Dress for less

Emily Fredrix, a writer in New York City, describes herself as practical. She never dreamed of having a lavish bridal gown and didn't want to endure a long hunt for bargains. She wanted a lovely dress that would still be comfortable for an outdoor summer wedding. So four little words from the saleswoman spoke to her: "Bridesmaid dress. In white."

"Yes, I'm wearing a bridesmaid dress to my own wedding," she wrote in a recent AP story. "It's simple, elegant, relatively cheap and easy. Talk about putting the 'bride' in bridesmaid."

What the saleswoman suggested to Fredrix was a "wedding dress hack": a little-known trick that can save hundreds of dollars or more on a wedding dress. Perhaps even better, you can customize your wedding dress however you like it. Bridesmaid dresses are usually basic -- satin or silk, without the beads, lace and other frills on many traditional gowns.

And at anywhere from $100 to $300, there's no traditional price tag, either.

"It's a lot cheaper, and if they're not wanting something as formal as the wedding gown, then it's very convenient," says Shelbie Seyer, manager of Joy's Bridal & Formal Wear in Sikeston, Mo.

Dresses are among the biggest costs of a wedding, averaging nearly $1,200, according to The Wedding Report Inc., which tracks industry spending. And don't forget accessories, headpieces and veils -- an extra $250, please. The average U.S. wedding now costs more than $26,000.

Athena Albright of The Andrew Jackson has definitely noticed a trend toward bridesmaid dresses as bridal gowns -- she's sold them in white, ivory and even pale pink.

Another convenience of bridesmaid dresses is that once ordered, they arrive at the store much faster than bridal gowns, she says.

Amanda Medlock of Charleston, Mo., bought an ivory bridesmaid dress for her March 16 wedding. She's having a small ceremony with close friends and family, followed by a large reception, so she was looking for a long party dress rather than a traditional bridal gown.

"I never realized it, but lots of bridesmaids dresses come in some shade of ivory, so I had lots to chose from," she says. "And of course I wanted to save money any way I could, and this route was much, much cheaper."

Medlock found a floor-length ivory dress with a sweetheart neckline and ruching at the top -- it's even made of a cotton voile fabric and has pockets. How's that for comfortable and practical?

Women who seek out alternatives sometimes wonder if they'll still look like a bride -- but there's no one way to look, says Meg Keene, author of "A Practical Wedding: Creative Ideas for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable and Meaningful Celebration."

"You remember how your wedding felt, not how it looked," says Keene, who wore a $250 vintage dress to her own wedding.

Albright and Seyer have plenty of tricks for customizing a white bridesmaid dress. Think beading, color panels, tieback ribbons, belts, brooches, colorful shoes -- it's totally up to you. Whatever you choose, you'll save a bundle and end up with a dress unlike anyone else's.

"We can transform it into a whole other dress -- basically redesign the whole dress for them," says Albright.

As for Fredrix, the tag on her dress said $205, but after a storewide sale of 15 percent off, it was only $174.25 before tax.

"Bam," she writes. "Now I'm planning my accessories. And talking glowingly about my wedding dress rebellion."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.