Communion Dresses???

[SHAMIL10]

I got my daughter's dress at Burlington Coat Factory for around $45. It was absoulutely beautiful if I do say so myself. In fact we had a lot of comments on wear did you get that, was it expensive? It didn't have bows either. (DD refuses to wear bows) I was at a wedding a few weeks later and the flower girls were wearing the same dress!!

 

[TandyR]

My oldest DD had her first communion May 22, 2004....I bought her dress off of eBay for $20 including shipping and headpiece without a veil. We added a veil because DD...I got it at the craft store. Got tights and shoes at Target. A white shawl at Burlington Coat Factory (we live in Maine...we can get snow in May so I wanted her to be warm...DH and I got married on May 21, 1994 and it snowed the week before.) So we didn't break $60 for her outfit. We had guest over to our house...I spent maybe $250 for food. The most expencive thing we got for her First Communion was an Add-a-Pearl necklace....I knew that was a splurge, but I always wanted one myself so I got one for her....since then I have been able to find pearls for it on eBay and a necklace for my younger DD when she has her First Communion 3 years from now because it was such a deal.

 

[mep319]

Thanks for the suggestions...............ebay is not an option b/c of her size difficulties with it fitting her...I need to be able to exchange it. I don't have a Burlington Coat Factory near us...........I'll try some of the other those!

 

[MsMulan]

I was happy to see this thread. I thought I was the only mom who worried about spending too much money on a dress for one day. I purchased a dress for my daughter last year at Nordstrom Rack for about $35 dollars. It was orginally tagged at $135, so I figured I got a good deal. It's a size 10 and I am praying to Sweet Mother Mary...lol that she will be able to fit it. But if not, ebay seems to be a good alternative and I can sell the one that I already purchased.

 

[CheapMom]

http://www.angelfire.com/magic/mom/dress.bmp
Cut this address and paste into your address window to see DDs dress- it was simple and very pretty.
Burliiington,$30- last year. DD loved her dress.

 

[CheapMom]

Oh - sorry- I just saw your post about not having a BCF nearby.
There are lots ofBCF around Philly-if that is near you.
BCF locator

 

[DianeV]

If you dont want to do the ebay or buying from somoene on here thing I do suggest Sears. That is where we got both of ours and I remember they put them on sale quite often once they get them in..like 30% off

 

[dmillerdmd]

Thank you for the e-bay sites. I had not even thought of THE DRESS yet for 1st communion in March. We are way too busy w/ the family discussions and book to be done. Thank goodness my son only needs a white shirt/tie/black pants ( yes, twins). WOW, in 10 min total, I got a beautiful dress w/ gloves and a head piece for less than $40.00!!! (in my jammies no less) Thanks again for the info. BTW, no one in our area makes any big deal of this except as a church sacrament, and therefore a very important event.

 

[BethR]

...no one in our area makes any big deal of this except as a church sacrament, and therefore a very important event.

That's nice. I wish it was more like that around here. We don't have DJ's or anything like that, but the focus is definately more on the dress and the party than on the sacrament.

 

[risy]

I was shocked last year to find th loveliest dress at JC Penney!

We had our 1st Communion in Feb, before Lent. That was a tough time of year because many store don't stock until well into February.

 

[pumba]

they rented the over the clothes type thing and it had the gold on the sides and all the kids were equal......I think the price was ten dollars to rent the robes...my kind of first communion and confirmation....

 

[NotUrsula]

People here do tend to spend a bit on the dress and have the child's portrait professionally done, but I've never encountered anyone having a really big party for the occasion. There is a reception after the service at the church, the children's families contribute treats for that, but that's about it. DS will be participating this year; lucky us with a boy, all I have to buy is a tie.

I still remember my dress. I grew up in the Deep South before churches were air-conditioned, and my only requirement was that the dress not be HOT. My mother made the dress, it was a sleeveless cotton pique shift with a mandarin collar, and I wore it with flat white leather sandals. I remember that I also wore it to have my school photo taken the following year. Ornate it wasn't, but I still think it was a perfectly appropriate dress, and comfortable, too. We didn't wear bridal-style veils, b/c we always wore veils to Mass, so we all already had the little round lace veils.

There is a little factory about a block from my house that specializes in 1st Communion dresses; they only sell these and Christening gowns. It's in the basement at the back of a place that sells canvas awnings, and you would not believe the traffic that place generates every spring.

 

[littleclover]

Sorry if this has already been brought up, I didn't read through the whole thread...have you tried Von Maur (sp) or Rainbow stores? I know they have great looking dresses for resonable prices and exchange policies.

 

[Pollyann]

I know this is not an option for the OP but maybe someone will benefit from this tip. My DD will have 1st Communion this year. I bought her dress last year from JCPenney on clearance for $10.77! It's a beautiful dress that I see JCPenney is selling again this year. I'm fortunate that I judged the size well and it will fit her this year.

 

[ckckc2000]

We bought my DD dress @ Sears-less than 30.00 clearance-and this was great because they have the half sizes that she needs

 

[ckoncurat]

I bought a white dress for my daughter at a local consignment shop (secondhand). $65 including tax for a really stunning dress, with satin and beading. She looked like cinderella. It had probably been someones flower girl dress. Just call local consignment stores and ask them if they have first communion dresses.

 

[sillysmom]

Hi all, I just happened upon this thread, read it, and was very surprised. Maybe its just the area where we live (Long Island, New York), but probably its because thats what we do in our family, but my daughters communion dress (which was paid for by her nanny) cost with the accessories around $350, her party was planned for 2 years with over 80 guests, a dj, a cotton candy and popcorn machine, and a puppeteer from philadelphia as a performer. It was like a small wedding, I loved planning it, and it was simply beautiful. Can't wait for her sweet sixteen lol.

 

[carone0318]

i understand where you are coming from. We did the same thing, well, not the cotton candy and stuff, but had a party outside of the home, but mainly because my house wouldn't hold the 40 people, mostly family just 3 were not family, but dd calls them Aunt & Uncle. I was going to suggest Raggamuffins to the OP which is in Mount Laurel, NJ - the NJ side of Philly, but then after reading her full post, decided against. When we bought dd's dress you give the name of the church where you attend and they will not sell the same dress to another girl at that church. Hey, that is what I know, that's how it goes around here. I referred to it myself as a mini-wedding. I, too, loved every minute of it. Yes it is a religious event, but so are weddings and we do the same thing for that. Granted, I do work full-time and feel that this is how I choose to spend my money. I only have one dd and this was not a burden for me. My dd does understand what her 1st Communion meant from a religious stand point and there is nothing wrong with a celebration of something so wonderful. This is one of the many difference between the north and south. I understand that wedding celebrations are much bigger up here too.

 

[cepmom]

I just bought my DD's communion dress last weekend at a religious store. They have a room upstairs that has all the communion dresses, accessories etc. They were having a sale on discontinued dresses, but also had non-discontinued dresses. I ended up with one of the non-discontinued for $63.00. I hadn't originally wanted to spend that much, but it really looked beautiful on her and she absolutely loved it! We have the headpeice/veil leftover from my older DD, so she will wear that. I'll only need to get her the tights and shoes now and I'm sure I can find something inexpensive at Payless come spring time.

As far as renting halls etc, we are renting a hall (only $75) for our family party afterwards - our home is simply too small to hold everyone! Not sure about dj's etc, but I will have to order food from a local caterer since I don't really like to cook too much and the food is always much better from the caterer!!

I second the consigment store suggestion - I've been able to find a lot of great clothes at second hand stores for very little money. It's a great way to save!

 

[ckoncurat]

"Hi all, I just happened upon this thread, read it, and was very surprised. Maybe its just the area where we live (Long Island, New York), but probably its because thats what we do in our family, but my daughters communion dress (which was paid for by her nanny) cost with the accessories around $350, her party was planned for 2 years with over 80 guests, a dj, a cotton candy and popcorn machine, and a puppeteer from philadelphia as a performer. It was like a small wedding, I loved planning it, and it was simply beautiful. Can't wait for her sweet sixteen lol."

Then why frequent the budget board???????
My wedding dress cost $350