A bride went viral on TikTok when she wore a thrifted wedding dress that cost just $3.75

• Jillian Lynch got married on May 13, 2022, in a dress she found at a thrift shop.
• The white dress cost her just $3.75. She also thrifted shoes for $8.

When bride Jillian Lynch, a 32-year-old from Ohio, set out to find a wedding dress, she headed to a thrift shop.

Lynch, who works as a talent associate for a non-profit, is an avid thrifter. Finding her wedding gown at a thrift shop felt natural to her style.

"Because I thrift all the time, it was just the option," she said. "I never even considered going to a bridal shop."

Lynch decided she wanted to wear a white dress after she started planning her intimate wedding

Lynch told Insider that she and her partner of 13 years didn't picture themselves getting married until the spring of 2021.

"We planned on being life partners and supporting each other throughout our lives, but marriage didn't seem necessary," she said. "I don't know what changed, but about a year ago, we were like, 'Let's be husband and wife.'"

They knew a big wedding wasn't for them, but found a microwedding was the right guest count. They planned a 30-person celebration at the Social House in Tempe, Arizona, where the majority of their family and friends live. It was held on May 13, 2022.

After they chose a venue, Lynch started shopping for a dress.

"I just started looking for dresses, not wedding dresses, but simple white dresses," she told Insider. "I didn't want anything too formal."

And she kicked off by looking at second-hand shops. After four days of thrifting, Lynch found a Camilla Coelho dress. The mid-length, slip dress had an asymmetrical neckline and a daring slit.

"I feel like it straddled that line of bridal to not being related to wedding at all," Lynch said of the dress.

It also came at quite an inexpensive price for a dress, let alone wedding attire. Lynch paid $3.75.

The dress is currently available on Revolve for $220.

She bought the dress, but said she was unsure if she would ultimately wear it to the wedding. She posted a video of herself in the dress on TikTok — and it quickly racked up more than two million views and thousands of comments from viewers supporting her decision to wear the thrifted gown.

"Brides tend to go wedding dress shopping with their mom, their bridal party, or a group of people to get feedback," she said of posting about the dress on TikTok. "It felt a lot like that."

After the TikTok commentary, Lynch tried on the dress on a few more times, and decided it would be her wedding gown.

"Hearing the feedback through TikTok that it looked like it was made for me, I do think that swayed me," she said. "After making that TikTok, I fell more in love with it every time I tried it on. I felt really pretty in it."

Lynch tailored the dress so it fit perfectly

Lynch dropped the dress at a local tailor to ensure it fit well on the wedding day. She said she had the waist taken in, and swapped the adjustable straps for custom straps, a suggestion from a TikTok follower. She said the follower said it would elevate the gown.

Her Tiktok followers also gave her advice on the daring slit, which resulted in Lynch adding lace to make the slit more demure.

"I didn't want to think I was showing too much skin," Lynch said of adding the lace. She admits she would have "never thought though of" adding lace to close a slit.

The alterations cost $110, so Lynch ultimately spent $113.75 on the dress. She paired it with heels she thrifted for $8, and she did her own hair and makeup for the day.

Lynch said she felt "amazing" in her wedding dress.

"I don't think I've ever felt that great in something," she said. "That's what brides should feel on their wedding day, like they're at their peak beautiful self. That's exactly how I felt when I put it on."

Lynch said her wedding dress was right for her because she stopped pressuring herself to find the "perfect" dress. She admits that the second she stopped asking herself if it were "the one," picking a look was more fun than stressful.

The wedding felt more meaningful than Lynch imagined

Although she said that she didn't spend years dreaming of the day she got married, Lynch surprised herself by loving her wedding, even the traditional aspects.

For instance, she asked her dad to walk her down the aisle.

"I could see how much it meant to him, and it actually ended up meaning a lot to me," she said.

Plus, she said she was just excited to enjoy the day with her new husband.

"We rolled with everything," she said. "We were together, just having a fun day versus trying to make this planned event go well."