A Recycled/Freecycled Wedding

As many engaged couples know, planning a wedding is an expensive endeavor.  Once you start meeting with vendors and getting prices for your venue, wedding cake, music, decorations, wedding day fashions, etc., the dollar signs really start to add up.  It becomes overwhelming quickly.  However, there are ways to save money on your wedding if you know where to look and are willing to put the effort into it.  Finding recycled and freecycled wedding items are two of the best ways to help save money while planning your wedding.  Not only will it help keep your bank account healthy, but reusing materials helps to keep the earth healthy as well.  Here are the best sites for recycled/freecycled wedding items.

Freecycle
Freecycled.org is a website where you can donate your unused items to other people who might want to use them.  Everything posted on Freecycle is free.  The site is set up by city, so it makes it easy to swap items with other people.  You can browse through all the postings or if you’re looking for something specific, you can post a request.  While Freecycle doesn’t have any specific wedding categories, you never know what you might find here.  Create an account as far in advance of your wedding as possible and then simply watch for things that you might need – or create your own post and see if someone responds. 

Recycled Bride
Recycled Bride is a huge wedding marketplace website that offers recycled wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, bridal accessories, groom and groomsmen fashion, plus wedding décor and gifts.

Once Wed
As any bride knows, a wedding gown can be quite expensive, especially if she has a taste toward designer or couture dresses.  Once Wed offers gently worn wedding gowns and accessories from well known designers at fabulous prices.  You can also list your own wedding gown and accessories once your wedding is over.

Ruffled 
Ruffled is a wonderful wedding blog with a “Recycle Your Wedding” section.  Here you can find all sorts of items used in past weddings, in a variety of colors and styles.  Ruffled also lets you create your own listings of your items when your wedding is over.  Ruffled has a special “Wanted” category you can utilize if you are searching for something specific.

Bride$hare
Bride$hare is a social networking site.  It was designed to help brides save money by sharing wedding related resources such as decor, apparel and rentals.  You can search for brides who live nearby who may be willing to split costs by sharing goods and services, as well as utilize the classifieds section to find and/or sell wedding related items.

PreOwned Wedding Dresses

This site is dedicated specifically for wedding fashion – gowns and accessories.  This is the site for the fashionista bride.  PreOwned Wedding Dresses sells not only gently used and worn wedding dresses, but you can also find sample wedding dresses as well as new dresses.

Craigslist

Don’t forget about Craigslist as a resource for wedding items.  Many people list pre-owned wedding gowns, bridesmaids’ dresses and mother of the bride/mother of the groom outfits here.  This site is particularly useful if you are planning a shabby chic, rustic glam or even a backyard wedding.  Many of the items you may want to use to decorate your venue can be found on Craigslist including mason jars, old picture frames, books, old windows and doors, vases, mismatched place settings and glassware.

While the average cost of a wedding in the United States is $30,000, not every couple can afford that when they are just beginning their lives together.  With some research and planning, it is possible to save a huge chunk of money and still have the wedding of your dreams.

Author Bio:

Yvone Kon is a freelance writer, blogger and mom.  She frequently writes about many different topics including weddings, fashion, childbirth, freecycling, recycling, and SanbornMaps.  She is the author of the blog EventSpiration, providing inspiration and ideas for weddings, parties and holidays.