Every bride wants to wear a fabulous dress on their wedding day but not everyone has the budget for an expensive designer gown. If you're planning a wedding, and you can't afford one of these high-priced dresses you can find a good selection of cheap wedding gowns that look great if you just know where to look.

One thing you might want to do is keep your eye out for sample sales as well as yearly wedding dress sales. Some stores have yearly sales way our gowns are put on a huge discount and this is your chance to get a beautiful wedding gown for pennies on the dollar. Be forewarned, however, that these sales are usually free for all and jampacked with prospective brides trying to find that perfect dress. It can be total chaos with women shoving and grabbing to get their hands on the dresses they want.

Of course, you'll have to try the dress on and this can waste valuable time so you might want to wear something very light and not bulky so that you can slip the dress over what you have on to try to get an idea of how it might fit. You can find dresses here for $99 but you better be sure it's the right one for you because they usually don't take returns.

Another place to shop for cheap wedding gowns is clothing consignment stores. Here, you may be able to find a beautiful designer gown at a fraction of the price. Typically the gowns have already been worn but they will be in excellent condition - like new. Occasionally you can find a brand-new gown still with its original tags that, for some reason, was never worn and is now being sold at a discount in the store. Some clothing consignment stores have special sections just for wedding clothing and you might have to make a few trips to the store to find the style of dress that suits you.

Another place you might try looking is the classified ads in your local paper. Many brides have no interest in keeping their wedding gown, so you may be able to find a beautiful gown that was worn only once at a cheap discount.

If you have a computer, another place to look for cheap wedding gowns is at online auction sites such as eBay. Here you can find used gowns, but you can also find brand-new gowns that are being sold as closeouts or overstock. If you are buying online, you want to be sure to find out if there is any damage to the gown and make sure you get as many pictures as you can. Also, double check the size and be sure it is a size that will fit you as it is unlikely that you will be able to return it.