How to Save Money on a Wedding Guest Outfit

It goes without saying that weddings are usually expensive for the bride and groom. But it can be extremely costly to attend a wedding as a guest too!

When you take into account the cost for an outfit, wedding gift, hotel and travel, things can get expensive very quickly. Saving money on attending a wedding boils down to planning, budgeting and bargain hunting. If you don’t want to end up out of pocket, make sure you plan for how much you’ll need to spend in plenty of time – even before you accept your invitation if you know in advance that you’ll be invited! Then you can start thinking about areas where you can save.

The wedding guest outfit is definitely one of those areas where costs can spiral if you’re not careful. The main cost to consider is of course a dress (or suit), but then there are shoes, bags, purses, jewellery and hair accessories to think about for us ladies! So without further ado, take a look at some of my top tips below for saving money on wedding guest outfits.

How to save money on your outfit for a wedding

1. Wear clothes you already have

The obvious way to save on a wedding outfit is by wearing something that you already own. Seriously, no-one will remember that you wore that dress or suit to the last wedding you went to, or to the work’s Christmas party. The only person that will know is you!

2. Shop second hand

If you want to wear something different, why not try to find a wedding outfit secondhand? This is where planning in advance comes in handy. It’s difficult to find an outfit that you love if you’re desperately searching for it on eBay at short notice. But if you have 6 months before the wedding, that’s oodles of time to hunt around for the perfect outfit with co-ordinating accessories that you feel great about wearing, at a fraction of the price.

The added bonus with buying second hand is that your outfit will probably be out of season – yes that really is a bonus – because with any luck, no-one else will end up wearing the same outfit as you. Anyone been there before? *raises hand*

3. Lend from a friend

Another good way to save money on a wedding outfit is to see if you can borrow one from a friend. Have a think about which of your friends are a similar size to you and see if they’ll loan you an outfit. The chances are that they’ll say yes and you can wear a “new to you” outfit without any expense!

4. Rent your outfit

If you end up exhausting the avenues above with no luck, consider renting your outfit for a few days. There are some brilliant designer clothing websites that will let you do just this. This is a great option for anyone who really wants to wear a designer label but doesn’t want to splash out on paying full price. When you think about it, wedding outfits aren’t worn that often so it just doesn’t make financial sense to spend a fortune. Unless you have money to burn that is!

Listed below are some websites that you can look at which will rent out designer clothing for weddings, proms or any other special event. These are all online sites that post out your chosen dress. They aren’t particularly cheap, as like I said, these sites offer designer clothes. But renting such outfits is ridiculously cheaper than buying them new. Many of these offer a try before you buy service, include dry cleaning and offer a free back up size to ensure 100% happiness! Yay!

• Chic by Choice (UK and Europe)
• Girl Meets Dress (UK and Europe)
• Dream Wardrobe (UK and Europe)
• Rent the Runway (US)
• Lending Luxury (US)

You can do this with shoes too! Check out sites like Cinderella Me if you want amazingly beautiful shoes just for a few days without the amazing cost.

5. Shop for a new outfit in the sales

If you want to buy a new outfit for you to keep and wear again, planning ahead will allow you to shop in the sales and pick up something at a discounted price. If you see an outfit you like in a store, ask the retail assistant when they’ll next be having a sale and whether they think the item you’ve got your eye on will be included. If the answer is yes, keep on checking so you don’t miss out buying it at a discount!

6. Buy from China

A few months ago, I bought a long, black, floaty evening dress from a retailer in China (via eBay) for a black tie dinner that my husband and I were invited to attend through his job. It arrived after around two weeks, all crumpled in the post and slighty too long for me, but I took it to my local dry cleaners where they made some minor alterations and steamed it to remove the creases. It ended up being absolutely perfect and best of all, it was incredibly cheap! The dress itself cost £19.99 ($31) and then I paid another £15 for alterations ($23). Postage was free and the customer service was excellent.

Although the fabric wasn’t the best quality, the dress looked lovely – I personally believe that if an outfit fits you properly, then it’s way better than some designer label that’s too big or too tight. There are all sorts of types of clothing available to buy from China where costs can be cheaper, so it might be worth searching around to see what you can find for a potential wedding outfit.

Planning your outfit in advance will help hugely

There’s nothing like a last minute wedding outfit panic to get those pound or dollar signs rolling in front of your very eyes! If you leave sorting this out too late, you’ll be tempted to buy something – anything – off the shelf, which of course means paying more than you’ll really need to. So plan your wedding outfit as soon as you can to avoid any unnecessary expenditure!

What do you think about the costs associated with attending a wedding?