Upcycling the dress is a new trend for modern brides, SA survey finds
Image: Benjamin Wheeler via Getty Images
Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.
The traditional rhyme about what a bride should wear for good luck may as well be a practical guide for modern brides wanting to save some money for after the wedding.
Especially if that “something borrowed” refers to the dress.
A survey conducted in November by online classifieds platform Gumtree asked South Africans where they keep their wedding dresses, only to find that half of the 1,800 respondents had rented theirs.
Image: PA Images via Getty Images
“While many women want to play a role in designing a dream dress that they feel reflects their personality, there’s great merit in keeping wedding day costs under control, and rather setting the saved money aside for big ticket items that will be needed during the course of the marriage.
“Buying or renting a second-hand wedding dress for as little as R4,000 rather than spending upwards of R15,000 on a new one, means that you can either spend more on entertaining or catering for your guests, or you can set the savings aside as part of a deposit on the first home you buy together.”
A third of those surveyed said their one-of-a-kind dresses are gathering dust at the back of a cupboard. One in five sold their dress online.
“Selling your wedding dress online gives you some return on your investment on the garment — other than the magical memories made on your wedding day — and it will help make someone else’s wedding dreams come true too,” Nagel said.
TimesLIVE