Now that you’ve already decided what you’re looking for in a wedding dress, you’re ready to hunt it down and make it yours. To make shopping for your wedding dress fun, easy and painless, don’t just hit the stores and wait for the dress to fall on your lap. Make a plan!
Steps
- Decide when to shop. There’s no time too early to start looking, but there is a time that’s too late. Depending on where you get your dress, it could take several months for your dress to be ordered and shipped. From then, you’ll need several weeks for your seamstress to make alterations. You should start shopping about 9 months before your wedding, but preferably sooner. There’s nothing wrong with beginning early, even a year before you’ll actually wear the gown. Once you’ve found your dream dress BUY IT. Then, stop shopping. Why make yourself misearable by continuing to look at gowns once you have already ordered your dream dress.
- Call to find out if you need an appointment–especially if you’re shopping on a Saturday.
- Some places don’t require an appointment, but many do. Even if the store accepts walk ins, make an appointment. This is to ensure you don’t wait around for an hour while while the consultant help customers who did have appointments. People with appointments will always come first.
- Some shops will not let you browse freely through the gowns. They’ll ask you for a description of what you’re looking for and then bring you gowns they think match it. If you really hate the idea of not being able to see everything yourself, avoid these places. Call and ask first if it’s important to you.
- Take what you need with you.
- Make sure another person goes along with you. You’ll definitely want an opinion aside from the consultant’s. However, don’t make the mistake of taking your mother, your maid of honor, your bridesmaid, your other bridesmaid, and your other bridesmaid’s little sister. Not only will they get in the way, but none of them will all agree on anything, and mostly likely, at least one of them won’t like whatever dress you’re trying on. It’s probably best to take one person (or maybe two, like your mother and maid of honor), whose opinion you trust and value.
- Take pictures of dresses you found online or in magazines, if you have any. Even if they’re dresses made by another designer, the shop you’re in may be able to help you look for something similar. A lot of stores have styles that bear a resemblance to dresses even if they are by a completely different manufacturer.
- If you’ve already decided to wear a certain item (such as a specific pair of shoes, veil, or jewelry) because it has sentimental value, take the item along with you. If it’s absolutely necessary that you wear it on your wedding day, you’ll want to make sure the dress you choose goes well with it (though this may narrow your options considerably).
- Look at choices for length, sleeve style, necklines, waistlines, trains, etc.There are a ton of options out there! Do a little research on what’s possible for certain fabrics and silhouettes, but don’t rule out gowns of a specific type because they don’t have all the little details you prefer. If you see what looks like the dress of your dreams but it has sleeves and you wanted a sleeveless, or if your dream gown ends up having a huge train and you wanted a shorter one, you can ask a seamstress to alter these things. However, remember that seamstresses often charge a whole lot for little things, so if you want to change TOO many things about your gown, you may be better off continue your search. Also keep in mind that most of the time, the same dress can be ordered in various colors. When you start to shop or search for gowns online, don’t pass up a dress just because it’s stark white and you want champagne. If you love it, check to see if it’s available in champagne.
- Don’t be discouraged. Most women will try on many, many gowns during their search. It’s not only normal to not find the perfect gown on your first try, it could be a warning sign that you’re making a rash decision you’ll regret later. Some women get lucky and do find their dream dress shortly after they start looking, but it’s most likely something they realized later, after looking through many other dresses that didn’t compare to the one they found in the beginning. No matter what, the savvy shopper will keep looking and then go back to that dress later if it really turns out to be The One. u.s.
- Have fun! This is a time in your life when you get to try on as many exquisite and expensive dresses as you want. You’ll be the center of attention (at least among your group at the shop) and people will treat you with special kindness because you’re a beautiful bride. Have fun!
Sources and Citations
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