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Most brides these days have to be budget-conscious. In a perfect world, all brides would be able to purchase the best of the best and the most expensive. However, having a tight budget doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice beauty or even quality. Check out these amazing thrift store finds that can come together to make a simply breathtaking wedding.
Thrift Your Wedding Dress & Make it Beautiful
There’s no denying that weddings are expensive! They can quickly add up but one way you can save money is by learning how to thrift a wedding dress. When a few friends of mine were planning their wedding on a tight budget of $2,000, they became creative on ways to save money. The Bride’s thrifted wedding dress was one way they saved big time. However, when you consider thrifting your wedding dress you may be concerned with finding the perfect dress, how it will look, and what the quality will be. After all, this is your wedding day, and those pictures and memories will last your lifetime. Let me reassure you that you can have a thrifted wedding dress, a cheap wedding, and save money all while keeping things beautiful without regret.
First, Get Inspired
If you’re not sure what style to look for, get inspired with some of the latest trends from Carats and Cake blog and Brides Magazine.
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Next, there are several places where you can score beautiful wedding dresses for a fraction of the cost! Let’s start with the obvious. Local thrift stores like Goodwill Industries are easy and convenient. Just do a quick internet search for Goodwill stores in your area and make a day out of it! Drive around and see what you can find. Online resources are very convenient too like www.shopgoodwill.com
Update Your Thrifted Wedding Dress
Remember, when you are thrifting your wedding dress you don’t need to look for your perfect size and style – you can update anything you want and create the dress of your dreams! When you consider what you want to update, start with the sizing. Can you make the alterations yourself or will you need to hire a seamstress? You could have the seamstress take a bit of length off of the bottom when I chose what shoes I would be wearing.
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Next, think about the style of the dress and how you can make it unique to your personality. Pinterest is a great place to start searching for inspiration. Here’s a good start . If you are handy with a sewing machine you could make these updates yourself, but if not, a few extra dollars to a seamstress may be worth it.
A Few Ways to Transform Your Thrifted Dress
- Lose the Poofy Sleeves
- Add Shoulder Jewelry
- Shorten It
- Dye It
- Recut the Neckline
Remember the key emotional factors: it takes time, patience, and thinking outside of the box. Don’t give up if you are having trouble finding your thrifted wedding dress. It would probably take just as long even if you weren’t thrifting it!
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Lastly, what accessories could you add to the dress to make it truly pop? If your dress already has so much detail with beading, all you'll really need is to add a flower crown to hair. This is the fun part, so get creative!
Now for the Bridesmaids
One thing I’ve been happy to see growing in popularity over the last decade is the rise of mix-and-match bridesmaid dresses. Not only does it give your bridal party more flexibility, but it also allows them to choose something that fits their personal style and budget!
Rather than forcing your best friends to assemble like an army of clones to proceed down the aisle, choose a color (or colors) and allow them the freedom of choosing their own dress style.
We personally think this is the simplest and most savvy solution to the bridesmaid dress dilemma.
Almost every thrift store, even the smaller ones, will have a year-round selection of bridesmaid dresses or similar formal wear. If you’ve even been a bridesmaid (3 times as maid of honor for me!), then you know that these are often donated dresses. If you have a small wedding with one bridesmaid, then finding a thrifted dress will be simple.
If you have a larger party, think outside the box. Each bridesmaid wears the same/similar color but in different dress styles. Or try a mix & match color theme- half the bridesmaids wear one color & the other half wear another color (be open to mixed dress styles). It will definitely make for some insta-worthy pictures!
Thriftstore finds that make a gorgeous wedding
White Linens and Lace are very common to find around thrift stores; tablecloths, linen napkins, lace items, etc. They are usually only priced for a few dollars each, depending upon where you’re shopping, but you can almost always get them for a good deal. As you can see, with just a little love and care, these thrift store finds can make your reception tables look simply stunning.
China Teacups and Saucers look absolutely brilliant when a different one is placed at each table setting, but also work very well for a tea or coffee bar at a wedding reception.
Vases are another thing most thrift stores have in abundance – all colors, styles, and sizes. Most of the time, you can get these for extremely low prices. The great thing about these vases is that you can spray paint them whatever color you’d like. So, a collection of mismatched and even ugly vases can quickly be turned into a collection of beautiful vases that are perfect for creating a breathtaking wedding centerpiece.
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Vintage Dining Chairs were stronger and just better quality than the ones made today, and mismatched chairs can be just as beautiful at a wedding reception as mismatched china cups. Keep an eye out for strong mismatched chairs that will suit your needs and to create a uniform look, spray paint them all the same color and use the same color seat cushions. These are just a few of the wonderful thrift store finds that brides have used to make their inexpensive weddings look absolutely beautiful.
