How I Saved More Than $1,600 on My Wedding: Attire

My fiance, Ryan, and I are planning a wedding in Healdsburg, California, in the heart of wine country. Like so many couples, we’re learning that planning a wedding means lots of shopping. Whether it’s paper for your invitations or ties for your groomsmen, spending becomes second nature. So, as a bride with a budget she’d like to stick to, I’m obsessed with getting the best deals when I can. Thankfully, Ebates helped me save on so many wedding essentials, such as invitations, decor, attire — even our honeymoon. In this series of posts, you’ll get a chance to see exactly how much I was able to save and how.

Shopping for our wedding attire was one of the most fun tasks on our pre-wedding to-do list. Attire fell under multiple categories in our budget, so we were able to cover a few bases at once. We wore some of the attire on our wedding day, some of it was for the rest of the weekend’s festivities and some we wanted to give as gifts to our groomsmen.

With the wedding set in wine country, we were looking for simple and rustic, but sweet. Thanks to some of the deals you’ll read about below and Cash Back at Ebates, we were able to achieve that and save more on wedding attire than we could have dreamed.

Overall, we were able to save $600 on our wedding attire. Here’s how:

Welcome Party

Ryan and I had wedding guests coming in from all over the U.S., and some from overseas. One of our objectives was to bring everyone together to meet and get all the niceties out of the way on Friday night so that by Saturday they could just party. So we hosted a welcome party at a bar near our venue.

I wanted to wear something to the welcome party that was bridal enough to look celebratory without overdoing it. I certainly didn’t want to outshine my own wedding dress, so I opted for a more casual white ruffled shirt dress, glammed up with killer shoes.

The dress was on sale at JCPenney, where we had the benefit of 6% Cash Back at Ebates and in-store pickup, which saved us on shipping. The shoes were on sale, and we discovered an extra 25% off coupon for Macy’s shoes through the Ebates button. All in all, we saved $55 on my welcome party outfit.

Savings:

Ebates Cash Back savings: $10

Total saved at JCPenney: $25

Total saved at Macy’s: $20

Total saved on welcome party attire: $55

Groom’s Suit

Ryan decided that purchasing his wedding suit online was the best choice for him, and we found a great deal at Men’s Wearhouse for a cool suit that fit his style perfectly. It was cool blue and complemented nicely by a light bow tie and leather suspenders. Thankfully, we had great deals and Cash Back at Ebates working for us, and the suit was on sale for 50% off. We saved $260 on Ryan’s wedding-day attire. Seriously.

A quick aside: Although Ryan found his suit online, I decided that purchasing my wedding dress in person was the best choice for me. I did, however, do some pre-shopping online and found some stunning dresses at Saks Fifth Avenue, which has a selection that’s especially appealing if you’re going for something beautiful and nontraditional.

Savings:

Ebates Cash Back savings: $10

Total saved at Men’s Wearhouse: $250

Total saved on groom’s wedding suit: $260

Wedding Shoes

Our big day was set on a ridge overlooking a vineyard, which meant comfortable shoes were in order. I really wanted to avoid kicking off my pretty shoes for flip-flops at the end of the night (which I did anyway, because the bumping dance floor required it!). Comfort and style were my main criteria, and I found the perfect block heel pumps at Macy’s that were sweet and summery without too many frills.

For his wedding footwear, Ryan opted for a pair of classic leather oxfords, also from Macy’s. They were — you guessed it — on sale, which meant that we saved $30 right off the bat. At the time we purchased them, we learned through our Ebates Cash Back button that there was a 30% off coupon available for purchasing two pairs of shoes, saving us even more. Tack on the 6% Cash Back at Ebates and we were ready to dance the night away.

Savings:

Ebates Cash Back savings: $8

Total saved at Macy’s: $57

Total saved on wedding shoes: $65

Groom’s Accessories

To complete the groom’s look, we decided that bow ties and leather suspenders would come together perfectly for the sophistication and wine-country-chic style he was going for. We also thought it would work well to purchase the same bow ties and suspenders for the groomsmen as gifts to ensure they all matched.

Our Cash Back button told us there was a buy-one-get-one-free coupon available at Men’s Wearhouse for ties and an additional 50% off additional items — plus free shipping and 4% Cash Back — so we scooped up some classy bow ties for Ryan and the groomsmen that were perfect for our winery wedding. The tan leather suspenders we purchased from the Belt Outlet — where we enjoyed 5% Cash Back through Ebates — were 25% off and included free shipping, saving us a ton.

Savings:

Ebates Cash Back savings: $15

Total saved at Men’s Wearhouse: $140

Total saved at Belt Outlet: $65

Total saved on groomsmen outfits: $220

Total Saved on Wedding Attire: $600

Overall, we saved $600 on wedding attire thanks to deals and Cash Back at Ebates, which was quite the pleasant surprise. It opened up our budget for other incredible experiences, and put more money than expected back into our pockets.

Next up, I’ll share even more wedding deals. Stay tuned to learn how I was able to save big on gifts for our wedding party.