I went to Running of the Brides, D.C. edition, a couple of weeks ago! It was totally crazy just as they depict it on T.V. and youtube. Here is what I learned from my experience.
1. This event is more about luck than anything else! The right dress needs to come to you whether you're spotting it on another bride or you find it through a trade or on a rack in the store.
2. You do not need to camp overnight for this event, you can for the fun and experience of it! We went at 6:30AM and I think that was just fine to participate in the experience of Running of the Brides. Radio stations were giving out doughnuts, as well as vendors were there trying to solicit you. If you even get there after 10A.M once everything is dying down, all the dresses are going back up on the racks, that might be even better.
3. Definitely go with at least 2 other people, the more people the better. It worked out for me with my cousin and a friend. Each of us grabbed a handful of dresses (they are HEAVY) and then once we found a spot, we each took turns going around looking for some trades in the size we needed.
4. Once you get inside, run and grab as many dresses as you can. You will need them for trading. You go around and ask people to trade for what you need.
5. Find someone with a similar size so you can swap dresses with that person
6. There aren't that many small sizes, so if you are 0-4, you're pretty much out of luck. I think I found only a handful of those and many were not the style I was looking for. I noticed there were a lot of 8-12 sizes, so if you are in that range, it would be perfect! Of course you can always alter your dress
7. These are sample dresses so some of them aren't perfect! You can find missing beads, undone threads, etc.
8. I would recommend wearing a light tank top and leggings since you pretty much change in front of a lot of people so you wanna get in and out of a dress, but not completely expose yourself
9. It's great to have something in mind, but at the same time, if you are too specific in what you want, this event is NOT for you since they have pretty limited styles and sizes
10. I found that mirrors were easy to be found and used... I have read in other forums, that you should bring your own mirror, but personally I felt it to be unnecessary!
11. Making signs are all fun and all, but no one really reads them! When we got there, we were given some signs we could write on with our sizes, but I rarely looked at anyone else's and pretty much just went around talking to people to find out what they had
12. Are you ready for the crowds, the madness and the mess? If you are, continue on and if not, I would say try something else!
Even if you don't find your dress, have fun! As I said before, It's all about LUCK!
My friend hauling a bunch of dresses for me
My team, we dressed in red to coordinate! We weren't as hardcore as other teams with matching t-shirts and chants.
At the end of the day, I actually did not find THE dress. I felt that it was way too chaotic. There were not many smaller sizes and the ones they had were not the designs I liked. I didn't go into hoping for much so I wasn't that disappointed. It was a fun experience all in all, but although I do LOVE a bargain, this wasn't an event I would go to again. I think there is something about the experience of going to boutique and trying on your dress calmly, seeing your dress looking so beautiful instead of being disheveled around. Definitely an event that is not for everyone.
What are your thoughts? Have you gone to Running of the Brides?
