The Bride Wore ...

J.Crew – or was it Ann Taylor, or perhaps White House | Black Market?

Specialty retailers better known for trend-savvy misses apparel are now selling wedding dresses, too. And the competition for the value-conscious bride-to-be is heating up fast.

Urban Outfitters plans to launch a bridal brand online next Valentine’s Day. The Limited will debut two gowns under $300 next month – then add three additional styles in January. And Vera Wang, the designer whose name has become synonymous with high-end bridal dresses, plans to develop a new line for David’s Bridal. The yet-to-be-named collection of 20 dresses will debut next spring.

J.Crew was the first to throw its veil into this ring when it began selling wedding dresses in 2004: Today it has approximately three dozen bridal styles and will open its first bridal boutique in Manhattan this month.

IBISWorld, an independent publisher of U.S. industry research, predicts that weddings will remain a difficult market in 2010 due to “high unemployment and continued discomfort coming out of the worst recession in many years,” says senior analyst Toon van Beeck. He expects 2011 to be much stronger, and “it’s for this reason companies like Urban Outfitters may be aiming to capitalize on a strong rebounding wedding market.”