While it’s a special experience to go to a bridal boutique and try on dresses with your bridesmaids, buying a wedding dress online creates literally endless opportunity to find the dress, no matter your size, style, or price point. Not to mention, if you’re the kinda gal who wants to slip into something flirty and unexpected for the reception, shopping online is the way to go—many online retailers are ahead of the curve when it comes to on-trend fashion and accessories. There are almost too many options out there. So, to save you from potential dress shopping overwhelm, we’ve listed the very best places across the internet to buy wedding dresses. Many of these sites have perfect picks for bridal shoes, accessories, and bridesmaids too!
Strapless bow-back gown (for those of you as obsessed with 2024 wedding fashion trends as we are)
How To Shop for a Wedding Dress Online
While there are now endless options for finding a bridal gown without leaving your home, there are ways to go about it that will save you time, energy, and even money. Here are our top tips for sourcing and purchasing a gown online:
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- Shop early. As convenient as shopping online is, the major drawback is not being able to try it on before committing (although some retailers are beginning to offer “try before you buy” options). Even if a retailer offers quick-ship dresses, you still want to stick to the general rule of ordering 6-9 months before the wedding so you have ample time for try-ons and alterations – especially if the dress is traveling a long way to get to you!
- Check return policies. Every retailer has a different policy, so get familiar with each one you plan to consider a dress from. Some retailers (and designers like those on Etsy) offer custom sizing, but that often means it’s nonrefundable. So make sure you know your measurements and have contacted the designer or store’s customer service department to ask any questions you have beforehand!
- Use filters. If shopping for a wedding dress online sounds overwhelming, filters are your new best friend. When combing through search results, always use the filters on the left, and use every one you can think of: color, size, style, price range, all of it, so you don’t waste time scrolling through dresses you don’t even want to consider.
- Be discerning. We all want to snag a good deal, but when making a purchase based off of a photo, it’s easy to be fooled. It’s hard to gauge the quality of materials and details from an image, so make sure you also look into what fabrics and techniques were actually used in the production of the dress. It’s absolutely possible to find a gorgeous dress on even the tightest of budgets (you can find our picks toward the end of this post!), just remember that styles and quality will differ widely online.
Plunge A-line wedding gown with high side slit
Where to Buy Romantic Wedding Dresses Online
Anthropologie
Shall we begin with an obvious favorite? Playful and modern, Anthropolgie’s BHLDN carries everything from romantic lace gowns to chic short wedding dresses. Their capsule collections incorporate some of the most coveted designers, and with romantic dresses ranging from $3000 all the way down to $200, it’s totally worth giving a scroll. Current faves:
Long sleeve lace wedding gown from Anthropologie
Floral embellished wedding gown with bow tie shoulders
Shop more Anthropologie wedding dresses here!
DÔEN
Doen designs ultra romantic wedding dresses featuring 100% silk, delicate lace, and slip styles. They are a great place to find reasonably priced and unique wedding dresses online with a focus on sustainability.
Fiora silk dress in mother of pearl from Doen
Maricel silk dress in mother of pearl from Doen
Modern Wedding Dresses
Shopbop and Revolve
When it comes to modern, on-trend wedding dresses, Shopbop does it all: sleek and sexy, short and flirty, and all the bows, tulle, and ruffles you’d want. They’re a great place to shop if you want a wedding dress that isn’t too traditional, and they’re surprisingly affordable with dresses starting around $200!
Similarly, Revolve is for the modern bride looking to make a statement with her wedding fashion. They offer sultry plunging necklines and low backs, plus dresses with a twist…all at a great price point. Look at the gorg styles below!
Katie May x Noel and Jean divinity gown from Revolve
ELLIATT Protea gown from Revolve
Bronx and Banco sparkly wedding gown from Revolve
retrofete feather wedding dress from Revolve
Rebecca Vallance
Rebecca Vallance is behind modern designer wedding dresses that look so much more expensive than they really are! Their dresses are under $1300 with modern silhouettes paired with trending accents like bows, feathers, and pearls.
Ophelia bow midi dress from Rebecca Vallance
Genevieve puff sleeve wedding gown from Rebecca Vallance
Genevieve bow gown from Rebecca Vallance
Cult Gaia
Cult Gaia is a brand for the fashion-forward bride who isn’t afraid to take risks. Each of the picks below comes in other colors for those who want to make a statement. They have dresses and accessories for every wedding event on your calendar, too (how fun would this feather dress be for your reception?).
Crissy gown from Cult Gaia (available in pink and red as well)
Hansal gown from Cult Gaia (also available in a statement blue)
Where To Buy Designer Wedding Dresses
Looking for a show-stopping bridal gown that’s undeniably chic? Neiman Marcus, Net-A-Porter, MyTheresa, and Moda Operandi are our favorite sites for designer wedding dresses. They are on the pulse of all things designer fashion, and you can always trust their edits to be on point. Actually, with beautiful high-end selections for all occasion wear, you can direct your entire wedding party right on over!
SAFIYAA Off-shoulder maxi dress from MyTheresa
Shop more wedding gowns online at MyTheresa below:
Mara Hoffman ruffle wedding dress from Neiman Marcus
Embellished cape bridal gown from Net-A-Porter
LANVIN ruffle wedding dress from Net-A-Porter
The Outnet
The Outnet is an amazing place to buy designer wedding dresses online where you can score some major deals! For example, this Jenny Packham cape crepe bridal gown is on super sale at 50% off!
and Catherine Deane’s Rumi embellished glittered tulle bridal gown is listed at a price you have to see to believe (hint: 70%!).
Sustainable Wedding Dress Brands
Grace Loves Lace
Grace Loves Lace creates gowns for women to feel confident and empowered in. Their handmade gowns exude soul, originality and authenticity, offering brides an effortlessly romantic look.
INCA dress by Grace Loves Lace
Reformation
The ultimate destination for stylish sustainable fashion, Reformation‘s bridal collection is modern and effortlessly chic. Their affordable wedding dresses are ideal for a cool city bride, a casual backyard wedding bride, or any bride looking for high-style and simplicity… with a conscious.
Ronda silk wedding dress from Reformation
Maves satin dress from Reformation
Etsy
Don’t sleep on Etsy during your search for the perfect dress! Like mentioned above, filters are key when shopping at a marketplace as huge as Etsy. There are countless talented indie designers on Etsy offering wedding dresses of all styles, allowing you to dream big but shop small. Many shops offer custom dresses so you might even snag a one of a kind dress made just for you.
Embellished wedding dress with tulle bow by Boudoirweddingshop on Etsy
Blush wedding dress with pearls on Etsy
Dramatic puff sleeve wedding gown by WeddingHymns
Lorelei silk dress from Doen, a sustainable fashion brand featuring ethically made dresses in premium materials.
Where To Find Affordable Wedding Dresses
David’s Bridal
We all know David’s Bridal, and there’s a reason why so many brides opt for their wedding dresses: with romantic and classic styles, you can find your dream dress starting at $200. David’s Bridal offers size inclusive wedding dresses, with petite and plus sizes and some customizable lengths and details.
AW Bridal
You might already know about size-inclusive brand AW Bridal if you’ve started browsing bridesmaid dresses online, since they offer gowns for around $100 and free customization too. They offer romantic and affordable wedding dresses, too! AW Bridal even offers dresses for under $500 such as the Lucine dress below:
Lucine dress from AW Bridal
AW Bridal also has some lovely options in reasonable price ranges, like this Reba gown, for the glam bride.
ASOS
You can snag an amazing wedding dress for under $1000 on most of the websites above, but when it comes to affordability, ASOS definitely takes the cake. They have everything from trendy to timeless and are the perfect spot for your wedding or elopement and all the bridal festivities leading up to the big day. Pretty much everything they offer is well under $300!
Floral embellished wedding dress from ASOS
Shop Wedding Dresses Under $500
Where to Buy Short Wedding Dresses Online
Lastly, who here is looking for a short wedding dress, whether for the ceremony, reception, after party or all three?! Or perhaps you’re looking for something fun for your engagement party, bachelorette, bridal shower, or rehearsal dinner… Let’s just say you’ll definitely have an opportunity to rock a bridal mini! Here’s a peek at some of our favorite places to find chic mini dresses online.
Sequin mini dress from Anthropologie
3D flower short wedding dress from Anthropologie
Ruched taffeta mini dress by Rachel GilbertMarji
Square neck tulle embellished wedding dress from BHLDN
Strapless back bow mini dress from Anthropologie
Still shopping? Find even more wedding dresses in the 100LC shop!
