By Shannon Low
For years, men have been given the option to rent tuxedos at a lower price than buying one for their wedding day. Why is it that women are forced to buy an expensive dress for one occasion, whereas, men are able to cheaply rent a tuxedo that can be used for multiple occasions? A new trend in the bridal industry allows you to rent your wedding dress at a fraction of the price of buying a new dress.
The option of renting a dress appeals to many women for several reasons. First off, you save hundreds or even thousands of dollars, which can be put towards your honeymoon or saved for later use. You do not need to preserve or find a place to store your dress for years after your wedding day, which can be time consuming and costly. With the discounted rental price, the expensive designers that may have been outside of your budget may be more affordable to wear on your special day. Finally, some women may consider the rented dress as their “something borrowed” if they want to honor the tradition of having “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” for good luck.
On the other hand, bBrides still may opt to purchase their wedding dress to go through the full experience of picking out a dress, as seen on TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. If you choose to buy a dress, it is easier to customize and make alterations to your dress, which makes it personalized to you. When buying the dress, you do not need to worry about returning the dress back to the store in mint condition or remembering the deadline to return your dress. Finally, some women choose to buy a dress hoping to pass down their dress in the future to their daughter.