It's "Girls Gone Wild" at the Atlanta Filene's Basement this morning, where the annual Running of the Brides sale has resulted in a sea of naked bodies and yards of flying silk.

"It's just crazy," said general manager Debbie Brown.

PHIL SKINNNER/AJC (ENLARGE)

In this file photo, Jade Lesniak battles her way against the crush of women looking for the perfect wedding dress at the Filenes Bridal sale in Buckhead.

Submit a running brides photo LIVING Latest Headlines: [an error occurred while processing this directive] • More Living Stories • Living photo galleries • Georgia Aquarium news and photos • Zoo Atlanta news and photos

Who could blame the bargain-minded brides? When a $10,000 gown can be had for $699, you can expect some nuttiness.

"The first person was in line at 2 p.m. yesterday," Brown said about 9 a.m. Friday, an hour after the store opened. "I arrived at 3 a.m. and there were 150 people in line. That's pretty par for the course. Right now it's like someone has kicked over an anthill."

The bridal bash is a regular tradition at Filene's Basement, a Boston-based off-priced retailer. It was founded in 1908 by Edward A. Filene to get rid of excess goods from his father's department store upstairs, the company's Web site says.

Brown says today's crowd is eager but cordial, having learned that with a little patience, everyone can leave with the perfect gown. But some apparently haven't gotten the message about what to wear to the Filene's firesale.

"There are a lot of naked bodies," Brown said. "I tell them to wear a swimsuit."

When the store opens at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, she expects all 2,300 marked-down gowns to be gone, bound for tulle-adorned aisles all over metro Atlanta and beyond. Brown couldn't talk vendors, but said the sale offers wedding frocks at $249, $499 and $699 - hugely discounted from their retail prices of up to $12,000.

Oh, as for Brown?

"Actually I'm divorced," she said. "My advice is: run."