Do you like Black Friday shopping? Digging through clothes at designer discount stores? Waiting in line for the free gift card at a grand opening? I know I do. That thrill when you get THE good deal, that proud moment when you know you paid tens, hundreds, thousands less than that poor schmuck wearing the same thing, that sense of victory when you walk away from the store with the receipt in your hand—what a rush!
 
This is what motivated me to participate in the Filene’s Basement Running of the Brides Experience. Let me say that this is not for the faint of heart- true bargain shoppers only! If you are one of my sister bargain hunters, though, this is an experience not to be missed- (and a true initiation into the bargain sisterhood!). I’ve shared my experiences below and if you are brave enough to embark on this adventure, there are some tips to not only survive but thrive in the Running of the Brides.

My ROTB experience began with some prep work- isn’t that always the way with the biggest and best sales? I read the articles (here are some tips from the Filene’s website) and then started building my team. Even though my family and many of my friends were working (the sale is typically on a weekday) or out of town, a loyal group did embark on this adventure with me. My mom and sister (MOH), of course, had to come because how could I go dress shopping if they weren't there? Also my wonderful aunt and two teenage cousins were in, and I couldn’t have done it without them. Since we all go Black Friday shopping together, I knew they were up for the Filene’s craziness. You think I’m kidding, but keep reading- their previous go-getter shopping skills were vital to the mission!

With my faithful team in place, the next step—T-shirts!! Mostly because they’re fun and anytime I have the option of dressing my family in hot pink, I’m going to go for it, but they did end up having a practical function as well. The hot pink hue of “Amy’s Angels” was easy to find amidst the crowd of crazed brides, which became very useful in reconvening after the initial run.

We marked our calendars, calibrated our watches, and prepared our strategy for the big day. And when it came, boy, were we ready. We proudly donned our hot pink t-shirts and running shoes (seriously—wear the sneaks) and got up E-A-R-L-Y. As many of you know, this is key in any hardcore bargain shopping scenario, but I cannot stress this enough. We decided not to camp out over night because it was rather cold and concrete sidewalks are hard, but there were a few who did (Tip: if you do decide to camp out, make sure to have your car parked nearby so a member of your group can take your sleeping bags/chairs/thermoses/etc to the car before the festivities begin. No one wants to be weighed down by all that stuff). We got there around 4 am and were about the 12th group in line, which we were pretty happy about.

Then came the anxious waiting. And since you can only go over your strategy so many times, I recommend bringing a deck of cards and some granola bars to pass the time. Nothing too heavy, as you don’t want to sacrifice that oh-so-important agility, but you’ll thank me later if you take some basic supplies with you. Things you should know about this phase: a) there is no free coffee so be prepared to send someone on a Starbucks run and b) there will be news cameras. A lot of them. And they will want to talk to you. And you will not be looking your best because just you rolled out of bed at 3 am and that’s not anyone’s best hour. No solutions here, just be prepared and go with it.

As the time got closer we reviewed our assignments and strategy, which if I do say so myself worked beautifully. The initial strategy was pretty basic. When the doors opened, my mom would not go to the dresses but instead would find a spot in the store where we could set up camp- where there was a mirror nearby and where I could try on dresses without being completely exposed. (Forget about getting a fitting room—not gonna happen. Brides pretty much strip down wherever in the store to try on the dresses, so be prepared. Knowing this, I came wearing boy shorts and a modest strapless bra, figuring that covered more than a bathing suit.) The other five of us would go straight for the dresses and then take them over to Mom’s spot when the Running was over.

So finally the running hour was upon us. I must say, Filene’s was extremely organized. About a half hour before the doors were to open, they opened the outside doors and had us file in line through the building to get to the actual store doors. At this time the anticipation was palpable and I had my team do stretches. I wasn’t taking any chances. There was also a lot of watch checking, followed by “5/3/2 more minutes!”

And then….it happened! The doors opened and I cannot even begin to tell you the chaos that ensued. Every member of every group ran- actually RAN- to get to the dresses! Sprinting down the aisles until we saw the beacon of glowing white satin and chiffon in the distance. Some groups lost members along the way— a mother tripped here, a friend stumbled there, but no one could be distracted from the glow. We just side stepped and kept on going. As soon as we got to the dresses we all knew what to do--- GRAB!!!! Take those dresses like there was no tomorrow! And we all did- pulling dress after dress off the racks, piling a gazillion pounds of lace, organza, and satin into our arms. And then when the dust settled literally 2 minutes later, there was not a dress left on the racks. And that, my friends, is why you need to get there early.

Panting, we all individually searched for splashes of hot pink amid the white and ivory to find each other and the fabulous spot Mom scouted out for us. And then Phase II began. The key to the initial running is to GRAB EVERYTHING. Everything. Sizes, styles, and colors don’t matter. And here’s why: anything you don’t want will become powerful bargaining chips. In the initial run, there is no time to check for sizes (and the dresses are not organized by size anyway) or any kind of style. Once we had our stash, I went through all of the dresses to see which ones were worth trying on and which we would use to bargain for dresses in my size and the style that I wanted. From here, a very intricate system of bartering emerges.

Each member of our team had on a role:
Me: Try on dresses asap
Mom: Guard the dresses and help me try on gowns
Cousins: Get me in and out of the dresses and keep track of which ones I had tried on
Sister and Aunt: Go out into the store to barter with other brides for dresses!

Our group had pulled about 30 dresses off the rack. About five of those initial dresses were around my size and ones that I was interested in trying on. As I started with those, I gave my sister and aunt their marching orders- "white, strapless gown--go"! Armed with large signs that Filene’s distributed declaring “I NEED A SIZE ___” My sister and aunt fearlessly embarked into the sea of frantic brides in a quest for a white, strapless gown in my size. When they found a bride that had one in her stash, they would either trade one of my discarded dresses for it, or see what kind of dress the bride wanted for it. Many times my brave barterers had to engage in multiple “deals” to secure a dress they thought I would like (Bride A wanted a size 8 but we didn’t have one so my sister went to trade one of my dresses with Bride B for a size 8 she could trade with Bride A. Whew!).

Meanwhile, back at camp, I was stripping down in a corner of the menswear section and trying on some of the most beautiful designer gowns ever in the quest for THE ONE. Anytime I deemed one a “no” it went into the bargaining chip pile under the watchful eye of my mother.

After about 45 minutes, the speed slowed down and the tone in Filene’s changed from competition to comradarie. After all, we were all brides-to-be participating in the same crazy journey with the same ultimate goal. Every few minutes, we would hear a team start cheering as their bride successfully found the designer dress of her dreams. We clapped along with them. And then went to take their leftover dresses.

In the course of about two hours I would say tried on around 15 dresses. Until it came down to one. One beautiful Henry Roth gown that I just couldn’t decide on. My group was all with me at that point and as we all inspected the gown and awed at its beauty and fabulous price, my very wise mom and aunt gave me the best advice of the day: “Don’t force it!” We all decided that I was wavering too much, and that meant the dress, although stunning, just wasn’t quite right.

So I left without a dress that day, but I don’t regret the experience for a second. We had the best time, and the ROTB is now a true bridal war story we will always remember. In fact, my sister and cousins had such a good time that we have all vowed we will do it again when each of them gets married.

So of all the tips here, I think this last one is the most important—don’t force it! Your wedding dress is too important to settle on. Go in with the expectations of having a truly memorable experience and a good time, rather than putting on the pressure that you must find your dress that day. It may simply not be there. But it absolutely could be! There is no way to know beforehand— you just have to go and try and have fun with it. And even though we all want to get this fabulous designer gown at 80% off, it’s ok if it doesn’t happen. As all of us bargain shoppers know, a deal isn’t a deal unless you were going to buy it anyway.