One of MeiLing's bridesmaids carefully fastens the buttons on the back of her wedding dress.

Today’s wedding win comes from one of my most recent brides, MeiLing and involves what I believe is one of the most defining choices about a wedding – the dress.

MeiLing struggled to find the perfect dress.

“I love lace and knew I wanted my dress to have lots of lace, but I had always pictured a dress with long lace sleeves, an illusion top, and a ballgown skirt,” she said. “After trying on SO many dresses at 7 different bridal stores, I found that I was very drawn to strapless mermaid styles instead.”  MeiLing + Ryan - Hornell Main Place Wedding-369Mei:ing's wedding dress looked like it was custom-made for her.

However, the dress she found was nothing like the ballgown she pictured herself in. She fell in love with the “Kiara” style dress by Provias.

She may have fallen in love with the dress, but she wasn’t in love with the price tag, so she left without a dress. But MeiLing was not about to give up on the gorgeous gown.

“A couple weeks later, I googled the style and designer. An ad popped up for preownedweddingdresses.com and I found the style ‘Princia’ by Pronovias for sale (very similar to the dress I tried on), altered to my size, a bustle installed, at a fantastic price, and within driving distance.”

“I messaged the seller and asked if I could come try on the dress. She said yes and I drove out to NYC to try it on. Once I saw the dress I knew it was THE ONE. Everything about it was perfect. I loved the lace detailing, lace hem, the covered buttons, and a long train.”

The dress was clearly meant to be hers.

MeiLing + Ryan - Hornell Main Place Wedding-367

This was the first I had heard of preownedweddingdresses.com, and honestly, I love the idea.

MeiLing was able to save thousands of dollars, but still wear the perfect dress. You never would have known the dress had been worn before. It was in pristine condition and looked like it was made for her.

This is definitely an option worth looking into if you are still on the hunt for the perfect gown.

Is your wedding dress still wadded up in a ball in the bottom of your closet (like mine is)? It’s also a great option for women who have a wedding dress, but nothing to do with it.

MeiLing + Ryan - Hornell Main Place Wedding-763In another brilliant cost-saving measure, MeiLing hand-made her own veil. Now that's talent! MeiLing + Ryan - Hornell Main Place Wedding-763In another brilliant cost-saving measure, MeiLing hand-made her own veil. Now that's talent!

Every Wednesday I will be posting a wedding tip, either from me or one of my brides/grooms, to help others with their wedding plans. Do you have a wedding question, send it to me and I will try to answer it in a future blog post.