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I'm not saving my dress for me, it's for my daughter or granddaughter. To answer your questions: yes, I think it is a worthwhile keepsake with the above reason in mind; no, I probably won't look at it much after I wear it; yes, it will probably "collect dust bunnies in the closet".
(I mean, not technically, it will be cleaned and put in an box with tissue paper.)
no way! :P
you can always sell it afterwards, especially if it is a known brand.
i don't know if its "better" but in some countries, like Hong Kong, the majority of brides rent. Not sure why that is, but that's the way it's done there.
I'm buying my dress, but I will be selling it after the wedding. I'm never going to wear/look at it again and to keep it for the next generation is kinda weird... we all know styles change, ppl are different sizes, etc, etc
I don't see why not- makes sense to me. Like Amy mentioned, it's not as common in the US, but plenty of brides in Asia and Europe rent their dresses.
My dress is neither white nor bridal looking- I plan on wearing it many more times after the wedding =)
that is a great option to save money. I would never be able to do that though, because I am fairly certain that something is going to be spilled on the dress by the end of the night. Would you have to buy it if that did happen?
I would also suggest looking into buying a used dress.
I am planning to donate my dress to charity after the wedding; I don't feel like I will ever wear it/look at is again and I want my future children to have their own dress shopping experiences. I say go for it!
If you do decide to rent the dress, make sure that the place you rent it from has good testimonials. I had a friend rent a dress, and it was very clear that the owner valued the dresses much more than the brides. Customer service was horrible. and the dress they gave her was missing some of the elements of the dress she had chosen. I'm sure there are some great places to rent from, but try and make sure that you get the treatment you deserve. And don't go to gowns by Pamela. Seriously.
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I'm not sure about the "it costs at least $1000". There are many beautiful dresses out there under $500 -- it just depends on your tastes. I have a friend that rented her dress; she was very happy with it. Her only complaint was that the dress she really wanted could not be rented. I think it is a personal choice. I purchased my dress for $650 and I love it!
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If it means a lot to keep your dress, but you don't want the price tag, there are other options besides paying a thousand dollars, as caliocteach mentioned. I got a stunning Amy Michelson (too lazy to see if I spelled her name right) dress in my size off craigslist for $200!
So you can have your cake and eat it, too, so long as it's a smaller piece of cake... or you're better at finding deals than me.
My dress (a gorgeous Alfred Angelo) was $650. I had also looked at a couple of dresses from Nordstrom that were around $350. I don't think you have to spend anywhere near $1000 if you don't want to. Some of the gown rental places on the internet say $250 to $600 for a rental! I guess if you can rent a $2500 dress for $500, and you have to have the $2500 dress, its a good deal. But I think can can find a nice dress in that price range, and then if you don't want to keep it you can donate it and take the tax write-off.
By the way, my sister wore my mother's wedding dress. So it does happen. It was a very classic style, didn't look dated at all, and was gorgeous on her. It also fit almost perfectly.
I also wanted to add that my dress is from David's Bridal and was $450, and it's my absolute dream dress! They are definitely not all over $1000. Probably won't look at it after and my fiance has suggested selling it after the wedding, and I might, but I'm also pretty nostalgic, so we'll see.. 
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Renting? heck yeah! i was open to that! unfortunately, i couldnt find any place that had bridal gown rentals in my area. at. all.
I ended up getting my dress at Bridal Mart for a little over $700. a gift from my grandmother. i saved well over $1000. i could have easily gotten a dress for a lot less though, this particular one just had all the elements i was looking for.
as mentioned above, you can find really great deals on dresses. you just have to seriously hunt them down.
i will probably sell my dress on Craiglist afterwards. i dont think i want to keep it for future generations and i know i wont wear it anymore......
If you think that you will want to keep your dress for the future, why don't you look at sample dresses? I saved a TON of money (more than $3000) by buying a dress that have been used as a sample.
Check out this post by Miss Toucan for info on the place that she went for her second dress http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/04/08/chronicles-of-a-two-dress-bride-part-ii/. I got my dress online from the same store, their website is www.bridepower.com. My dress was shipped to me in less than a week because it was one of their super low deals and no cleaning or repair work was done on it but for the cost, it's totally worth it for me to take care of those things myself. The dress itself is actually more beautiful than the picture online and I love it more than I could have even imagined.
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I found this site while researching dresses. They make custom dresses for $250. The gowns look amazing and the price can't be beat.
http://www.gioavonnisbridalboutique.com/index.htm
However, I haven't seen one in person so I can't vouch for quality or workmanship. But I wanted to pass it along to all the brides...
Awwww you guys are great....thanks for the responses~ I'm going to go look at dresses at RK Bridal and Davids Bridal and then decide...so many to choose from...did anyone see Gellibelly's "real wedding" pics....her wedding was so pretty...some of the girls on here are so funny...I think I saw a pic of one girl who had binders for each part of the wedding planning process!
If you rent I say rent a name brand wedding gown if you want to save some money. Cause the custom sewn dresses that try to copy name brand gowns do not turn into what you originally visioned.... it is similar but not an exact copy for cheaper. I say you got one day to look your best. Pay the extra to get what you really want and look like on your wedding day. I wanted an Eve of Milady dress and opted for a Jasmine gown because it was cheaper and the style of these brands are very similar.
If you rent I say rent a name brand wedding gown if you want to save some money. Cause the custom sewn dresses that try to copy name brand gowns do not turn into what you originally visioned.... it is similar but not an exact copy for cheaper. I say you got one day to look your best. Pay the extra to get what you really want and look like on your wedding day. I wanted an Eve of Milady dress and opted for a Jasmine gown because it was cheaper and the style of these brands are very similar.
Go with what makes sense for you. There are TONS of options for dresses under $1K. My frou-frou Casablanca was only $750, but I didn't shop around for a better deal, preferring to buy from a local shop with excellent service and support. They had dresses as low as $200, so it's not as hard to find a lovely dress at a reasonable price. Checking out eBay or craigslist would be likely bets for a good deal on a used dress.
If you do go with a rental, be sure to get all the terms in writing and know what happens if something spills or gets dirty. Also, how do they do the fitting? I don't know much about how the rentals work, but it could be worth it if you find a dress you like.
Good luck and let us know what happens!
I wanted to go the route of renting my wedding dress, but the selection to rent was not that great. Most of the styles looked really outdated too.
The store wanted me to rent it for $300. But if I didn't see anything that I liked on the rack, then ordering a dress that I liked to rent was going to cost me $600! It wasn't fair because I would have to pay more for the rental and then the store would own the dress. Then if another bride were to actually see MY dress that they liked, they would only have to pay $300 (because it was already now on the rack).
True, it's a dress that I will probably never look at again after the wedding, but it was something that made me feel like a bride on my special day.
If you can find a dress that you like to rent, go for it! Because I didn't find my dream dress...
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My mother and I recently discussed the possibility of renting a wedding gown since it is only worn once and costs at least 1K.....but then is it a worthwhile keepsake?? I mean do you really look at it after its been [reserved or does it just collect dust bunnies in the closet??