Loans for Wedding Receptions and Venues

The winner of the 2008 Toilet Paper (TP) Wedding Dress Contest goes to… Katrina Chalifoux of Rockford, Illinois.  Congrats to Katrina, who wins a $1,000 gift card for her beautiful wedding gown design.  Last year’s winner of the 2007 contest was Hanah Kim.  She also made an amazing dress… but each year only seems to get better.

Want to know some of the top wedding dress designers out there? Here’s a list to help you find the perfect wedding dress. Don’t forget to check out sample sales before buying your dress. You can really save a ton!

2Be Bride
Alfred Angelo
Alvina Valenta
Amelie
Amsale
Amy Michelson
Anne Barge
Casablanca
Christina Wu Collection
Christos
Da Vinci
Demetrios
Elizabeth Fillmore
Eve of Milady
Forever Yours
Ginza by Private Label
Henry Roth
Ilissa
Impressions
Jacquelin
James Clifford
Jasmine
Jim Hjelm
Judd Waddell
Justina McCaffrey
Kenneth Pool
Lazaro
Lian Carlo
Maggie Sottero
Marisa
Mary’s
Melissa Sweet -
Michelle Roth
Mikaella
Mon Cheri
Monique Lhuillier -
Mori Lee -
Now & Forever -
Paloma Blanca
Priscilla of Boston -
Pronovias
Reem Acra -
Rena Koh
Richard Glasgow
Rivini
Romona Keveza
Saison Blanche
St. Patrick
Stephen Yearick
Tomasina
Venus
Vera Wang
Watters & Watters

Eddie Murphy and Tracey Edmond tied the knot over the New Year on a private island off Bora Bora in French Polynesia.  Tracey is wearing a beautiful gown designed by Jill Baracci and stylist Sugia Nazel and an amazing “rock”.  Here’s a picture from People magazine of the wedding.

Hanah Kim won this year’s Disposable Wedding Gown Contest. Last year she fell just short of winning the contest. Here are some pictures of Hanah Kim’s second place wedding dress design. She does an excellent job designing dresses, especially considering that she can only use toilet paper, tape and glue!

Here’s a wedding savings idea that can save you at least $1,000 to $3,000, make you wedding dress out of Toilet Paper, tape and glue!  Hanah Kim did, and is getting a real wedding gown made out of her design, by a couture designer.  CheapChicWeddings held a contest to see who could design the best wedding gown out of toilet paper.  Hanah Kim below was the winner, but there were a number of honorable mentions from the 2007 Contest.

There are a number of ways to save on your wedding. Today we’ll look at some cost saving ideas to consider for your wedding attire. We’ll first look at the Groom’s Tuxedo. Unless you plan on being in another wedding, or have an event that requires a tuxedo, it is best for the groom to rent a tuxedo instead of buying a tuxedo. Most tuxedo rental establishments will provide a Groom with a free tuxedo rental if the groomsmen rent their tuxedos from them. This can eliminate a $100 – $150 tuxedo and shoes rental fee for the Groom.

Brides wear much more wedding apparel then the Groom, so there are many areas a Bride can save. The first and most obvious savings tip, borrow what you can. If many of your friends and family are getting married, why not borrow some of their wedding items. A veil and tiara can be an extra expense not worth buying.. When do you plan on wearing a veil again? If a friend or family member purchased theirs, ask to borrow it, and remember to returned it dry cleaned!! The same goes for a Gown. Most Brides wear this gown once and never do anything with it again, if you’re okay with borrowing a wedding gown you can save yourself $1,000 – $3,000.

More Bridal Gown ideas – shop sample sales. There are a number of designers that have annual and or seasonal sample sales. You can buy a perfectly new (slightly tried on by other Brides, but who cares?) wedding dress for a fraction of the original cost.

Jewelry – Don’t go out an buy all new Jewelry for the wedding. Ask your family to see if anything has something that may work perfectly with your dress. You can save yourself hundred’s to thousands of dollars by borrowing from a family member who will most likely be honored that you love their jewelry.

We recently posted an article discussing a great way to save on your weddding dress.  Here’s another great idea, sample sales.  What happens to those wedding dresses that people try on during the season?  At the end of the season, they are sold at a discount.  Last season at the Vera Wang Sample Sale, gowns were sold for 50% to 75% off the original price! Don’t be fooled… there’s nothing wrong with sample dresses, they are in excellent condition and, but simply can not be sold at a retail prices because they’ve been tried on.  Sample sales are a great way to get designer dresses for only a fraction of the cost.  And you’d be surprised about how many of them go on!  Here are some popular Wedding Gown Sample Sales in the New York City Area alone:

• Amsale Bridesmaids Sample Sale
• Saks Fifth Avenue Bridal Gown Sample Sale
• Vera Wang Wedding Dress Sample Sale

We’ve received some questions regarding the best ways to save on a wedding dresses.  From our experiences these are the steps that you should take to save on a bridal gown.

1. Search the internet and magazines to find the wedding dress that you really love.
2. Know who the designed the wedding gown and what the style number is, you’ll need this.
3. Go to a local store to try on all of wedding dresses that you think you may like to wear.  For the gowns that you like, be sure to note the size that fits you best.
4. Get a quote for the gown, but don’t buy the wedding dress from them until you’ve completely shopped around and feel comfortable with your decision.
5. Next get quotes from companies that sell wedding dresses online.  Get a written quote from as many of these places as possible.  You can get the quote via email or fax.
6. Finally, after finding the best price around, order from a company that will beat their competitors prices by 5%.  Several places that will do this are:

• RK Bridal No Frills Package
• Pearl’s Place