Filenes Basement has announced the next set of dates for their Running of the Brides events .  The upcoming calendar looks like:

Baltimore, MD - July 11th
Chicago, IL -July 25ht
Washington, DC - August 1st
Boston, MA - August 22nd
Cleveland, OH - October 17th

WeddingWire is also running a contest to give away a free dress at each event.  Find out how you can win your free dress!

Ann Taylor is extending a sale on dresses that are great for bridesmaids and super affordable. The sale goes until next Tuesday the 26th and WeddingBee readers get a 25% discount. Here’s the deal from WeddingBee:

Take an additional 25% off all Celebrations dresses that are currently on sale for $59.44. Use coupon code 104001599 at checkout to purchase these timeless, classic dresses for only $44.58 after the discount!

Shop Happy!

Filenes Basement is set to host another Running of the Brides event in Lawrenceville, NJ (outside Philadelphia) next Friday October 19th at 8am.  If you are looking for a wedding dress, this event is the one to be at.  You can search through over 1300 designer dresses that range in price from $249-$699.  That’s it!  You can’t beat these bargains. 

WeddingWire is also giving away free skip the passes.  Lucky brides will be able to shop for one hour before the store opens to everyone else.  Win your Skip the Line pass here.

Brides Against Breast Cancer is still on their Nationwide Tour of Gowns.  If you are looking to save money on a wedding dress, this is one place to try.  Most wedding dresses are $89-$799 and even their higher priced gowns ($20,000) are 25%-75% off their list price.  The best part is all proceeds go to the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation.  They say over half their dresses are new dresses from bridal shops and manufacturers.  If the tour is stopping in your city, definitely stop by the event to see what they have.

New York City
Thursday, October 4, 6:30 pm – 9 pm VIP NIGHT
Friday, October 5, 9 am - 7 pm
Saturday, October 6, 9 am - 7 pm

Drexel Hill, PA
Wednesday, October 10, 10:00 am to 8:00PM
Thursday, October 11, 10:00 am to 8:00PM

Dallas, TX
Thursday, October 18, 6:30 pm - 9 pm
Friday, October 19, 9 am - 8 pm
Saturday, October 20, 8 am - 3 pm

Los Angeles, CA
Monday, November 5 VIP NIGHT 7 pm - 10 pm
Tuesday, November 6, 10 am - 8 pm
Wednesday, November 7, 10 am - 6 pm

If you’re looking to make a sash belt or scarf for your wedding dress, or even your bridesmaid’s dresses, Altered Cloth offers a quick tutorial on how to make one yourself.  It seems like a quick and easy to save some money and make your dresses look fabulous.

Sash Belt/Scarf Tutorial

Not convinced that it’s worth it to try to cut costs for the most important day of your life? Consider this: what if you had a small private affair for your closest friends and relatives and didn’t buy an expensive engagement ring, spending around $13,000 for your wedding instead of the average price tag of $27,000?

What if you invested the $14,000 you saved in the stock market and left it there until you retired (assuming 40 years later), earning an average of 10% a year? What would you end up with? A whopping $634,000!

It’s hard to look so far ahead when you’re just starting out in your life together, but the world is full of people who find themselves quickly approaching retirement age without the financial means to retire. When all is said and done, I’ll bet many of them would have traded a bigger, fancier wedding for the $634,000 nest egg.

For more tips on saving costs, see the full article on About.com

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For all those in Chicago that are still looking for a wedding dress, Filene’s Basement is having their annual bridal gown/dress blowout event this friday the 27th. This might just be the best way to get a gorgeous dress for a steal of a price since all dresses are either $249,$499 or $699…That’s it! I’ve seen $7000 Vera Wangs for $249. I’m not saying that’s the norm, but you get the idea.

Doors open at 8am, I suggest getting there early.

For a sampling of the fun, here’s video footage from CBS in Baltimore from the Filenes Basement event earlier in the month http://wjz.com/video/?id=29458@wjz.dayport.com

Save Money on Your Wedding Dress:

• Look in magazines to get ideas from wedding dress designers. Determine the style’s that you like best, and how you would like to look on your big day.

• If you’ve picked a simple wedding dress or a short wedding dress, you can make a tulle apron very inexpensively to wear over the skirt. Do this by gathering tulle and sewing ribbon on for a waistband to tie into a bow. A long tulle apron over a short skirt is very pretty. Ask at the fabric store, what amount of material you need. Tulle is very cheap.

• You don’t even have to hem tulle. You can leave it as is or cut around the bottom with scalloped scissors.

• Sew a two-piece dress by making a top from your choice of fabric or buying a top. The skirt can be made from about five layers of tulle. Gather, add a waistband and wear a slip underneath.

• Check out the mall department stores. You might find (not in the wedding dress department) the perfect dress for you. Also, Filene’s Basement has an amazing sale in many major cities where they sell designer dresses for $249!!

• Then there are new and used as well as vintage bridal gowns on eBay.com You can find some great dresses for very little money here. You do need to check back often, though. You might find a simple dress that you can add to or alter. Or you might find exactly what you’re looking for as long as you are willing to be patient and keep checking back. It is worth the effort.

• Don’t forget wedding dress rentals.

• Wearing your mother’s or grandmother’s wedding dress is a very nice thing to do.