Buy or Sell New & Preowned Wedding Items

Our featured bride is Melissa from Louisville, Kentucky. She bought and sold a lot of her wedding items on BravoBride and she shares her wedding with us below. Be sure to check out her beautiful photos- her photographer was amazing!

This picture is so beautiful I even want to hang it on my wall!

When you were searching for a wedding dress, what style were you looking for?

After looking at tons of websites and through magazines I was so overwhelmed, I knew I needed to try some on. I didn’t want anything trendy that would cause me to look back in 10 or 20 or 30 years and say, “yuck! that is so 2000′s!”. I wanted to go for a look that was more simple, yet gave a classy, slightly vintage vibe. I couldn’t find anything in bridal magazines that jumped out at me, so I decided to just go out and look locally. I knew I definitely wanted a dress with wide cap style straps, which is next to impossible to find many dresses out there today. I didn’t want to be one of those brides tugging on her strapless dress the whole time. I ended up purchasing a size 10 strapless dress off the rack. It looked like a potato sack, but I knew once it fit my frame, it would give me the look I wanted.

I purchased my wedding veil from BravoBride. I knew I wanted the veil to look like it had walked straight out of a cathedral in Spain. The La Sposa veil was originally a cathedral length veil with a blusher. I paid $175 from a girl who’s wedding was delayed and she was unsure if she still wanted this style. I got a few extra pictures close up of the lace edge and ran on a lot of hope that it would match well with my dress; color, lace and beading. I ended up having my seamstress remove the blusher and the veil looked perfect! It really pulled together everything to give me the look I wanted. So many people complimented me on the veil for it’s regal look.

Melissa was married in a Catholic church that happened to have the longest aisle in Louisville. She knew this veil would give her "wow" factor she was going for.

Would you recommend buying a used wedding dress to other brides?

I definitely think buying used wedding gowns is such a smart idea. I was constantly on BravoBride looking for items that I could buy gently used from others. Why not?! It’s crazy to spend thousands on a dress you only wear for 8 hours. Pay 1/2 price or at least less than retail. I bought items for our reception including the cake knife and server, toasting flutes, bird cage for cards, and more. I also sold lots of items from my wedding that I knew I no longer needed since it was all done.

The La Sposa veil was a perfect fit for Melissa's gorgeous gown.

Where and when was your wedding held?

St. Agnes Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, September 17, 2010.

St. Agnes Catholic Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

Where you a DIY bride?

I did make tons of crafts for my wedding (all the programs, all the table numbers, chair signs for the wedding party,  place cards for all guests, favor boxes, custom bottled waters, ‘yipee’ and ‘yay’ flags, menus at every seat, kids goodie bags and activity books, drink menus in the bar, etc).

I even lovingly designed my custom logo that shined on the wall behind the dance floor and made coffee filter pomanders to decorate the room. I was certainly busy for the year before!

The couple's first dance with Melissa's custom logo in the background.

Melissa's favorite find was a Barbie and Ken wedding ornament set that she used as a cake topper. She plans to hang it on their Christmas tree every year to remind them of their wedding day.

Thank you so much Melissa for sharing your big day with us! It’s obvious how much time and love you put into planning your wedding; it turned out beautifully!

Here are some of Melissa’s wedding vendors that helped make her day possible.

Photography: Kriech Higdon Photography
Flowers: Millennium Events & Floral
Reception Venue: Frazier International History Museum
Make Up: Lorraine Allen
Accommodations: Seelbach Hilton
Transportation: Person to Person Limo
Caterer: Jarfi’s
Dance Lessons: Shall We Dance
DJ: Night Owl DJ’s
Wedding Coordinator: Sunny Sky Events
Hair: Cutting Edge