Wedding dress - reuse from first marriage?
jr...@ellis.uchicago.edu
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
FYI, wedding dresses don't start at $2000. Judging from prices mentioned
in this group, they seem to start at $100 or under and go up indefinitely.
Given the fact that lots of beautiful dresses are available in many
different price ranges (provided that you are willing to either shop
creatively or have something made), I doubt that there is a real financial
need for her to wear the dress from her first marriage again. Beyond
that, I personally find the idea of wearing the same dress for multiple
marriages distasteful. Assuming that she has some sort of engagement
ring this time around, is she using the same one from the first marriage?
If not, why not? That could save money, too.
Any way, I'm sorry if this sounded harsher than I intended. I really
didn't mean for it to be a flame of any sort...just my $.02.
Jennifer
Brenda L. Shaw
>
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance
suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
>
> save on a dress that you use once (okay, maybe twice :-) would
> go a long way on other things.
>
> The other side of me is hesitant to have her wear the same dress
> she wore "the first time around". I'm not a very
"everything-must-
> be-just-right" person, but I would like the ceremony to be rather
> traditional. (The reception, on the other hand...)
>
>Any suggestions/comments?
>
>TIA.
>
>Ken (and Laura)
>9/96
Maybe she can change it in some way - I know there are people who do
this with their mother's, aunt's, etc. gowns to personalize them or
just because they don't want to spend a fortune on a whole new gown.
I'm sure a dressmaker could help with suggestions on what changes could
be made easily without costing too much - adding some lace, changing
the sleeves, etc. - and would make it a different enough gown that it's
not the same as the first time around.
Brenda (& Paul)
4/27/96
Mary Kathryn
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
>
> The practical side of me says that the thousands of dollars we
> save on a dress that you use once (okay, maybe twice :-) would
> go a long way on other things.
>
> The other side of me is hesitant to have her wear the same dress
> she wore "the first time around". I'm not a very "everything-must-
> be-just-right" person, but I would like the ceremony to be rather
> traditional. (The reception, on the other hand...)
>
>Any suggestions/comments?
>
>TIA.
>
>Ken (and Laura)
>9/96
Oh, if I were her, I would have sold it or burned it by now! :^)
Really, if she shops around, she can find a dress for much less than
$2000. Especially if she goes slightly less foo foo. There are plenty
of Mori Lee dresses for well under $2000. Also, ask about Discount
Bridal Service. I've read that they are a good deal, but haven't tried
them myself. I would almost see it as bad luck to wear that dress
again! Maybe I'm superstitious? I say, she should get a new dress!
-Mary (& Bryan 5/17/97)
Venitha Manter
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
>
Find a good seamstress. Surely there are some things Laura would
like to change about the dress: different sleeves, different length,
more beading? My FSIL is a professional seamstress, and she's remade
lots of bridal gowns where you'd never guess it was the same dress.
A friend of mine getting married in April is doing exactly this, and
she says it's great that she already knows all the things about the
dress that she disliked (the sleeves made it impossible to dance, etc.),
and she's changing them.
venitha
venitha...@symbios.com
KarmelaL
writes:
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance
suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
> The practical side of me says that the thousands of dollars we
> save on a dress that you use once (okay, maybe twice :-) would
> go a long way on other things.
> The other side of me is hesitant to have her wear the same dress
> she wore "the first time around". I'm not a very
"everything-must-
> be-just-right" person, but I would like the ceremony to be rather
> traditional. (The reception, on the other hand...)
>Any suggestions/comments?
I think she should try to sell her first dress (unless she really does
have a DEEP emotional attachment to it), and use the money towards buying
a new dress. HOw's that for a compromise? There are many, many places that
sell bride's dresses for under $1000, (if you live in the DC metro area,
I'd be happy to point out a few places to you), with a wide variety of
styles to choose from.
Best of luck,
Karmela
Anita Moryadas
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
> The practical side of me says that the thousands of dollars we
>save on a dress that you use once (okay, maybe twice :-) would
> go a long way on other things.
> The other side of me is hesitant to have her wear the same dress
> she wore "the first time around". I'm not a very "everything-must-
> be-just-right" person, but I would like the ceremony to be rather
> traditional. (The reception, on the other hand...)
>Any suggestions/comments?
>TIA.
>Ken (and Laura)
>9/96
Ken-
what about changing something on the dress so that it seems somehow different
than it was before, like adding something to the neckline, or a bustle, or
new trim, or fabric flowers or (you start filling in suggestions at this
point)......
That way you can save money and still have the dress be special for this
wedding with no bad juju associated from her previous marriage.
HTH
Anita (and Andreas)
Sept 15 1996
{ archipelago: S C I - A r c Online}
SEF
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
> The practical side of me says that the thousands of dollars we
> save on a dress that you use once (okay, maybe twice :-) would
> go a long way on other things.
> The other side of me is hesitant to have her wear the same dress
> she wore "the first time around". I'm not a very "everything-must-
> be-just-right" person, but I would like the ceremony to be rather
> traditional. (The reception, on the other hand...)
>Any suggestions/comments?
I'm planning to sell my dress from my first wedding and then use the money
toward my new dress or the general wedding budget. It's not a symbolic
gesture for me or anything but who wants to keep *two* preserved wedding
dresses that you never really look at? I don't really know how much money it
will bring as a percent of original cost but I have noticed quite a few
wedding dresses appearing lately in the window of an upscale re-sale shop in
the neighborhood, and then disappearing very quickly so I think it's a good
time to sell.
One thing to ask your fiance is if she were shopping for a new dress, would it
look anything like the one she already has? My taste changed quite a bit over
the years and I probably wouldn't even think of buying the same dress if I saw
it in a store today. BTW, you're very understanding to even be considering it
- I'd probably freak if my fiance wanted to re-use something like that from
his first marriage!
Good luck!
Susan
Deborah Duning
: >reusing her dress from her first marriage.
You can find beautiful wedding dress for much less than $2000.00 you just
have to shop around. I found my dress from a bridal dress warehouse. I
got a lovely dress with a long train and petticoat for $499.00. I agree
that boutique prices can kill you, but as with anything nowadays, just
shop around and be a wise consumer.
--Debbie & Darrell 1/6/96
------
Debbie D. Duning, deb...@csulb.edu
California State University, Long Beach
"Better a witty fool than a foolish wit." (Twelfth Night)
brian & laura
>
>With the cost of new wedding dresses starting at $2000, my fiance
suggested
>reusing her dress from her first marriage.
>
> save on a dress that you use once (okay, maybe twice :-) would
> go a long way on other things.
>
> The other side of me is hesitant to have her wear the same dress
> she wore "the first time around". I'm not a very
"everything-must-
> be-just-right" person, but I would like the ceremony to be rather
> traditional. (The reception, on the other hand...)
>
>Any suggestions/comments?
>
>
>Ken (and Laura)
>9/96
hey ken,
i feel the way you do in your latter statement. ...it's just so..i
dont know, so strange to me; i guess i'm kinda superstitious or
something ;) but anyway, maybe you two could consider selling the
first dress to an individual or to a place that rents bridal gowns, or
to consignment, and then use the money toward, or for, a new dress
depending on the amt. you get..you could find a relatively inexpensive
dress i'm sure ( i did)...another idea i had was that maybe you could
have the first dress drastically altered or something, altho i like my
first idea better :)
good luck!
peace,
laura
wsj785...@gmail.com
parke...@gmail.com
> FYI, wedding dresses don't start at $2000. Judging from prices mentioned
> in this group, they seem to start at $100 or under and go up indefinitely.
> Given the fact that lots of beautiful dresses are available in many
> different price ranges (provided that you are willing to either shop
> creatively or have something made), I doubt that there is a real financial
> need for her to wear the dress from her first marriage again. Beyond
> that, I personally find the idea of wearing the same dress for multiple
> marriages distasteful. Assuming that she has some sort of engagement
> ring this time around, is she using the same one from the first marriage?
> If not, why not? That could save money, too.
>
> Any way, I'm sorry if this sounded harsher than I intended. I really
> didn't mean for it to be a flame of any sort...just my $.02.
>
> Jennifer
--
http://cinderellas-wedding.com
Dublin, Ireland