Searching for a wedding dress often means coming across expensive price tags outside your budget. Wedding dresses can run from hundreds to thousands of dollars. To find your dream wedding dress within your budget, try these 9 budget-friendly places to search for your perfect wedding dress.

1. Thrift Stores

While some people consider a thrift store to be second rate, I think this is a fantastic option to finding an affordable wedding dress in good condition. Many women realize that they will only wear their wedding dress once in their lives. So, it is sold to a consignment shop who then resells it at a lower price. Most dresses at consignment stores are still in perfect condition. I know many brides who not only have found a bargain at a consignment shop, but the dress of their dreams as well!

2. Bridal Section of the Department Store

Most department stores have a bridal section that offers gowns, veils, gloves, shoes, and many other things essential to your wedding. They also offer these things at much lower prices. Department stores can carry some of the top bridal gown brands at a lower and much more reasonable price point.Search these stores and you’ll find beautiful wedding gowns that are affordable and timeless. Some examples of stores that have bridal sections are JCPenney, Dillards, and Macy’s.

3. Your Local City Craigslist

The new popular place to look for affordable wedding dresses is on Craigslist! I have done this in the past for clients and you would be surprised at the quality you may find. The seller is also near the area you live in, so it is much easier to stop by and check out the dress in person before making the purchase.

4. Ebay

Along the lines of craigslist, sellers post their bridal gowns, some used and some new, for anyone to buy. Because eBay has such a large community of sellers all across the globe, chances are you’ll find more dresses than you came to search for in the first place! Because of this, you can specify exactly what type of wedding dress you are looking for and bid on it at a price most likely lower than retail.

5. Sample Sales

Almost every bride knows to check out at least a few wedding gown sample sales before choosing a dress. These sample sales offer a wide variety of dresses marked down. If your heart is set on a designer dress, try visiting a bridal sample sale to check out designer dresses at a much lower cost than you would find anywhere else.

6. Retail Stores

The number of retail stores, such as those in the malls and mainstream catalogs, selling wedding dresses and gowns is growing every day! Stores such as Ann Taylor, J. Crew, and soon Anthropologie all showcase their own line of affordable wedding and bridesmaids dresses. These dresses are sometimes more toned down and simple, tailored to the bride who wants something affordable, high quality, and from a brand she trusts.

7. Make Your Own Dress

If you are creative enough to design a wedding dress yourself, try actually creating it! This way, you can either design exactly want you want or follow a pattern, make the changes you need, and alter the dress to fit your body exactly. Buying your own materials directly from fabric shops and adding in your own self-bought accessories will shove your cost way down!

8. Off-Season Shopping

If you look for a wedding dress during the regular bridal season, designers, shops, and retailers know to mark their prices up because the most brides are out shopping for their dress. Designers and stores know that during the peak season time, the most brides are shopping for their dresses a year out, so the markup on the garments can be extreme. Try searching for a dress during the late fall/winter months when weddings are fewer. You might get lucky and find your favorite dress from last season marked down within your budget!

9. Well-Known Bridal Stores

Last but not least, you can’t forget the tried and true bridal chain stores. These include your David’s Bridal, Alfred Angelo, Maggie Sottero, among other stores that may be local to you. Find a bridal boutique and take your time looking through the store. Find something that may be similar to a designer dress that you are in love with. If the shop is out of your size, ask the shop for a similar style, or even if another store is a better option. Another store may actually have the dress you are looking for!

The number one thing I hear from brides is that they want to save, save, save. It is a smart thing to keep in mind a bridal budget when planning for your wedding. So you have to have the designer dress of the season. Why not search for a similar dress at a more affordable price? Or look online to see if a seller or online auction has your dress? In the long run, you may find the affordable wedding dress of your dreams at the cost you were dreaming of as well!