CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A wedding dress cost guide by company Wedding Wire showed a big range of prices, from $100 to more than $2,500 for a dress. The average cost of a wedding dress was right at $1,000 for U.S. brides.


What You Need To Know

  • Wedding Wire’s wedding dress cost guide shows the average cost of a wedding dress is $1,000 for U.S. brides

  • Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont’s bridal pop-up sale includes gently used wedding dresses from $99 to $499

  • Money made from the pop-up sale will fund Goodwill Industries job training and other career services, free of charge, to people in the Greater Charlotte area

Some brides can’t afford to spend that much of their wedding budget on one item, while others just don’t want to. Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont is helping all brides looking to save money with their Bridal Pop-up sale.

Hundreds of gently used bridal gowns will be priced between $99 and $499. Bridesmaid dresses and formal dresses will be priced between $29 and $149.

Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont Regional Director Colleen Rizzo said the dresses are a bargain but they set up the pop-up to feel like a boutique.

“This year we’re going to have a little mock area where girls can do their social media posting. We’re going to have picture props so you can ‘say yes to the dress’ and you can really get that full experience like you see on TV,” Rizzo said.

Aubry McMahon and her sister were both planning their weddings at the same time, so they went to the Goodwill bridal pop-up sale. They both found discounted dresses, which McMahon said gave their family an opportunity to pitch in on wedding costs.

“The Goodwill dress didn’t only give me a wedding dress but it also gave my parents a sense of supporting their kids, being part of their big day,” McMahon said.

McMahon and her wife, Jaclyn Foreman, got married Sept. 5, 2020, and welcomed their daughter, Elliott, into the world March 6, 2021. The cost of working with a sperm bank, genetic testing and medical bills were another reason McMahon wanted to save money.

“It only took two tries but that was $4,000 so we definitely wanted to cut costs,” McMahon said. “We always joke that when she’s 18 we’ll give her her bill.”

The Goodwill bridal pop-up sale is Saturday, March 5, at the Goodwill Opportunity Campus, at 5301 Wilkinson Blvd. in Charlotte. Shoppers are allowed to line up prior to the doors opening.

Money made from selling dresses at the pop-up will fund Goodwill Industries job training and other career services, free of charge, to people in the Greater Charlotte area.