If spending a small fortune on a wedding gown you’ll wear once is hard to embrace, there are affordable alternatives.

You can shop the Internet for used gowns. But be careful to ask directly about stains or damage. This idea doesn’t appeal to everyone as many brides shy away from the idea of wearing someone else’s dress on their special day.

Then there are consignment shops, such as Designer Exchange in Burnt Hills, that carry never-worn year-old gowns purchased from bridal shops and sold at a fraction of the original price.

And there are more options, such as several large retailers who have started to offer off-the-rack wedding gowns.

Dress for less

Designer Isaac Mizrahi’s gowns, priced from $89.99 for a strapless sheath to $159.99 for a tulle princess dress, are available online from Target. Mizrahi’s new line is for the entire wedding party, including bridesmaid’s dresses, mother of the bride apparel and groomsmen accessories.

other bargains

Target is not alone. J. Crew can outfit the entire bridal party with a line of apparel offered on its Web site, where bride’s gowns start at $295. And designer Ann Taylor has gowns for brides, bridesmaids and flower girls online or in select stores (the gowns are not available in Albany or Saratoga Springs stores). The Elizabeth, a silk duchess, satin strapless bridal gown is priced at $600, less than half of the average $1,500 spent by brides for their gowns in 2007, according to the Bridal Association of America.

Part of this trend toward spending hundreds rather than thousands on a gown is attributed to the increasing number of couples who pay for their own weddings. The couples want a beautiful wedding without going into debt. The Bridal Association of America estimates that the average 2007 wedding cost $27,710.

Consignment Shop

Ivy Williams, the owner of Designer Exchange, carries about 60 gowns in sizes 4 to 20 that are brand-new and — in some cases — designer gowns.

“Gowns are like cars. Each year there is a new model,” she said. The gowns she carries are last year’s samples from bridal shops or, in some cases, dresses that were never picked up by a bride or the result of the bride choosing a different gown after placing her original order.

There are dresses with fashionable hints of color such as a white gown trimmed in black satin and accented by black embroidery. Originally, this David’s Bridal dress retailed for $699. Now it is priced at $275. Williams added that prices are negotiable.

She has a Paloma Blanca gown that originally was priced at $1,500 and is now priced at $675. On the rack with dozens of other feminine gowns is a copy of a Monique Lhuiller gown priced at $600. “The original gown sold for $7,000. The young lady had this copy custom made and then decided to buy a different gown,” Williams said.

prom & flower girl, too

The least expensive wedding gowns in her Route 50 consignment shop sell for about $275. She also carries a selection of prom dresses, flower girl and mother of the bride dresses. Some of the mother of the bride dresses are new, but others have been worn, dry-cleaned and are on consignment.

All are priced at a fraction of their original cost, making them affordable for the bride on a budget.