From Now on, This Is How I'm Doing Wedding Guest Dressing

There are three main reasons I've decided to start renting my wedding guest dresses. The first two go hand-in-hand; I'm reaching an age when more and more people I know are getting married, and the rising cost of living aside, there's no way I can afford to buy a new dress for each event.

But perhaps the most important reason is that buying a brand-new dress isn't exactly sustainable. Of course, we're not telling you it's wrong to buy yourself a frock you feel great in—and you'll get a tonne of wear out of an LBD or floral midi, for example—but there's no need to splurge every time you get an invite in the mail. By renting instead, you can show up in something that's new to you, but that won't be shoved to the back of your wardrobe and forgotten about post-reception.

It's also a great way to try out trends that you know won't be around forever, or that you predict you'll tire of quickly. Personally, I lean towards classic style, so I know my interest in more out-there trends will probably be short-lived. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the experience of sporting something outside of my comfort zone from time to time, so renting is perfect for me.

And I'm not the only one—according to a 2024 Klarna study, 16.5% of people are now choosing to rent their wedding attire. If you're yet to join this statistic, you may be thinking "Sounds great! But how do I do it?” Well, the good news is there's now a host of clothing rental platforms dedicated to making your dream wedding guest dress more accessible. Whether you've been lusting after a particular designer buy that's way beyond your budget, or you didn't manage to get your hands on a popular piece before it sold out, you might just find what you're looking for on one of these rental sites.

Scroll on for a run-down of our go-to platforms and a brief guide to how they work, plus the dresses I'll be considering for the weddings in my calendar.

1. HURR

HURR was the first rental platform I was introduced to a few years ago, and to this day it has one of the most impressive selections. You can rent dresses from designers like Ganni and Rixo and high-end labels including Chloe and Dior for a fraction of their retail price. Choose the length of time you'll need the item for—from four to twenty days—and select your dates. At the end of your rental period, all you need to do is package up the dress and send it back—HURR takes care of the dry cleaning, making the process as seamless as possible.

Rent from HURR:

2. BY ROTATION

With a catalogue of over 65 thousand items—from Jimmy Choo shoes to Réalisation dresses—By Rotation will leave you spoiled for choice. When you've managed to whittle it down to one piece you love, send a request to the lender with all the important details. Once the lender accepts, voilà! Your designer gem will arrive on your chosen day, and when the time comes to hand it over, By Rotation can arrange for it to be collected from your home. Easy peasy.

Rent from By Rotation:

3. JOHN LEWIS

John Lewis' rental service is powered by HURR, but there are marked differences between the two. First off, listings are combined and most pieces are available in a range of sizes, rather than just the one. And secondly, there's no information about individual lenders on John Lewis' site, which makes it feel more like we're shopping direct from the retailer and are therefore in safe hands (though this is absolutely the case with HURR, too). It really depends on your preferences.

Rent from John Lewis:

4. MY WARDROBE HQ

If you're panicking and in need of a last-minute dress, turn to My Wardrobe HQ. This innovative platform offers next-day delivery in the UK, so you don't have to sit around and wait for your dream dress to show up. The handy calendar view on each listing shows clearly when a piece is available, and when it's already been reserved for someone else's special do. Also, if you sign up for My Wardrobe HQ's newsletter, you get 10% off your first rental. I'm sold.

Rent from My Wardrobe HQ:

6. COCOON

Okay so you've found your perfect dress—now it's time to accessorise. Cocoon is a luxury handbag rental service, and it operates in a pretty unique way. Instead of borrowing pieces individually, you pay a membership fee and this includes access to a wide selection of bags. It's like joining an exclusive club. There are two membership tiers, Premium and Deluxe—the latter includes access to a whole separate edit—and you can pay monthly or quarterly. Find more information about the different options right here.

Rent from Cocoon: