Ruben B. Hughes 
Wedding dress hire has grown in popularity in recent years; below we share three stores in Cape Town that offer the service.
Insight
Weddings in general are an expensive celebration of two people who are committed to each other. Wedding costs tend to vary depending on location, food, and decor. Another notable expense is the wedding dress, which in recent years has come into question given that you only wear the dress once.
As such, there has recently been an increase in the acceptability of opting to rent a wedding dress that you return after the wedding, instead of buying it. This saves you a considerable cost and since the dress is only meant to be worn on that day, you will still have photos of how you looked that day.
Advantages and disadvantages of renting a wedding dress
The biggest downside to renting your wedding dress instead of buying it is that you won’t have the dress as a keepsake to keep for sentimentality, especially given the particular tradition that brides with daughters often yearn for to give them the dress for when they get married.
However, the advantages of renting a wedding dress, especially if buying a dress is too expensive, are numerous. We’ve already alluded to saving costs, and then there’s the fact that there’s no risk of damaging the dress in the future, which, in turn, helps with not having to think how to put the dress away.
Cape Town Wedding Dress Hire
There are a number of bridal shops that offer their customers the option of renting a wedding dress instead of buying one. Before we share our list of top picks in this regard, it’s important for brides and wedding processions to be careful when visiting bridal shops where they haven’t been recommended or haven’t visited. do their research.
This is crucial because choosing a wedding dress, rented or not, is meant to be a bonding experience between the bride and the wedding party that accompanies the bride in choosing the dress. Therefore, it is important to find a bridal boutique that understands this.
Read reviews and visit their social media platforms to assess whether the bridal boutique can meet these needs and preferences, and more. Below, we share our top three picks for bridal shops in Cape Town that offer the option of renting a wedding dress.
1. Always after the bride
Always after the bride is an international bridal boutique with a physical outlet in Cape Town.
Located at 23 Oxford Street, Durbanville, Cape Town, 7550, the shop’s website states in part: ‘EVER AFTER BRIDALWEAR CAPE TOWN has been based in Cape Town for over a decade. We love being part of the journey from the beginning of the search for the most beautiful wedding dress to the day the wedding dress will be picked up for the bride’s big day.
The boutique has two international designers behind their iconic wedding dresses, Maggie Sottero and Rebecca Ingram. The shop works with appointments made through their website. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
2. Amier costume rental and bridal wear
Amier Costume and bridal clothing rental is located at 46 Raglan Avenue, Crawford, Cape Town, 7780. Although the shop does not have a website, it is active on Instagram, sharing details of new stock, discounts and promotions.
The store has over 5,000 followers on their Instagram account, which speaks to the kind of experience you will get when renting your wedding dress or suit from the bridal store. They also share testimonials through posts from happy newlyweds dressed in their wedding attire.
The physical store is open Monday to Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
3. BrideZAR
BrideZAR has created a niche market by focusing its brand on catering for plus-size brides-to-be. The physical store is located at 18 Wagenaar Street, Monte Vista, Cape Town, 7460.
the website explains that “All dresses are currently R2000 to hire, but that excludes alterations. We are also able to produce any dress you have purchased online… And at a very affordable price to rent or buy, we are able to work with your budget and whatever will be needed from the start. departure for a new dress is a deposit of R3000.
The physical store is open Monday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Tuesday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Thursday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Final Thoughts
Buying a dress can be an expensive decision, especially since most brides only wear their wedding dress once. Therefore, in an effort to cut costs, there has been a growing trend of renting dresses.
In Cape Town, there are a plethora of bridal shops that offer wide ranges and styles of wedding dresses that you can hire for your special day. To make it easier for you to choose a bridal shop, we’ve shared three of our top picks of bridal shops in Cape Town that offer wedding dresses for hire.
