Don't Think of Your Wedding Dress as Used; It's Your "Something Borrowed"!

Moroccan women take a milk bath to purify themselves before their wedding ceremony.

I can't tell you how much time my girlfriends and I spend poring over the bins and racks of vintage clothing stores. It's the hunt we love; you never know when you'll find that hidden gem that someone else had no use for. Hey - you know the saying: one person's trash is another person's treasure. Well, it's true most of the time. At the end of the day, when we're sipping our lattes, we've all got a treasure trove of shopping bags full of magical finds. Vintage clothing shopping never fails to disappoint.

So what about a vintage wedding dress? Yes, they're "used wedding dresses", but I prefer to think of them as "affordable wedding dresses". Why not? If you love looking for that special occasion cocktail dress in a vintage store, you can find a vintage wedding dress when for when YOU walk down the aisle. There's no shame in it; I work with couples who are looking to get the best possible value on an engagement ring and wedding bands, and are fretting about how much the wedding is going to cost. I always tell them: you will wear your wedding rings every day for the rest of your life. Those are worth splurging on. A wedding happens on one day, and then its over. Yes, it is a very special day, but if you're going to go all out and leave yourselves with nothing, it makes more sense to cut corners for one day, rather than for the rest of your life. Most of them tend to agree. Funny...I never find out what happens after they get their rings!

Go ahead - think about it. A used wedding dress will cost approximately half of what you would pay if it was new. Maybe even more than half. If you're a vintage hound like me, there's a dress out there waiting for you. And nobody has to know it's used. It can be "borrowed" from a long-lost cousin; or a friend; or the respectable consignment shop two towns over. All that matters is that you look dazzling on your special day, without breaking the bank. That leaves plenty left over for partying - and shopping - after the honeymoon! Congratulations!

Amber Brown is a wedding and engagement ring expert whose work appears on various blogs and Web sites, as well as in bridal magazines and newspapers. Her full time gig is at Diamond Factory, an online engagement ring and jewelry boutique.