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! 

3 Places to Buy Bridesmaid Dresses for Under $100

In the South, David’s Bridal dominates the bridal-dress market. There’s at least one or two of this major chain in every big city. But I’ll be honest, I kind of hate David’s Bridal! They’re dresses are soooo cheap. And by cheap I don’t mean “pleasantly budget-friendly.” I mean poorly made, polyester crap. Let’s be honest, with these dresses, there is no way that your bridesmaid is going to “shorten it and wear it again.”

So, you’ve ruled out David’s Bridal. Now, where will you get your bridesmaids dresses? An Elegant Encounter is sharing some of our budget friendly alternatives. 

1. Shop online at Modcloth

                Modcloth is an online store with dresses of all variety. You can get super affordable all the way up to fairly expensive party and floor length dresses. Quality can vary as much as the prices, but the trick is to use the zoom feature to look at the dress up close. You can pretty much determine quality by looking at the fabric type and seams shown in the picture. Worried about sizing? Well, Modcloth allows exchanges for store credit. The biggest thing you want to do is have your girls order their dresses at the same time, to make sure that they have the dress in stock. They’re products are so loveable that if you wait too long, you might miss out.

2. Hit the Mall

                Gather your girls for a Saturday of shopping! You’re going to want a mall with lots of department stores with huge dress sections. For those of you in Nashville, that means Cool Springs Galleria and the Mall at Green Hills. For reasonable prices, Macy’s and Dillard’s have great party dress selections. For the super fancy weddings, Nordstrom is awesome. The purple bridesmaid dress below came from Macy’s. We found 2 that fit the girls at Macy’s in Cool Springs, then called Macy’s at Green Hills to see if they had the 3^rd before purchasing. They were kind enough to hold it for us, and the dresses ended up being perfect! Plus, on sale, these were $40 bridesmaid’s dresses. You’re not going to find that at David’s Bridal!

                For this wedding, the bride chose to be a little different. It was a winter wedding, so we went with these comfy sweater dresses from Old Navy. On sale, $20 each! I understand if this doesn’t fit your style, but they were exactly what we were looking for and totally fit the bridesmaids' budget.

3. Rent the Runway

                Rent the Runway is an online dress rental store. Guys rent their tuxedos, why can’t we rent our dresses? For each rental, you get to pick 2 sizes, both dresses included in the rental price. This gives a better chance of getting a dress that fits. The downside? The dresses arrive in the mail 1-2 days before the event, so there isn’t much chance for correction if they dress is horrible. See our upcoming post for a full review of our experiences with Rent the Runway.

Do you have more ideas for beautiful, inexpensive bridesmaid attire? Share them with us in the comments or at anelegantencounter@gmail.com