- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
Despite the fact that by the end of November I had a pretty good idea of what I was looking for in a wedding dress, I didn’t actually plan to go shop for one until March. I was really excited to plan lovely adventures with my bridesmaids involving me trying on lots of amazing dresses followed by brunch.
I didn’t get any of that.
Nope, I found my dress by accident when I wasn’t even looking for it. I was shopping with one of my bridesmaids in early January, a full 11-and-a-half months before my wedding. We were poking around Second Time Around, a consignment store in Yorkville when I found a dress that looked almost exactly like what I was looking for.
I tried it on and it was lovely.
I’m not actually going to describe it or show pictures before the wedding as I want to preserve the “drama of the bridal arrival”, as my mom would put it, but suffice it to say that it fulfilled each and every one of my criteria. The one part I can talk about though was the price. This dress cost $300 (Canadian) tax included. That’s right, it cost less than half of what I was expecting to pay. Amazing.
While I loved the dress I was pretty hesitant about buying it. I’ve been known to get buyers remorse and I really couldn’t afford to have buyers remorse with my dress. I also really did want to experience the whole ritual of buying a wedding dress, so I had to consider the fact that I’d be missing out on that.
In the end though, it was a really easy decision and I left there with the gorgeous dress. While I’m a bit sad to have missed out on all those dress shopping outings, I’m thrilled to have an inexpensive dress I love. I’m also thrilled with the fact that it’s a second hand dress for environmental reasons. I wouldn’t have had an issue with buying a new dress, but this is just the icing on the cake! Plus, how cool will it be to tell my grandkids that I bought a vintage wedding dress? Unless that’s really uncool in 45 years…
Did anyone else find their dress unexpectedly? Did you miss not having a “traditional” dress shopping experience?
That’s awesome! I can’t wait to see it! Can’t you post a teaser pic or something?
oh, we’re gonna have to wait until december to see your dress? the anticipation is killer!
Yay for consignment stores!! Glad you found the dress of your dreams 
I had the same thing happen to me. I thought, eh, why not, I’ll START looking and then the first dress in the first store and I was crying. I love my dress, but after watching one too many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, (which is on my street), I kind of wished and I had the chance to try on a few more, just to have the whole experience. C’est la vie, I would rather have the right dress and less of a search then spend forever freaking out about finding the right one.
Yay for a dress, and what a great price!! You could still have the experience of going to the store and trying on a million beautiful dresses if you really want, you know! I went to a super fancy store (after I’d already bought my dress) just to try on some lovely floaty gowns that were about 5 times my budget 
I suppose you’d have to be pretty sure you wouldn’t second guess the dress you bought, but it could still be a really fun event!
I love a good consignment dress story! Can’t wait to see it
Congrats on such an awesome deal on your dress! A similar thing happened to me too! I ended up finding my dress at a place I almost didn’t want to walk into!
It sounds like the dress found you! Can’t wait to see it!!!
hahah chances are it will be TOTALLY uncool in 45 years, but oh well, that’s what generations are for, to think that the previous generations were so uncool.
oooh cant wait to see it. i love that you found something that fit every bit of what you were looking for
Me too! I found a Pronovias dress on craigslist when I was looking for something NWR (and I’m not even officially engaged yet!) But for $200 the dress is now sitting up in my closet. If need be, I can resell it and I simply love it. It’s EXACTLY what I wanted. Now it’s a matter of breaking the news to my mom when the time comes that there will be no dress shopping outings… hmmm.
I didn’t reveal my dress either. : ) I’m so happy that you found what you were looking for at a great price!
I missed out on the dress shopping experience and do have regrets about it, but what can you do now right? haha! Can’t wait to see this dress of yours!
[...] Finding My Dress | Weddingbee [...]
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Mrs. Knitting, Toronto Age and Occupation: 24, Student Recruitment Assistant Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Neuroscience PhD Candidate Engagement Date: October 2009 Wedding Date: December 2010 Venue: University of Toronto Faculty Club About Me: I'm a pearl wearing, etiquette book reading Toronto girl who loves cooking and baking, museums, charm bracelets, and collecting books on Jackie Kennedy (a lot). I've been known to spend Sunday mornings at the antique market, Wednesday evenings at sister sushi dinners, and any bit of spare time reading. After six and a half years of many late night walks, watching DVDs together in bed, travelling to places like New York, and Tobermory, doing Sudokus together on the couch, lots of Indian food, the occasional yoga class, moving in together and so much more, Mr. Knitting and I are planning a cozy Christmasy (it's a word!), vintage wedding in Toronto complete with many DIY projects (eek!) and lots of help from our amazing group of family and friends.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
Latest Gallery Pics