Wedding Dresses: To hire or not to hire?
by glamourbride on 01/11/09 at 12:59 pm
The questions behind wedding dress hire
If oceans were made of ink, the world should use the seven seas to write and describe the beauty of your big day. The moment you step into a wedding dress and hear a choir of angels sing the Hallelujah chorus, you know you’ve found ‘the one’. But who says you have to fork out a fortune to look like a million bucks?
You have options
Wearing a dress that has already seen its way down an aisle can be off-putting to some glamorous brides. If it is, take a moment to think of the costs you would be saving by hiring a dress. Then take another moment to think how you could spend the extra cash on your honeymoon. Once you’ve whipped yourself out of destination dreamland, consider the perks of wedding dress hire.
You have the option to hire your wedding dress
Benefits for the bride
The chances of you ever wearing your wedding dress again are slimmer than runway models. Just face it. And if yourre afraid that you won’t get a quality dress by hiring, you are mistaken. Most hiring boutiques stock designer bridal labels that you would not ordinarily be able to afford.
Wedding gowns also sell out with the seasons. Hiring stores always rotate their collections. So, if you prefer a certain style but it’s the wrong time of year, you’re bound to find a beautiful gown to match your taste for hire.
Hiring a dress means you get to avoid the stress of maintenance and storage. All you have to do is choose it, wear it and return it.
If you are worried about sentimental value, you can always buy a tiara or veil that can be used as an heirloom.
The not-so-nice side of hiring
You are not always guaranteed to find exactly what you are looking for, or in the right size. Although hired dresses can be altered, the adjustments and customising have to kept to a minimum.
Hiring also leaves you with less of a choice. This means that you may have to shop around a bit more before you find your dream dress. But which woman has ever had a problem with lots of shopping?
Always check the dress thoroughly before you pay though. You wouldn’t want to be billed for another bride’s red wine stain slip.
Questions to ask before you decide
If you do prefer to hire a dress, there are important questions to ask your suppliers.
- Brides-to-be need to find out all the costs involved. Will you have to pay for dry cleaning either before or after use?
- Do you need to pay for additional insurance of the dress?
- Then you need to find out how many alterations you can make.
- Next, you need to know how long before the wedding you can collect the dress.
- And of course, you need to ask when the garment must be returned.
Happy hiring glamour bride!
