Bride Finds Dream Wedding Dress at Thrift Store for Only $43

Bride Finds Dream Wedding Dress at Thrift Store

For many brides-to-be, finding the perfect wedding dress is a long and, oftentimes, expensive journey. However, you don't have to spend a fortune to feel like a million bucks on your wedding day. From making a DIY knit gown to refitting a family heirloom, brides have found enumerable ways to save money while still looking and feeling their best. For Cat Purves, finding the perfect wedding dress happened completely by chance when she visited a local thrift store the day after she got engaged.

Purves shared the now-viral story of finding her dream dress back in 2019. “On the day that Mike proposed to me, he took me out for a night in York,” she writes. “The next day, I was looking in the charity shops (as I often do) and saw the dress on one of the rails.” Excited by her stroke of luck, Purves quickly phoned her fiancé to not come up to the second floor of the store while she tried on the dress. It featured long lace sleeves, and a high neck—all features that Purves was looking for in a wedding dress. She ended up purchasing it for the low-cost sum of $43.

After bringing the dress home, Purves had it altered slightly to replace the zip in the back with buttons, add more buttons to the sleeves, and adjust some of the flower details in front. Even with these adjustments included, the price of the gown came to $293, which is a great price for your dream wedding dress. “I took the dress to a vintage bridal store as I was curious and found out that the dress is from the 1950s, and made from home rather than a bridal store. The flower embellishments are older still—meaning they were likely passed down from an older relative as a ‘something old' keepsake,” she explains. “I hope my $43 wedding dress is a small reminder that something doesn't need to cost the Earth to make you feel special.”

The day after getting engaged, bride-to-be Cat Purves stumbled upon her dream wedding dress at a local thrift store.

Bride Finds Dream Wedding Dress at Thrift Store

The 1950s garment featured long sleeves, a high neck, and lace details—everything that Purves was searching for—and it only cost about $43.

Bride Finds Dream Wedding Dress at Thrift Store

After some alterations, the total price of Purves' dress came to $293, which is an amazing price for the wedding dress of her dreams.

Bride Finds Dream Wedding Dress at Thrift Store

h/t: [Bored Panda]

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Cat Purves.

Related Articles:

Bride Asks Parents to Have First Dance at Her Own Wedding Since They Didn’t Have Their Own

Bird Landing on Bride’s Head Wins 2023 International Wedding Photographer of the Year Contest

TikTok Star Finds $5,000 Designer Dress for $50, Offers To Give It Away to a Bride in Need

Margherita Cole

Margherita Cole is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met and illustrator based in Southern California. She holds a BA in Art History with a minor in Studio Art from Wofford College, and an MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice from Falmouth University in the UK. She wrote and illustrated an instructional art book about how to draw cartoons titled 'Cartooning Made Easy: Circle, Triangle, Square' that was published by Walter Foster in 2022.
Become a
My Modern Met Member
As a member, you'll join us in our effort to support the arts.
Become a Member
Explore member benefits

Sponsored Content