How to Rent a Wedding Dress:
Rent Bridal Gowns to Save Money

Choosing to rent your gown gives you the opportunity to save money for your ceremony, your honeymoon or even your family’s future.

While purchasing a designer gown can cost you upwards of $3000 in some cases, the cost to rent a wedding dress is often less than a third of the retail cost.

What you will spend to rent your gown is almost always directly related to the dress itself, so be prepared to spend a bit more if you’re going after a certain designer dress or a dress in a popular style.

On average, renting your wedding gown will cost you anywhere from $75 to $200 on the low end and $1000 for top end designer gowns.

Most commonly, however, the average dress will cost between $250 and $500. It is wise to beware of extremely low prices, as you commonly encounter hidden fees that will likely be added before you pay.

If you are looking to see what types of dresses are available to you, do a search for local bridal shops and bridal gown outlets in your town and surrounding areas and call them to find out which of them offer bridal gowns for rent.

If this service is available, you will want to ask them a few questions while you have them on the phone to help you narrow your options.

Some of the questions you will want to ask include:

• What is the average cost of gown rental at your shop?
• How many days before the ceremony can you pick up the dress?
• Does the cost include accessories?
• Will I be required to pay for cleaning before I return the dress?
• Are fittings and alterations allowed? Are they included in the cost?
• Are there any additional fees for which I should plan?

Your best option is to make appointments with stores that have mid-range prices and that include cleaning, accessories and alterations in their cost packages, if possible.

Once your list is narrowed down and you have selected a few shops that you may rent a wedding dress from, look around online before making an appointment to see if other former brides have posted any information about their experiences with renting from these facilities.

Be advised that in many cases, people will only feel the need to express themselves if they have had a bad experience, so heed their cautions carefully as this will help you narrow your list of options even more.

As you visit some of these stores to try on dresses, keep in mind that you are looking for beauty and fit. They may have a gorgeous dress that you love, but if the gown needs major alterations for fit or preference, you will likely not be able to rent that particular dress.

Most facilities will do minor alterations in-house, but will not dramatically change the look or sizing if you are renting a wedding dress, as it makes it harder to rent afterwards, so try to decide between dresses that fit well and look beautiful on the first fitting.

When you rent a wedding dress, you will usually be required to sign a rental agreement that outlines the cost and conditions of the rental.

This document will always have a description of the condition of the dress, so be sure to read it carefully and compare it to the actual dress. Let them know of any discrepancies you may have with the description before you sign and pay.

Also, be sure that before you agree to rent a wedding dress from them that you have read the entire agreement to see exactly what is being charged.

If they have a charge listed that you don’t understand or don’t agree with, ask questions.

Also, take notice of the damage policies and make sure the consequences are something that you can live with.

Don’t be afraid to tell them no and inform them if they can’t meet your standards that you can take your business elsewhere. Remember, money talks.

While renting is not commonplace as of yet, it is becoming a more and more popular decision every year.

Renting gives you the opportunity to stretch your wedding budget, allowing you to save money for the things that you really want and need.

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