The truth is, weddings are expensive and you need to cut costs. Purchase a gown through the mail. Order nationally advertised gowns from bridal brokers at substantial discount from retail. These new gowns, discounted 20 percent to 30 percent off retail, are shipped directly to you, cutting out the middleman. Have a local seamstress create a copy of the original.
Seamstresses often can buy fabric at wholesale or at discount from retail.
And there are no costly alterations because your dress is made to fit. Look in your local newspaper or phone book to find a seamstress to work with you. Wear your mom's dress or borrow a friend's gown. A seamstress can restore a vintage dress inexpensively or you could spend a few hundred dollars altering or jazzing up the dress, much less than retail costs for a brand-new one. Order a bridesmaid's or less formal gown.