Buy or Rent Your Wedding Dress: Pros, Cons, costs

Buy or Rent Your Wedding Dress: Pros, Cons, and Cost Comparison

Buy or rent your wedding dress? This is a question that many brides are faced with. There are so many choices out there, and one of them is whether to buy or rent your wedding gown.

Initially budget brides might say, well considering how expensive wedding dresses are, it's definitely the best option to hire a bridal gown. But is it?

To help you to make an informed decision, here is my list of pros and cons for each option.

The Pros and Cons of renting your wedding dress

Pros:

1. You will save money

This is usually the main reason why people consider renting their dress instead of buying it, but how much does rental cost? Dress rental is 75% of the purchase cost - what most people don't realize is that you're not actually saving much money and you're left with nothing in the end.

2. You won't have to worry about cleaning and storing

If you don't have a lot of space at home, this can be a big factor. Storing a dress properly is a commitment and dry cleaning fees can be up to R2000 for a bridal gown in South Africa.

Cons:

1. You need to be careful not to damage the dress

Many couples want to take pictures in beautiful places like in the woods or on the beach. If you are renting, you might hesitate to get those amazing pictures and won't be able to let loose and party as much as you may like to.

2. You are very limited in your selection of bridal gowns to choose from

When renting, you are very limited in your selection of dresses if you live in Cape Town. Not many designers rent out wedding dresses due to the delicate fabrics they are made from, so you will likely be restricted to imported dresses that may be outdated.

3. You will be limited in what alterations and customization can be done

Almost all dresses will need alterations, which is charged for by the bridal shop. There might be limits to the amount of alterations they can do, so you might end up wearing a dress that doesn't fit you perfectly. They will also have limitations on any customization you may have wanted.

The Pros and Cons of Buying your wedding dress

Pros:

1. You are unlimited in your choice of bridal gowns

When purchasing a wedding dress, you are able to choose from a wider selection of designers and boutiques. You are less limited in how it is customized to you. Designers can make dresses to order, so customization is not a problem and the bridal gown will be made to your exact measurements. This choice also allows you to have a dress custom designed for you should you wish.

2. You can resell your wedding dress

If you can resell your wedding dress, then it can work out cheaper to purchase your dress and you get the dress of your dreams.

3. You will have your gown as a memory for life

Some brides like to keep their dresses as a memory or even as something they can pass down to their daughter one day. It is such a special garment on a special day that this can be a really wonderful thing to keep.

4. You have a wedding dress you could resell

There is a large market for once-worn wedding dresses and you could end up recouping a large amount of the overall price.

For places to resell your dress:

Facebook Marketplace

Once-Worn Bridal

Innovine

Still White

Sell my wedding dress

Cons:

1. It's going to cost more, and wedding dresses are expensive

Unfortunately the fact is that wedding dresses are expensive, so if you decide to purchase any wedding dress it is quite a financial commitment.

2. You have to clean and store it afterwards

Cleaning can be costly and dresses need to be stored carefully if you want to keep them in good condition.

Overall Conclusion

Given that dress rental is 75% of the purchase price and you will still have to pay for alterations, purchasing your dream dress and reselling it afterwards appears to be the better decision overall.