Weddingbee boards

We have just decided that we are going to elope next month, at the courthouse, instead of having our original idea of a larger, vintagey barn wedding later this year. 

With that in mind, my whole dress idea has changed from a form fitting lace gown to .. well... a simple ivory pencil dress that comes to my knees. 

Also... my dress budget has gone WAYYYYY down. We're eloping to save money, avoid family dramz and ... because we each think it is romantic. My only stipulations: still doing the brooch bouquet, we have dinner at a nice restaurant (just us) that same night, stay in a hotel downtown & we fly out for our honeymoon the next day. It all just sounds like the perfect alternative to big country wedding we were originally thinking of. 

Sooo... I'm trying to keep things like the dress and shoes on a major budget ($150 for the dress & $50 for the shoes). I've been searching online but still had an appointment to try on dresses in town and I decided to keep it. I went this morning. The shop owner "helped" me. Helped by directing me to a wrack of poorly kept pieces that just looked like stuff I'd have found in goodwill. (Don't get me wrong, I shop at Goodwill...) Anyway, I had about 20 dresses I could choose from that could be ready by our wedding date. Most didn't even fit the bill. I tried on about 10. Anything I thought MIGHT POSSIBLY do the trick .. I tried on. 

Here's the one I actually fell in love with: 

(It normally flared out, but I wanted it to fit like it's shown here, so it's clipped back. I also have an ivory sash trying to cover the current brown sash which I would have removed as well) 

anyway... even though I LOVE IT after all the work that would need to be done to it... in the end, it's about $200 more than I wanted to pay ... or more than double! 

Part of me thinks I CAN find something else for less that I will love and another part of me wants nothing more to do with traditional bridal salons that seem to only cary 2 short dresses :( It was pretty depressing. 

Tell me I'm right for sticking with my budget. My girlfriends who have had or are having big lavish weddings (nothing like a courthouse elopement!) all say, "Oh $200 is nothing!) but to me, it seems like a big deal. *Sigh* Cheer me up bees. :) 

ETA: P.S. I live in a small town. The nearest David's Bridal is 3.5 hours away. So not worth the drive if I really want to only spend $150. So I'd be buying online.... sight unseen. 

Definitely keep looking.  Check out Nordstrom's.  This one is $99: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/donna-morgan-belted-chiffon-dress/3172484?origin=category&resultback=5196

Have you looked online at The Limited? They are having a crazy sale on all their wedding dresses, I think someone posted on here they she got hers, with shoes and earrings, for $38 (I think she used an online coupon to take $25 a $50 purchase?) Would be worth looking into for so little money! Even if it's not great as a wedding dress, can be a fun going-out dress later on??

http://www.thelimited.com/detail/drape-neck-short-wedding-dress/3256721

Or (Sorry to overpost!) there is this one from Ann Taylor - in champagne - might be a little darker than what you want, but with the 40% off, it's in your budget, and looks like the style you want?

http://www.anntaylor.com/ann/catalog/productDetails.jsp?prodId=264076&defaultColor=2439&productPageType=fullPriceProducts&colorExplode=false&skuId=89754566

Hey! Like other bees have mentioned, Etsy is a great place to find great value items!

I've just had a quick search and they are an array of designs and colours available :)

Here's one of the dresses which I thought looked great for $150 ^.^

Here's another dress for $166!

Thanks ladies.... I've been hunting for days online and I think nothing was standing out mostly because I hadn't tried anything on. I'm going to hit up a few stores in town this weekend (Macy's and whatnot... again, small town, so Macy's is as good as it get 'round here!) But... I do know what shape I'm after now! I also found this dress online at Dillards and it is giving me hope! Only $83!!! 

@JuniperSage: I highly recommend using Shopstyle.com to search. It combs through hundreds of websites, and you can plud in color/cost/style etc. Also, some people aren't fans of this, but since so many sites offer free shipping both ways (or you can google around for coupon codes), I'll buy a bunch, try them at home, ship them back. Just a thought...

If you like anything funky, try ASOS, I've seen some dresses I would love to elope in there. 

Great job for sticking to your budget!!! :)

Have you looked at lightinthebox.com wedding dresses yet? I've seen some really pretty knee length and tea length dresses there. 

Good luck with whatever you choose!