It is very hard to find an inexpensive less formal white dress. The wedding industry has the market cornered. I found mine and jumped at it!
Someone gave me this tip, which I used to buy my own less formal, less expensive dress: order a bridesmaid's gown in white.
Bridal shops also sell bridesmaid dresses, matronly mother-of-the-bride dresses, etc.
And virtually every evening dress/bridesmaid dress is available in white, black, and select bright colours (blue, pink, whatever.)
Of course, the shop never has bridesmaid dresses in white on the rack, because they want you to buy the expensive traditional
gowns. They don't want to put the idea in your head that the lovely pink evening gown on the rack could be ordered in white and
be your simple and beautiful dress for a mere $250.
And they will work hard to put you off. They'll tell you that they can order that evening dress in white, but that it'll take 6 weeks to 3 months to come in. (News flash: bridal gowns take that long to come in anyway.)
They'll tell you that only bridal gowns come in "pure white." If you order a bridesmaid gown in white, it won't be "pure white." It would
be "ivory white" or "winter white." (News flash: honestly, most of us don't look our best in pure white anyway.) And when I stood next to
my groom in his black suit, there's no way my gown didn't look white.
