On the morning of April 4th, Claudia, Meredith and I went to the “Running of the Brides” at the brand new Filene’s Basement store in Tysons Corner, Virginia. I'm sure you have seen it on television before or at least heard about it - hundreds of women rushing to dozens of racks full of designer wedding gowns and trying them on in the aisles. In fact, it was even referenced on a "Friends" episode back when Monica was planning her wedding to Chandler. Remember?News reports often compare this one-day-only bridal event to the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, which is why the event is officially called the “Running of the Brides.” All of the brides running around grabbing dresses off the racks. It’s truly an experience. After standing in line all morning, hundreds of brides with close friends and family race to find the perfect dress. It takes a matter of seconds for the racks to be stripped bare. Women, and even men, just grab and run. And who wouldn’t when you can find the perfect designer gown for a steal?
Call us crazy but we thought this sounded like too much fun to miss. So, we got up bright and early to join the line, handing out baby blue garters to all of the brides-to-be, their “something new, something blue.”
When we arrived at 7:00am, hundreds of women were already lined up outside of the main entrance to the Filene's store. The line wrapped around three sides of the building. Most of the teams we asked said they started arriving at 6:00am, but a few women started camping out the day before. In fact, the first team in line – decked out in pink antenna headbands and matching shirts – arrived at 8:30pm the night before after casing the store, scoping out mirror locations and getting a sneak preview of some of the dresses! They said, “if we were going to do this, we were going to do it right.”
At 7:55am chaos broke out. What was once a line became a mass of women, pushing to be the first through the doors. We watched from slits in the window as store employees held onto the racks for dear life in preparation for the bulls, I mean brides.As soon as those doors opened, the girls were off and running. We watched as nearly 2,000 dresses flew off the racks in less than a minute. After the wedding gown frenzy slowed down, the damage was assessed. It appeared that all were safe and only the main doors were broken, and maintenance was already busy trying to fix them.
We then decided to venture inside, gaining a first row seat to the madness. Women were carrying around as many gowns as they could hold. Some women wore sports bras and shorts, while others wore the lingerie they planned to wear on the big day. I even saw one woman wearing a bikini – a great idea. To help with locating “the” dress, teammates carried signs that indicated what sizes they were looking for - another good idea!
So, how great of a deal is this? Basement buyers accumulate gowns from a variety of sources including manufacturer's samples, overstocks, canceled orders, excess merchandise, etc. Originally priced anywhere from $900 to $9,000 or more, the dresses are drastically marked down and the new prices are set at $249, $499 or $699. The gowns are not returnable, so it isn’t uncommon to hear of a bride buying two.
As if the groups of anxious women aren’t enough, there were also news camera crews. I watched a news report a couple hours into the event and was very excited to see two of the brides I had spoken to earlier that morning showing off their newly purchased gowns.
Tips for Success
Since this may be something new to you and for those of you planning on heading to Towson’s or DC’s event this summer, the following are some tips for success:
- Get there early or get there late. There may be a better selection first thing in the morning, but only a fraction of the dresses are actually purchased. It’s true, according to a Filene’s Exec. So, if you go later, you avoid the frenzy and still have a great shot of finding the perfect dress.
- Bring help! Some tips advise you to leave men at home. We saw plenty of guys in line ready to take down anyone who dare steal a dress. Think about it, it’s the perfect “dress guard.”
- Identify your team. The Filene's Web site suggests you and your "team" wear matching colors, hats, etc. to help you find each other in a crowd. Have fun, be creative.
- Ready to wear. Be-Cool Come prepared to strip down in the middle of the store. Leotard or sports bra and bike shorts are a great way to slip the dresses on quickly.
- Leave your handbags at home. Carry your belongings in a fanny pack or, better yet, have a friend carry them.
- Think creatively. Since these dresses are so inexpensive, it may be worth the cost of alterations if the gown you love doesn't fit perfectly.
- Be open-minded. Certain dresses look best on certain bodies. Don't pass up a dress just because it isn't what you had in mind - it may look awesome on you!
- Be courteous. This is just common sense. Everyone is there for the same thing - to find the perfect dress. If you are nice and help someone out, they will be nice and help you - hopefully!
- Be fair. Again, everyone is there for the same thing. So give up your dresses as quickly as possible so that other brides have a chance to try them on.
- Have fun! Hopefully you will find the dress of your dreams but if not, you will cherish the memories and have a great story to tell your friends.
The author of this blog is Kristie Pichler, Event Planner at Gala Events, inc.
