Saving money on your wedding dress (and making your money back after the big day)

When it comes to wedding styling, some of the toughest questions revolve around The Dress. After all, unless you're a fan of haute couture, chances are that your bridal gown will be one of the priciest wardrobe items that you've ever purchased-particularly when you factor in its cost per wear value!

While some brides will brandish their credit card with glee when it comes to that perfect creation of silk, satin, lace, and beading, others may find themselves searching for other, less budget-assassinating options. And when it comes to economic and environmental considerations, it's hard to go past a pre-loved wedding dress.

Worn Only Once offers plenty of benefits to the savvy bride, including a lower environmental footprint, and the ability to purchase couture designs at much more affordable prices.

These dresses have been worn only once-and not even for 24 hours! Because wedding dresses are typically dry cleaned after the wedding day, they're typically in pristine condition. A great gown that won't blow the budget? I think that will look appealing to any budget-conscious bride.

Worn Only Once was, like most successful businesses, born of necessity. Owner, Sky-Lee Martin, found herself, perhaps like many erstwhile bridesmaids, stuck with a single-wear dress that was taking up space in her wardrobe. But try though she might, she couldn't find anywhere to offload this extraneous item of clothing.

"At the time I wanted to sell my dresses the internet wasn't in full swing like it is today," she says. "I used some newspapers, including Weekend Shopper and The Trading Post. I also took them to markets to sell."

But the problem was that her would-be customers weren't shopping in these places.

Given her own difficulties, Sky quickly concluded that there must be other women out there attempting to sell high-end single-wear couture, but that they needed an appropriate avenue to do so.

"I needed something more targeted towards people who are looking to buy these pre-loved dresses," she says. And thus Worn Only Once was born.

If you're looking to buy or sell a wedding gown, be sure to stop by Worn Only Once and visit them on Facebook

Tips for buying pre-loved:

• But as all of us who have bought too-small shoes off eBay can attest, one has to be careful when shopping online.
• Be sure to factor in the cost of alterations into the overall cost. Most bridal gowns have been tailored to fit a particular bride, so it's likely that some minor alterations will be needed. Keep in mind that these alteration costs will be negligible when the overall cost savings are calculated.
• Looking for a gown a size or two either side of your usual size can be effective, too. Many dresses have a tie back, meaning that you can squeeze into a size smaller than usual, or have a slightly larger gown drawn in.
• Lastly shop smart. Contact the seller and ask lots of questions about the dress.