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Shop file · 40 first-hand accounts · updated September 2026

Brides for a Cause: What Brides Paid

29 prices reported at Brides for a Cause run a median $400, from $100 to $900. That sits below the $850 median across every route in this dataset. Separately, 40 brides described what the shop was like to deal with, and 95% of them recommend it.

$400median paid (29 prices)
$315–$500middle half of prices
95%recommend it (40 accounts)
0accounts warning against it

What brides paid

Every row is one bride: what she paid for the gown, what the tailoring came to when she reported it, and the year.

GownTailoringYearThe account
$100–2017100 at Brides for a Cause; found a cheap one that fit
$150–2025Charity shop find; she puts the gown's retail value at 5000 to 6000
$300–2025Brand-new mannequin display gown from a charity resale nonprofit; she donated it back afterwards and proceeds funded dresses for cancer patients.
$300–2016Used gown originally 1300, bought at a pop-up run by a Portland charity resale company; she found the event advertised on Craigslist.
$350–2022Originally 2300; biggest sale of the year
$400–2026Designer gown bought through the charity resale chain.
$400–2026Sample first seen at 750; she went back a month later when it hit half price and walked out with it.
$400–2022Hoping alterations around 300 or less
$450–2025Second buyer from the same nonprofit shop.
$500–2026Donated boutique sample; purchase supports charities
$500$3002026500 at Brides for a Cause in Seattle (donated, mostly new, under five years old); a simple hem cost 300
$500$5002022Consignment bridal store; alterations matched the dress price

What brides recommend it for

  • Seattle nonprofit selling secondhand and donated gowns. She found a discontinued BHLDN Sabrina gown there, new with tags and in her exact size, and called it cheap without naming the price.
  • Nonprofit gown reseller with Washington, Oregon and California locations; email them your inspiration and size and staff search across stores. Profits go to women-focused charities
  • Non-profit shop selling donated samples; got a gown retailing near 4140 for 650, about 85 percent off, but was warned in store that the lace would be costly to alter.
  • Small West Coast chain; she bought a size 16 Vera Wang marked to about $500 that needs a zipper replacement. Few options above a size 12 but a wide spread of styles
  • Portland-based charity resale company; she bought a used Enzoani listed at 1300 for about 300 at their Seattle pop-up, which she found advertised on Craigslist.
  • Paid $300 for a brand-new gown that had been on a shop mannequin, then donated it back after the wedding; proceeds funded dresses for breast cancer patients.
  • Got her dress there easily and heavily discounted; hers was unworn with tags on, though most stock is pre-owned and sizes depend on what has been donated.
  • Charity bridal shop where she bought a gown near identical to an 800 dollar boutique style for 400; suggested as a route alongside Facebook Marketplace
  • Sells donated gowns, mostly from designers and dress stores; she found several David's dresses she loved there and wishes she had shopped it properly.
  • Also posts dresses for sale on Instagram, so you can watch stock without visiting; a new Arizona location has opened alongside the west-coast shops

What brides warn about

  • OPs visit report: 200 for simple elopement styles up to 800 for gowns, but cramped, packed on sale day, self-service with no help zipping up, and quality varied.
  • Warns that many of the donated gowns have already been altered, so they run smaller than the size on the tag.

How it compares

The median across every route in this dataset is $850, a bridal salon runs $1,900, and secondhand sits lower again. A shop is worth judging against the route it belongs to rather than against the whole market, which is what the where-to-buy page sets out.

Related on this site

Sources

Price reports on this page come from 24 public discussions where brides answered in their own words. Each comment that stated an amount became one row; notes are paraphrased, never quoted.

Discussions used on this page (24)