Filene's Running of the Brides in Chicago

Wow sounds like a blast but too intense for me. You def need a plan of action and know what type of dress looks good on you first.

Kleinfeld's in NYC is having their huge sample sale on July 22 ( I am pretty sure that is the date) by appt. maybe make it part of your trip

Good luck, maybe we'll see you on tv!

What exactly is this? How much do you save?

Are these dresses out of season?

Just trying to decide if it's worth taking the trip..

Thanks for any info!

Best of luck .. Can't wait to hear all about it.

You are very daring!! I mean all the ladies I have seen (and a few VERY brave guys) are so intense! and they are all just changing right there in the aisles so to save time maybe wear a sports bra and spandex or a strapless bra and spandex. How about buying or renting walkie talkies?

I got my dress at the Filene's sale in Vienna, VA and it was a BLAST. I'm sure there are a couple nasty brides out there, but I didn't run into any of them. Everyone was so pumped up and nice. Here are my tips:

1. Get in line early. I was in line at 5 AM and was about 50th or so. I did OK but wish I would have gotten there earlier.

2. Wear something you're not afraid to walk around in because you will be trying things on in the middle of the store. most of us just had bike shorts and tube tops.

3. It doesn't hurt to have a few mimosas or irish coffees with your team in the morning to take the edge off :-)

4. If you have someone to hold a sign, make sure it includes the sizes you want (I'm a 4 but ended up getting a 10 and am going to take it in) and the style. Mine said "beach appropriate street size 4" and had palm trees and some pictures of dresses I liked.

5. Bring a full length mirror if you can. If you can't secure a spot by a mirror, it makes life harder. At the one I went to, they checked in mirrors so people didn't run with them, but you were able to get them back when it came time to try on. If you can't get to a mirror, have digital camera on hand and have someone take pictures of you in the dress so you can look at them.

6. When the doors open, just go in and grab as many dresses as you can. Don't worry what they look like. The more you have, the more you have to trade with... and it's all about trading!

7. Some people just ripped dresses off the racks, threw them down and sat on the pile... this might depend on how many people you have on your team.

8. Once you get your 'stash', divide them into piles... ones you like yourself, ones you don't like but you think others would likely be looking for, and those that are just destined to be rejects.

9. Be tough! You are going to have doe-eyed brides who didn't get there early enough begging for a dress from your pile with nothing to trade for it. Try try try to be tough but if you can't resist, only give from the reject pile. You should aim to only give away a dress in return for one you'd consider. Send them away with details of what you're looking for and hope they come back with something to barter.

10. If you have traders, send them out with the dresses you got in search of ones you like better. Make sure you have at least one person staying with you to guard your pile!

11. Wear something to identify each other.... once the doors open, don't worry about staying together... just scatter to where you can get the biggest armfuls and then regroup (ideally at a pre-planned rendevouz point like the back corner or something like that).

For me, it was a last minute trip so it was just my cousin and myself. She is about 6 feet tall and tough as nails so I was very luck to have her on my side! It took about 2 hours of trading and trying on to find my dress but I LOVE it! It had the tag on it from the bridal shop for $900 and I got it for $250. Plan on spending another $100 to have your dress cleaned before the wedding since the poor things get dragged around and get a little dingy. They had to clean mine 4 times before it gleamed again (it's chiffon).

Have fun with it! People come around to the lines while you're waiting with offers for photography and stuff and some radio and newspeople hand out coffee in line. It is a festive atmosphere. I would go and do it all again in a heartbeat. It's such an crazy thing and even if you don't find anything- you'll have a unique and memorable experience with your girls that you will laugh about for years and years.

It's tough to find me, but a fox news station posted video here: MyFox Kansas City | Running Of The Brides.

If you look at the link on that page for "raw video", you can see me in a brown tracksuit with a blue garter over my leg dragging an armful of dresses and almost taking down a rack in the process :-)

Have a great time and I can't wait to read all about it! I will try to post pictures though I haven't figured that out quite yet.