Carissa Loethen's Bridal Blog: Should I Rent My Wedding Gown?

Renting my wedding dress...to do or not to do?

Renting my wedding dress…great or terrible idea? I'm still going back-and-forth in my head about this concept. I'm Carissa Loethen, by the way. I'm a host of E! News Now, and next year I will be getting married to my amazing fiancé, Shanon Culiner.

I'm finally at that stage in my life I've dreamed about for years: I'm a bride-to-be!

I'm also a huge bargain hunter, and I plan to do my very best to have a cost-effective but nonetheless sensational wedding. If there's a way to save money, I'm all about it. And this is why I'm considering renting my wedding gown.

Yes, the bridal gown is a monumental dress for a woman, and one that I would likely cherish until the end of time...or would I? I feel the only reason I'd want the dress in the future is to see if I can still fit in it after 10 years—but let's be honest, I won't need the physical dress to know the answer to that question. I would never expect my daughter to wear it. My mother has held on to her white gown for 37 years. In all that time, she's taken it out of the closet once. Last year, she was in a goofy mood, made me try it on, and we all got a nice big laugh. Even though it was a pretty funny moment, I can't imagine my dress surviving 20 plus years of spring cleanings and clutter cleanouts.

I will admit, those photos of little girls wearing their moms' wedding gowns are absolutely adorable. It would be hard to sacrifice that great photo opp, but I'm sure over the years I'll be able to come up with other cute Instagram-ready ideas for my future daughter.

So, let's talk about this renting concept. Obviously, the biggest perk to renting is the amount of money I would save. Dress rentals at establishments such as, One Night Affair in Culver City, California start at $299! I'd get the dress for five days. Reasonable. They'll make sure the dress is tailored to fit me perfectly. Fantastic. Alterations start at $100, but never go over $200. This is actually a great price compared to most boutiques.

I visited the Culver City store to see the selection and quality of the rental gowns—and believe it or not, I was thoroughly impressed! The shop carries brand new collections as well as vintage gowns, and dresses at every price point. Since I was there researching for this blog, I obviously needed to try some on to get the full experience. We snapped a few pics of me squeezing into a couple gorgeous designs, two from Galia Lahav and one St. Pucchi.

(Don't worry, guys, I have yet to pick out "the dress." I wouldn't spoil the surprise for my dear fiancé!)

The Pricilla Galia Lahav gown is One Night Affair's most expensive design—worth a cool $17,000! That's insane. Even crazier, I could rent this dress, and get alterations, a veil, accessories and a reception dress for $2,500. Now that's what I call a deal! In fact, owner Mecca Dyas told me that this is the store's best-selling package. She says bridal rental is for women who want to look fabulous and save money.

"Who's going to know you rent your dress? Unless you tell them, and there's nothing wrong with telling them cause I would say, ‘Well, she's smart,'" she quipped.

You can also rent dresses from numerous online sites like Borrowing Magnolia, Nearly Newlywed and Rent the Runway. Another affordable option is buying a used dress on sites like Preownedweddingdresses.com or Ruffledblog.com. You might also want to look into Bridepower.com, which sells designer wedding gown samples and overstocks from high-end designers. I'd suggest, by the way, knowing the exact dress you want and size you need before purchasing online. As we all know, sometimes the ensemble doesn't quite look as amazing on us as it does on those picture-perfect models.

All in all, I think if I can find the dress of my dreams for a discounted price via renting or buying used, I'm all game! However, I won't settle for the wrong dress just because it's the right price. Next step, try more on and find out what I love!