Running of the Brides?

[kelbelle134]

Anyone ever done this or one of sample sales?

Its done in the bigger cities by Filene''s Basement.

 

[Clairitek]

I know a couple of brides that have found their dresses though this sale. Both of them went later in the morning (around 1030) after the craziness had died down and they said it was much more calm than the videos on you see on YouTube. One did it in DC and the other did it in Boston.

Good luck!

 

[kelbelle134]

Thanks!

 

[FoxyBride]

I found my dress at the Running of the Brides in Cleveland. Here''s my expereience I posted on another forum.

I went out and I found the dress! I ended up going late because my sisters got lost driving down. I didn''t get there until 9:45. When I got there I saw "the dress" on another chick and she was walking around it and talking about how much she loved it so I thought it was a lost cause. My sisters and I then went to go find other choices. I found this great Pronovias gown and was almost going to get it but I decided to take another look around. I found some more dresses to try and when I got back to my corner/dressing room I saw a pile of fabric on the floor, turns out, it''s "the dress!" I was like "no way!" Tried it on and loved it! It was EXACTLY what I was looking for.

I feel like it was meant to be since had we gotten there any earlier, I probably wouldn''t have gotten to try it on since that other chick was clinging to it. I was initially so disappointed that we were late and was thinking we weren''t going find anything but we got there right at the point that all the early birds where putting their rejects back.

The atmosphere was very calm and I actually had several people hand me dresses to try that were too small for their brides. I ended up paying $249! The Pronovias I almost got was $499 so that had a little to do with me going with the other dress. I am going to try to get photos but my sisters have gone back home so all I have now is a phone cam pic of me holding the dress to tighten it since it is definitely too big.

I''ve attached a pic. It''s in white on the model, I have ivory though.

 

[kelbelle134]

how awesome, can I ask you a few questions about the actual dresses you saw?? Ok, I can''t wait so here they go

Were they all sample sizes (8-10) I am a street size 0/2 so I am wondering if everything is going to need significant alterations? What designers did you see?

I am excited to hear your story! What a beautiful gown!!

 

[FoxyBride]

They had absolutely all sizes. There were a lot of girls who where 20s and they still had plenty of selection. Plus at the one I went to they had alterations people on site to let you know what it would cost realistically to get things done and if the alterations you wanted were possible. I''m a street size 2 but my dress is a 12 so I''m gonna need the waist and hips taken in quite a bit. Not the chest area though because I''m very disproportionate.

The gown I got was from Emerald Bridal but I saw Pronovias and Watters too.

 

[MissManna]

I went to ROTB in Chicago this past summer and it was absolute Insanity. I saw tons of girls who found their dresses, but it was really crazy. We got there at 6 in the morning and were still wound around down the block, so by the time we got in the store, there was nothing on the racks. Most of the girls were being extremely catty. They were hoarding piles of dresses that they couldn''t possibly fit into, and they refused to give you a dress unless you had something to give them in their size. Also, there are no dressing rooms, so you must be comfortable changing in front of hundreds of other people. Most people aren''t paying attention to you, but I''m just saying. It would be extremely beneficial to have a large team with you, so they could be doing the negotiating for you, while you''re trying on. I tried on stuff for almost 2 hours, but I got really frustrated so we left and went to Giordanos (yum!) and walked around for a few hours. When I came back, it was much less stressful. There were still tons of girls there but there were dresses on the racks and laying all over the place, so I was actually able to try alot more on.

I didn''t find my dress but they called over the loudspeaker everytime someone did, and there were lots of those announcements!

As far as sizing goes, it pretty much ran the gamut. There were sizes for bigger girls and for teeny tiny girls. It did seem like the most popular was the 8-10 range. Also, alot of girls carried signs that said what size they needed, so the trading would go easier.

It really was alot of fun and a really unique experience. If you have the time and opportunity I don''t think it would hurt to go! Good luck.