Toronto startup SmartBride is an innovative Craigslist with a distinct wedding-themed twist

Go on, admit it - you've probably used Craigslist to buy or sell something. Or at least looked, right? Of course. Maybe that something was even a wedding gown, bridesmaid dress, or wedding decor. And it was probably a failed search.

Weddings can be expensive, no doubt, particularly because everything seems to have to be bought brand new. Well, SmartBride Boutique is changing that.

Utilizing the popular online-classifieds system, a la Craigslist or Kijiji, SmartBrideBoutique is your source for buying and selling everything wedding-y. Brides-to-be can purchase goods for huge discounts (up to 50%) from newlyweds, who are able to recoup much (up to 50%) of their initial wedding costs by selling their now-useless stuff. It's a win-win for all parties involved.

Founded in April 2008, SmartBrideBoutique began in Toronto and eight other Canadian cities. Now, it stretches to well over a dozen cities in Canada (Saskatoon and Moncton to name a couple), plus as many in the U.S. (from Phoenix to NYC to Detroit), and is still growing.

For today's cost-conscious, eco-savvy women, SmartBride represents a solution to a very expensive but often unavoidable expense: weddings. Remember, girls - cutting costs on the wedding means your no-money-left Bed & Breakfast honeymoon may suddenly become a lavish trip to Paris!