Now here’s an interesting idea that I never in a million years would have thought of myself: Apparently, some brides are listening their wedding dresses for sale before the wedding, hoping to recoup some of the costs in advance of the big day. Why the upsurge of pre pre-worn wedding dresses for sale?
Overspending is one theory put forth in a recent Field Notes article in the NY Times:
Emily Newman, the founder of oncewed.com, estimated that there are close to 200 such postings on her site, up from just one 18 months ago. Josie Daga, who started preownedweddingdresses.com, expects 50 or more presale listings on her site this year, up from none two years ago… One reason for the high prices is that the brides selling the gowns often spent far more than they had originally planned and hope to get some of the money back — quickly.
Then there’s the style factor. Overall, wedding trends cycle more slowly than other trends, but while wedding dress sleeve styles will stay fairly constant over, say, a decade, what’s hot in the eyes of brides still changes from year to year.
I know plenty of former brides who tried and tried to sell wedding dresses after the fact with no luck because brides-to-be simply didn’t want what they were selling. Selling a wedding dress when that wedding dress is still sought after by brides-to-be increases your chances that someone will buy.
Personally, though, I’d feel like I was taking a pretty big gamble. I know that I stepped all over the hem of my wedding dress, unintentionally, and my then-teenage brother spilled a Coke all over the skirt of my poor aunt’s wedding dress at her reception. The first owner of your pre pre-worn wedding dress might truly be as careful as she can be, but that won’t stop a klutzy wedding guest from horking a saucy bacon-wrapped scallop into her décolleté.
Buyers usually pay a deposit upfront and then sign a contract guaranteeing that they will pay the rest as long as the dress is in good condition after the original owner’s wedding… That might mean being a little more cautious about, say, getting in and out of the limousine, and handling food and drink at the reception.
I’m actually rather surprised that this has taken off, even if only a little bit. As far as I know, most brides-to-be are still to scared to buy wedding dresses online, much less put a deposit down on a used dress, condition unknown. At least with a pre-owned wedding dress, you know exactly what you’re going to get. Thoughts? Would you risk it if the price was right?
Photo by Jennifer Echols