Meanwhile, what is a bride on a budget to do?The good news is there are lots of places in Middle Tennessee that sell new and gently used wedding gowns for a fraction of the high-end suggested retail prices that these dresses come with.
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Peggy Armstrong, who has been selling consigned wedding dresses for 20 years in her Hendersonville Second Time Around shop, says buying and selling gowns this way has become more popular over the years.
"There are more people who are willing to purchase a previously worn dress and more people willing to consign them," said Armstrong, whose shop has a back room filled with all sizes and styles of gowns. "People have realized that in a lot of cases saving that dress for their daughter to wear is just not going to happen," she said, noting that more and more brides are willing to give up their dresses after the wedding, knowing that they won't need it again.
"We have even gotten dresses in November that were worn in October."
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Armstrong and most of the consignment store owners are picky about what they take, with at least half of the dresses in her inventory being brand new with tags on. And all of them are in "like new condition," cleaned, pressed and on hangers. "I have several bridal shops that bring me dresses, and we have brides that bought a dress and then changed their minds (about the dress)."