Should you Rent Bridesmaids Dresses?: A vendor review of Rent-The-Runway

Rent the Runway allows you to rent bridesmaids dresses online instead of purchasing them. We mentioned them in our last post, 3 Places to Buy Bridesmaids Dresses for Under $100. To expand upon this article, here are the pros and cons of using this dress rental service.

Pros:

*     Convenience: Everything is online, which saves you shopping time. The dresses are delivered right to the bridesmaids’ front doors, anywhere in the United States.

            *  Price: Your style isn’t the same as your girls’ styles. The dress you pick out may not be something that they want to wear again. With Rent-the-Runway, your girls save money by renting instead of purchasing. The blue dresses pictured in this article cost about $40 to rent.

 * Value: The company will send you 2 dresses for the price of one. Not sure if you need a size 0 or a 2, a 10 or a 12? You can get both. This provides a better chance that the dresses will fit.

Cons:

*   No room for error: For a Saturday event, your dresses will be delivered on Thursday. So if they don’t fit or are damaged, there is not much time to correct the issue. The dresses must also be in the mail by Sunday, so your bridesmaids will spend Sunday driving around looking for a UPS drop box (perhaps plan ahead for this one).

           *  The dresses aren’t identical: Take a look at some of these pictures from one of our weddings that used Rent-the-Runway. Do you see how the dress on the left  in the above photo is a different color? Well, the company doesn’t do a great job with throwing out old dresses. This dress was faded and threads were hanging off the hem.

      Next picture, above, you can see the dress in the center has a fold under the bust. This girl had to choose between a bold colored, new dress that didn’t quite fit, or a faded, ratty-tatty dress that did. She chose the new dress, but you can tell in the pictures that it isn’t quite right.

Overall, our experience with Rent the Runway has been positive. The bridesmaids usually appreciate the lower cost, especially when the bride wants them to wear full length ball gowns. Our recommendation is that you consult with your bridesmaids. They have to  pay for and wear the dress, so they should get a say in whether their money is going towards buying or renting. 

Our readers love to hear your stories. Share your experience with Rent the Runway in our comments section below!