Preownedweddingdresses.com

[gammygam]

Hi guys,

Has anyone ever bought or sold on this site? If so, what were your thoughts and is there anything I should watch for or avoid?

Thanks!

 

[atp223]

I looked a bit on there, but didn't buy anything...so I can't offer any advice in that regard except that I haven't heard anything bad about it - though I'm sure it depends on the seller/their level of honesty, etc. My motto is, when in doubt, pay with paypal (if they let you).

BUT my really good friend from college just started semi-spamming us with information about this new company her other friend is launching. Their facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/NearlyNewlywed . The premise is consignment of designer wedding dresses. I don't think their inventory is huge yet - NOTHING like preownedweddingdresses.com - but maybe keep an eye out if you are in the market for a wedding dress! I am contemplating selling my wedding dress through them after my wedding next year...

 

[Narwhal]

I looked a ton too, but never bought. I honestly thought I would do the preowned route. I'm a big fan of finding things on CL, ebay, groupon etc.
I found a lot of possible dresses, but the few top dress people never wrote back.
I did find the dress I ordered preowned, but the two online were half the size I needed and I wasnt sure if that was A) doable or B) cost effective. So I went with the new version.
I did have a few people respond months later after I paid for my new dress to be made.

So I think it will depend if you have a specific dress in mind or not and how good the sellers are at responding to emails.

Definitely treat it like any other online person to person sale.

Good luck! Hope you find a great deal!

 

[gammygam]

Thanks for sharing atp and Narwhal, I am *gulp* planning on flying across the country to see a dress I might not even buy or love. I must be insane! I sure love it from pictures and I've tried on the same style....but never this particular dress. I'll keep you guys updated for sure!

 

[atp223]

Honestly, I picked my wedding dress out online too! I knew what style I wanted from trying a bunch of dresses on, found one online that had everything I liked from a variety of dresses, and then went to the store as a formality to try it on before officially purchasing. I loved it just as much in person!

Is there nowhere you can try it on locally before flying across the country? No bridal stores near you have the same dress?? But if you don't mind then I'm sure it will be a fun trip .

 

[vintagelover229]

I've sold a dress on there and it went very smoothly. The buyer asked for a return period just to make sure it would work for her and she didn't use it since I guess it worked out perfectly. I paid 25.00 for my ad for an unlimited amount of time-listed it by the size/designer and a few months later it sold. I had planned on using the site to buy a certain dress that I wanted that retails for 1300-1500.00 but found it much cheaper on there (under 800.00) but ended up with a vintage gown instead. I highly recommend searching there after you've found the *one* just to see if there is a dress on there someone is selling that is the same size and might even-unworn for a fraction of the cost-but I also love to save $ and some people aren't into buying something that someone else intended to wear.


They have accessories/veils/shoes/etc all on there as well if you're searching for a particular designer veil or anything of that sort. You might luck out and find it half off.

I find the mark up on anything wedding related just ridiculous-especially since as a newly-wed couple most are just starting out and can't afford these things but pay for the wedding instead of saving it for the house or something. Not that we can talk-our very small wedding cost a bit and I don't regret it 4 months later HOWEVER we weren't expecting to buy a house or expand our family for quite a few more years. Had I know the prefect house (that needs a ton of work ) would fall into our lap less than a month after spending a chunk of change on the wedding AND that we got pregnant (didn't find out until a month after we made an offer on the house-but prior to closing) I probably would have done my wedding a bit differently. A different venue-cheaper wine-etc.

Just food for thought not at all related to the site lol. It's just as brides most are so focused on how amazing our FI is and wedding planning/honeymoon that we tend to not focus on the life every after until it's upon us. I'm here to let you know that it's WONDERFUL but things that you think are in the distant future (like saving another 3 years for a house) can come out of no where as a wonderful unexpected surprise and twist in life that wasn't at all planned.

So while the dress you are wearing on what is so far the biggest day of your life might not seem like something to think the expense over to much since you hopefully only do it once-I say if you can save $ on it by buying it cheaper some place that isn't the bridal salon I highly recommend going for it

 

[gammygam]

Atp, I bet you were nervous (as am I) about ordering online! Unfortunately, the dress is a discontinued Reem Acra. Basically the first time I was engaged, it was my dream dress but with a price tag of $7500...forget about it! Anyway, I happened to look at the preowned site and saw someone had it listed and decided to look for my size on a whim and there it was. Yay! The seller has been super responsive and was actually a two dress bride so this dress has never been worn and still has the tags. Anyway, I'm really happy that you loved your dress in person, I hope I can say the same too!

Vintage, I totally get what you're saying. I am frankly a huge fan of buying everything preowned, if possible. I would have definitely bought a preowned e-ring. However, with diamonds it was so hard to find something well cut second hand. Anyway, I felt like we did pretty well even with the designer setting. The dress I'm in love with had a $7500 tag in 2006, she purchased it at a sample sale and now hopefully, I'll own it if it fits at 73% off yay! (+plane ticket I'm all about having a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget ) Fortunately for us, we already own the house we live in outright except for those pesky HOA fees and taxes oh, and not to mention all the things that break and we have to fix out of pocket (renting definitely has advantages). We definitely want to save up for kids and well, it appears that I might have to go the IVF route eventually. I'm actually pretty worried about that and trying to take steps to help even now. Anyway, I'm totally going off topic...but, I'd be totally thrilled to get pregnant and skip the wedding part How's that for somewhat missing the bridal gene? I mean I'd love to have it all, but you get what I mean.

 

[vintagelover229]

Atp, I bet you were nervous (as am I) about ordering online! Unfortunately, the dress is a discontinued Reem Acra. Basically the first time I was engaged, it was my dream dress but with a price tag of $7500...forget about it! Anyway, I happened to look at the preowned site and saw someone had it listed and decided to look for my size on a whim and there it was. Yay! The seller has been super responsive and was actually a two dress bride so this dress has never been worn and still has the tags. Anyway, I'm really happy that you loved your dress in person, I hope I can say the same too!

Vintage, I totally get what you're saying. I am frankly a huge fan of buying everything preowned, if possible. I would have definitely bought a preowned e-ring. However, with diamonds it was so hard to find something well cut second hand. Anyway, I felt like we did pretty well even with the designer setting. The dress I'm in love with had a $7500 tag in 2006, she purchased it at a sample sale and now hopefully, I'll own it if it fits at 73% off yay! (+plane ticket I'm all about having a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget ) Fortunately for us, we already own the house we live in outright except for those pesky HOA fees and taxes oh, and not to mention all the things that break and we have to fix out of pocket (renting definitely has advantages). We definitely want to save up for kids and well, it appears that I might have to go the IVF route eventually. I'm actually pretty worried about that and trying to take steps to help even now. Anyway, I'm totally going off topic...but, I'd be totally thrilled to get pregnant and skip the wedding part How's that for somewhat missing the bridal gene? I mean I'd love to have it all, but you get what I mean.

Yikes 7500!! I can see why you're checking it out. For the amount of savings its worth the trip to go try it on. I will warn you though (have you tried it on in the store that had a sample?) that it might not go as you hoped. There was a lady on here who's daughter got married and she had a designer dress that I was IN LOVE with. I mean-the story she posted about the horrors of it (didn't come the same way the sample was) couldn't detour me from my goal of having this dress. I spent HOURS searching for it-but alas only 2 stores carried it. One in NYC and one in Cali. However I was going out to Cali for a trip and low and behold-one of the brides was planning on selling it AFTER her wedding. I went to her work (dental ofice) and tried it on. It wasn't the right size-I had MAJOR spillage but that didn't stop me either since I thought alterations could fix it. So I went to the salon near there that carried the dress and put it on and I looked like a flipping cupcake. I kid you not. Not a good one either. I looked like I jumped feet first off a ladder into a cupcake of lace and sparkles and I looked like a hot mess. So needless to say I didn't get that dress lol. I ended up with a vintage gown off of ebay for 75.00 that I got for free since it came and was stained (thankfully it came out). So yeah-worked out for me


In regards to the baby thing. We got married early this Dec. and we splurged (for us-I'm totally preowned everything including my e-ring) a bit on the wedding since we thought we would be 2+yrs out from buying a house and a baby would come whenever (no plans on preventing). Needless to say we were just *looking* at houses and the right one came along (foreclosure) and we placed an offer in Jan. It got accepted. Suddenly we were going from 2+ yrs to "OMG we have to start packing we move in 60 days!!"

Then we went from making an offer (closed in March) to-oh I'm late on my period. Off to the $ store I go...and the test was positive. Found out early Feb. but conception was Jan 15th. So much for spacing big life changes out!

The best part is our house needs some TLC. As in a new roof ASAP and then a major renovation of the stair/kitchen/basement (currently gutted due to a mold issues thanks to a broken water main that wasn't disclosed since we bought during the winter and the water was off).

I thought it would take at least 6 months-I had been on the pill for quite a few years and got off the day before the wedding. Had my cycle-then had one again in early Jan. and then BOOM baby on the way.

If you want you can take maca root (it's a plant) which helps regulate the endocrine system and increases fertility and energy and your sex drive. I took it after getting off the pill since my hormones were all sorts of out of whack and I guess it worked better than I thought. Men can take it too. Here is what I used. The best part is now it comes in chocolate!! I didn't use that lol.

http://macasure.com/


Do you have a picture of this dress? I'll show you the hot mess dress if you promise not to laugh. I swear I looked like a marshmallow cupcake mix. It was terrible

 

[gammygam]

Vintage, therein lies the problem. This dress was discontinued in 2007, I think. I've tried on many mermaid dresses and I actually really liked ALL of them. My mom on the other hand, really wanted some time of ballgown or A-line dress. I hate the idea of wearing a ballgown, I think that they make me look fat. For reference, I'm 5'1 with 38D boobs but I wear a size 4-6 in pants, oh and I have practically no hips. So the really important thing for me is since I'm a short curvy girl is to really accentuate the waist area, hence the mermaid look. However, my mom is pretty adamant about straps and being more traditional. She really doesn't want to look at pictures in 5-10 years and say oh wow, that's so dated.

I can't wait to see your dress, the one you wore that you got for free! I'm going to have to do some PS searching. Also, I can't wait to see pics of your cupcake and lace dress. I'm guessing that you feel about it the same way I feel about ballgowns. (I wanted to love those so badly).

Thanks for the suggestion of maca root! I will definitely check it out. I'm so glad that you are all about pre-owned stuff like I am too. I think it's pretty awesome you juggled having a baby and buying a fixer-upper. I'm still fixing up SO's bachelor pad hahaha.

Ok without further ado, here's the dress. The only difference is the one I'm buying has gold and silver embellishments. She paid extra for that and we were thinking about a winter wedding with soft ivory, gold and silver as colors.

 

[gammygam]

Here's a pic with the model.

 

[slg47]

that is a gorgeous dress. however I am not sure if it can be let out in the bust because of all of the embroidery?

 

[gammygam]

Slg, that's my fear too. The bride told me she was a 40D. She was a two dress bride and ordered a second dress. This dress has never been worn so she ordered to fit her bust but didn't alter anything else. I'm pretty sure the bust will fit and if so the waist and hips will have to be taken in along with the front hem. It'll be next to impossible to find a dress that won't need alterations for me

 

[vintagelover229]

I'm glad to hear that the bust is going to be able to fit you-the rest of the dress should be able to be sized accordingly but I agree that the bust is very difficult to take out-and even more so if there is anything ornate on it.

The dress is STUNNING. I can see why you love it so.

I had a response typed up but of course-firefox crashed and ate it

Here is a link to some pictures of my wedding dress. I got married in the winter but if we had gotten married in the spring/fall I wouldn't have worn a skirt underneath it. I like the way it looks without one but thought for our venue/etc that it looked great.

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-much-was-your-wedding-dress.164195/page-5#post-3126782#p3126782']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-much-was-your-wedding-dress.164195/page-5#post-3126782#p3126782[/URL]

I'm also attaching one photo of a mermaid style dress that I loved-but like your mom wanted something a bit more traditional and classic.

I think that dress is going to look great on you and hug you in all the right places. You might want to add a something to cover up the girls a bit though since it's pretty low cut and those things have a mind of their own when you are having a great time and not paying attention to them

I really love my wedding dress and am *so* happy it worked out. The baby won't be here until Oct. and our venue provides us with one night on our anniversary to come back and visit. Prior to expecting I was hoping to wear my dress again (there wasn't any snow-just rain so I didn't get to wear my amazing antique ivory satin and fur cape) but I'm not sure 3 months after having a baby I'll fit into it again. We will see though-I don't know if I'll even want to leave the baby over night at that point-I think we'll bring him/her along


Where is your venue and when is the wedding? I can't wait to see actual photos of you in the dress-I'm sure you'll look amazing. And if not-you can ALWAYS have something made. You'd be surprised at how many seamstresses are in the area doing dress work. Nothing like taking your favorite dress and making it your own!

 

[gammygam]

Fingers are super crossed that the bust area will fit! And the rest of the dress looks as amazing as possible of course.

First let me say, WOW I love love LOVE the antique dress you ended up wearing. It looks antique but not overly outdated, it definitely looks like a brand new dress. That's so awesome the seller refunded you the money and let you keep the dress. Guess it was just meant to be! Congratulations on the baby and I'm sure that you and your DH will have tons of fun on your anniversary even if you don't get the pictures you wanted.

I have to say that the "lace and cupcake explosion" as you described, definitely isn't as bad as what you made it out to be. You have a gorgeous figure. I definitely liked the mermaid dress more though. JMO, I'm not a fan of the rouching (?) and the beadwork on the bodice. It seems like it should have one but not the other if that makes sense. I think that's why I'm more attracted to the mermaid dress you posted but I definitely think the antique dress wins out over all three. I can totally see why you loved wearing it.

As to the venue and date, well that part is a bit tricky haha. Ok this is going to be a novel so here goes:

My bf hasn't even proposed yet! I know where the ring is (torture!) and supposedly he's not going to make me wait too long....we just moved in together. One of the things he and I discussed was NOT having a long engagement. This was more his idea than mine. He was thinking a 6 month engagement and something that I told him is that wedding dresses take 6-8 months to order in. And that if he wanted a short engagement (fine by me) that I'd have to start looking for a dress and venue.

Now comes the venue part. My dream venue is Oak Alley plantation down in Louisiana. http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/visiting/photo+gallery/ I'm not from Louisiana but I used to live there and so did my extended family. Oak Alley is just totally dreamy and doesn't need much to spice it up. However for practicality purposes, he comes from a huge midwest family and I come from a small one on the East Coast. We also live in Las Vegas. So far it's looking like Las Vegas is our number one contender, but honestly, I'm not thrilled with ANY of the venues that I have looked at so far. I guess I just don't want something that screams Vegas wedding since we live here. Second choice would be a wedding in Charleston, SC or something like that..again not really practical. I've mentioned to him the idea of just us going to Oak Alley after the wedding just so I can get amazing pics of the dress and us together. Sigh, was that way TMI?

 

[vintagelover229]

Fingers are super crossed that the bust area will fit! And the rest of the dress looks as amazing as possible of course.

First let me say, WOW I love love LOVE the antique dress you ended up wearing. It looks antique but not overly outdated, it definitely looks like a brand new dress. That's so awesome the seller refunded you the money and let you keep the dress. Guess it was just meant to be! Congratulations on the baby and I'm sure that you and your DH will have tons of fun on your anniversary even if you don't get the pictures you wanted.

I have to say that the "lace and cupcake explosion" as you described, definitely isn't as bad as what you made it out to be. You have a gorgeous figure. I definitely liked the mermaid dress more though. JMO, I'm not a fan of the rouching (?) and the beadwork on the bodice. It seems like it should have one but not the other if that makes sense. I think that's why I'm more attracted to the mermaid dress you posted but I definitely think the antique dress wins out over all three. I can totally see why you loved wearing it.

As to the venue and date, well that part is a bit tricky haha. Ok this is going to be a novel so here goes:

My bf hasn't even proposed yet! I know where the ring is (torture!) and supposedly he's not going to make me wait too long....we just moved in together. One of the things he and I discussed was NOT having a long engagement. This was more his idea than mine. He was thinking a 6 month engagement and something that I told him is that wedding dresses take 6-8 months to order in. And that if he wanted a short engagement (fine by me) that I'd have to start looking for a dress and venue.

Now comes the venue part. My dream venue is Oak Alley plantation down in Louisiana. http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/visiting/photo+gallery/ I'm not from Louisiana but I used to live there and so did my extended family. Oak Alley is just totally dreamy and doesn't need much to spice it up. However for practicality purposes, he comes from a huge midwest family and I come from a small one on the East Coast. We also live in Las Vegas. So far it's looking like Las Vegas is our number one contender, but honestly, I'm not thrilled with ANY of the venues that I have looked at so far. I guess I just don't want something that screams Vegas wedding since we live here. Second choice would be a wedding in Charleston, SC or something like that..again not really practical. I've mentioned to him the idea of just us going to Oak Alley after the wedding just so I can get amazing pics of the dress and us together. Sigh, was that way TMI?

Thank you so much I really did love the dress and it was such a blessing that the stains came out. I only wanted a discount to help with the dry cleaning bill-I didn't expect her to do the shipping and everything.

OMG-the plantation-please please please get married there. WOW! It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen-the trees! WOW!

Don't feel bad about buying your dress before you were engaged. My husband bought my ring just months after we began dating (a vintage ring-once in a lifetime buy-great price). We met in Feb. started dating right away-he bought the ring in April-got it in June. Held onto it until the FOLLOWING July. Like a year and a month lol. I knew where it was and he would let me visit it.

I bought that vintage gown a year before the wedding. I bought it Dec. after we began dating (so 10 months of dating)-we got engaged that coming July (1 yr 5 months dating) and got married this past Dec (so just shy of 2 years of dating). I told him about the dress search and he was okay with me buying it. Sounds like your SO is in the same boat as my husband.

Just continue what you are doing and enjoy being bf and gf. It doesn't last long and life changes so quickly just enjoy every moment.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE that venue. I can't wait to hear your proposal story. What does the ring look like?

 

[gammygam]

Here's my SMTB thread [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/jb-star-2-01-d-si2-with-paraiba-sidestones.171686/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/jb-star-2-01-d-si2-with-paraiba-sidestones.171686/[/URL] I am sooooo in lurve with the ring

Haha I think its so cool that you and I kinda had the same story. Although mine took a bit longer! It wasn't until we were dating for 8 or 9 months that we started talking pretty seriously about moving forward re: engagement/wedding/family. Anyway, it took approximately 4 months of looking for me to find my ring. I still feel like it was totally meant to be.

I really dig the ring in your avatar. OECs and OMCs are amazing...I really wanted to find an antique pear but alas, none are really to be found. Needle in a haystack. Speaking of which I'm going to have to go stalk your SMTB thread. Was it total torture waiting for a year knowing he had the ring?!

I still really will have to work on that Oak Alley venue idea...it doesn't sound like its going to practical at all.

 

[Ganesha]

Hi gammygam,

Just wanted to chime in and say that I bought my dress on preownedweddingdresses.com and had a great experience! Like you, I found a dress that had never been worn -- the seller changed her mind after placing an order that couldn't be cancelled. Lucky for me, it fits like a glove and I got a great discount.

I knew loved the designer --Jim Hjelm-- and had tried other styles of his but not this specific dress. When considering the purchase, I did go to a bridal salon and try on a sample. I wouldn't have trusted myself to buy without seeing in person, kwim? Rather than flying across the country, could you ask the seller to ship you the dress with an inspection/return period? I hope the dress works out for you, it's absolutely gorgeous!!

And since we're sharing, here my (fabulous preowned) dress!

 

[gammygam]

Ganesha, your dress is gorgeous! (not to mention you have a killer figure for it too) I adore the lace and the dress I really liked a Jim Hjelm dress that my mom said was too modern. I'll post a pic of it later.

It's unfortunate that where I live there are no Reem Acra stores and I did ask the seller for an inspection period but as it is brand new, she was unwilling to do so in case it came back with a stain or something. I did see her point of view and asked instead if she would consider helping out with my flight ticket in the form of payment on the dress and she was more than willing.

 

[gammygam]

Hi ladies!

I did end up buying the dress. I absolutely adored it, however, it needs a bit of alterations. The straps are way too long and I think I'll have a modesty panel made into a sweetheart neckline from the hem of the dress. Also, the seller was an absolute doll. She took me out to lunch after. It was a really fun time and I'm so glad that it was an easy transaction.

Here's the dress!

 

[slg47]

im so glad it worked out!

do you have more pics??

 

[gammygam]

Aw slg I'm afraid I don't have anymore "modest" shots, I forgot to get the seamstress to take pics after she pinned up the front...it was too low cut.

 

[vintagelover229]

It looks AMAZING on you! I'm so happy that it worked out so well More pictures please if you have them please

 

[slg47]

Aw slg I'm afraid I don't have anymore "modest" shots, I forgot to get the seamstress to take pics after she pinned up the front...it was too low cut.

totally understandable. I can't wait to see your pics once it is altered! congrats again on finding your dress!

 

[dragonfly411]

Looooooove your dress!!!!! Love it.

If you ever watch the last unicorn... the wizard puts a tree under a love spell. This quote from her is me:

"OH I loooove you... I Loooove you... lovelovelovellovelovelove!!!!" - just imagine with it instead of you. Annoying, old lady brit voice.