Dresses!!!

Finding your perfect dress and the perfect dresses for the bridal party, is a very important item on the bride's list of things to do. Often times it is very time consuming, and stressful event. However it doesn't have to be. I started looking for a wedding dress at uncommon places, such as department stores (The Gap, JcPenny, Macy's, Old Navy and Wet Seal to name a few...). I even ended up buying one dress from the Gap for $50 and added my own bead work, but i later decided that i wanted something a little longer and in a more beach type material. I then did some searching at David's bridal, i even tried some of the dresses on, which was fun, but i just couldn't see myself buying a dress for that much money that i was only going to be wearing once. Even if you look on the sales rack at these kinds of places, you are lucky if you find a dress for under $100. I suggest you first check out second hand stores, good will and consignment shops. You can often find dresses at these places for less than the main stream bridal shops. And more often than not the dresses found at the second hand stores are in near perfect condition! If you still have no luck and you don't want to spend an arm and a leg on your wedding dress, try buying from online shops, such as eBay. I found a never worn wedding dress for $40!! It fits my beach theme more than the dresses i tried on at David's bridal, And it was at a very affordable price.
I then started to look for dresses for my bridal party. Since most of my bridal party is still off at college, and are living in different states, i felt like it was hard for me to take them along with me for this search. So i started looking at stores such as JcPenny, and Walmart at the end of summer sales racks, and i found the perfect dresses at Walmart. I ended up picking out what i think was intended to be beach cover ups, but they are the perfect color and the perfect length for a beach wedding! For the four brides maids that i have the total of these dresses cost me a total of $48!!! I then took a look at Walmarts selection of summer sundresses for little girls, and i found the perfect dress for my flower girl for only $10. I then began looking for camis to go under the brides maids dresses because the backs on the dresses do go a little low. I found some for $5 each. I then decided maybe i should get shawls for the bridal party, just in case the weather is a little on the cool side. I found the perfect shawls for $3 each at wet seal on, a sale they were having on scarves. So the shawls/wraps that i found were actually scarves, but they work the same as shawls. I then took a look at a local second hand shop for a shawl for myself, and i found one for the great price or $2.50! I think you can find great deals, on sales racks, and second hand stores. If you keep an eye open for the deals you could get dresses for your whole bridal party for under $100. Its all about being willing to give up brand names, and not being afraid of using second hand items. Which is beginning to be very popular, in an age where people are trying to reuse and recycle. The grand total for 6 dresses, 4 camis and 6 shawls is $136.21!! Most bride's spend more than that on their own dress!!! You can do it, look for the bargains, sales, and second hand items and you will be well on your way to a great wedding for less!!

Starting out

I started my wedding planning with deciding on the theme i would like my big day to hold. I decided on a beach themed wedding. The beach has always been a favorite place of mine and since i live in Western NY, right on lake Erie i thought that this would be a perfect place to hold my May wedding! All the items discussed on this blog will be a beach theme, but can easily be adjusted to fit any theme you'd like to have for your special day!

Who i am and what i am doing

Hi everyone! My name is Ashley and i am from western NY. For the past 7 months i have been planning my May wedding! I have been on a journey to find ways to make my wedding both elegant and fun without putting myself in debt for the next twenty years. I have found various money savers and creative ways to spend less on my wedding and still have a day that i will enjoy! I will write on many things including finding cheaper dresses for you the (bride) and your whole wedding party, to making a beautiful tasty cake all on your own that does not cost $500. So i hope you will enjoy some of my finds and make your big day more affordable!