding-vacations that often take place at resorts in tropical locations.