‘Running of the Brides' in New York City

The Running of the Brides is a local tradition that has taken place since 1947 at Filene's Basement store in downtown Boston. On this day hundreds of brides-to-be and bridesmaids alike scramble for bargains at the one-day sale of wedding gowns. The sale is also held at Filene's once a year including Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Los Angeles.

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Women run to find wedding dresses at the annual "Running of the Brides" sales event at Filene's Basement in New York on Friday, June 3. The annual sale is known for its long queues and frantic shopping among brides-to-be hoping to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on designer wedding gowns. (Eric Feferberg / AFP - Getty Images)

The store stocks thousands of gowns for that day, and marks them down drastically. Prices vary from $250 to $700, marked down from retail prices as high as $9000. Prospective brides, and their hovering mothers, sisters and friends, line up the night before the doors open at 8:00am to join in the rush. Most wear the same color shirts, and have ways of communication amongst each other using whistles or bells in order to help locate one another. In the first few minutes, patrons run as fast as they can and take as many dresses off the racks as possible. The racks are emptied quickly, and immediately the trading begins. Most brides try them on in the aisles, or in front of mirrors, while their helpers run around trying to trade and barter. When a bride-to-be finds "The One" others clap for her.

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