Hey Beautiful Readers!
Dress shopping can be a daunting and equally thrilling moment for brides to experience. With the pressures of
the internet and so many options it often becomes overwhelming.
This is one of the most important decisions you will make as a bride and it is crucial to give yourself time to prepare. One of the first things we all do immediately after getting engaged is create our Pinterest boards. There is so much inspiration to pull from and so many little details to nail down, one of which is of course the brides’ dress.
Some girls grew up with an idea in their head of exactly the type of dress they’d wear come their wedding. Some, like me, had a really good idea of exactly what I didn’t want. No matter where you fall on that spectrum, you should begin your dress shopping journey by scrolling the likes of instagram, Pinterest, & TikTok, and browsing your local dress shop websites.
Most importantly, no matter the style dress you’re aiming for, make sure to set a clear budget before actually shopping. The absolute last thing you want to do is try on and fall in love with a dress that is outside of your budget range. If you stick to trying on only dresses within your budget you can ensure you don’t have to face that heartbreak.
Once you do set a price range, begin saving inspiration and dresses you see that peak your interest. Not only will this help you in selecting your dress, but as you browse, you’ll identify accessories, hair and makeup styles, shoes, even bridesmaid styles that match the overall vibe you are going for - and that does start with your dress.
Once you’ve saved your vibe, the next step is to identify shops near you that carry your price and style dress. Each shop will provide a different experience and some are more personalized than others; some you can pay to be more private and personalized as well. As a bride, this is a big moment, and sometimes, especially when you put on the very first dress, it can be an overwhelming and often emotional moment. A few tips for scheduling your shopping:
Eat beforehand! I know you think that’s crazy, but you will likely be in each store for at least 1 hour, and you will be going in and out of heavy, thick dresses. Make sure you fuel yourself for the day, and hydrate yourself! (And that means with some mimosas too).
Bring along people that are supportive and encouraging. You may think you want all 12 of your bridesmaids, both moms and your grandma there but there’s a good chance you don’t. Again, it’s overwhelming and emotional, keep your group small when shopping; this will also help eliminate outside opinions that can cloud your judgment in making a decision.
Give yourself time, and go to more than one. I will not speak for everyone, so if you found your dream dress at the very first shop you went to, or you only went to one, that is absolutely AMAZING. For the brides that aren’t confident after one shop, or maybe didn’t have the best experience at a shop and left feeling a bit let down, keep going. Schedule yourself 2-3 appointments, accounting for travel, maybe a meal or drink, and some breathing time in between. If that means same day, a few days, or even weeks apart, so be it.
Communicate with your stylist. Ideally beforehand, your stylist will inquire for inspiration, budget, and overall goals when shopping and selecting your dress. Some shops will ask for this when you arrive and choose dresses based off that, either way - make sure you are clear with your stylist about what you like and don’t like.
Although I have previously and will continue to mention in the remainder of this blog to stick to what you like, most stylists will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone a bit and try on dresses you may not think you’d like - as sometimes, those are the ones that blow you away. They are in fact, right, for a few reasons. The first is that alteration specialists are artists; if you fall in love with a strapless dress but you don’t feel comfortable in them, you can find a specialist that can add straps. Similarly, dresses on the hanger and even on other people we see online, often do not look that way on our bodies.
It is critical to make sure you research the length of time it takes for these shops to get their dresses in. Wedding dress shops can be found in many styles: you have the likes of mom & pop independent boutique stores, high end designer carriers, off the rack retail stores, budget stores and more. Each store has a different order style of obtain your particular dress. This means that some stores carry dresses in multiple sizes for purchase off the rack. There is typically very minimal wait time at those stores. However, in some of the independent shops, and most of the boutique shops, oftentimes you will have to special order your dress. Once you say YES to the dress, your shop stylist will order the dress and sometimes there are wait times of 6-8+ months. If your dream dress is going to take 8 months to order in, you’re still going to need at least 60 days to account for alterations, try on, and any final touches before the big day. By getting ahead of the game you can ensure there is absolutely no time crunch when it comes to making your wedding dress perfect.
I find it important to note that there are a multitude of incredible bridal stores that offer off the rack or shorter wait time services that have absolutely no affect on their quality of dress. This is simply to encourage brides to begin researching and identify stores that carry their desired style, budget, and can accommodate their timeline.
With that being said, people always get stuck on the question, what happens if I lose weight and the dress doesn’t fit. First of all - you don’t need to go on a crazy diet for your wedding, you are beautiful exactly the way you are!!!! But if you do choose to slim down, alterations are scheduled much closer to the event to account for those changes.
Your alterations schedule will depend on when your dress is ordered and picked up, who is doing the alterations, what type of changes are being made, and the time they need for completing those changes. If you are simply taking in some extra fabric on the sides or a few inches off the train you are probably not looking at too long of an alteration time. HOWEVER - it is necessary to mention the fabric and detail of your dress 100% play a part in this. If you have one layer, and no lace or diamonds, your alteration is going to take substantially less time than a ball gown with 5 layers that has hand woven beading down the sides. You have to consider the design that has to be reconstructed and what that entails. Please from vendor to vendor, respect your dress stylists, and extend that same respect to your alteration specialists as well. They play an important role in making the dress curve and lay exactly to your body so that dream dress you said yes to all those months ago, truly comes out on wedding day exactly the way you wanted it to.
That brings me to my next point. How you should go about shopping! Everyone is different, some people set their eyes on a dress and go for it, others need to shop around. Some brides say Yes to the first or second dress, some say yes to the 10th or 17th dress. It is important that you get ready for your dress shopping day by doing your hair and makeup. Ideally you will style both somewhat similarly to the way you’d like to wear it on your wedding day. If you are unsure, style it to your pleasing and bring some hair ties, bobby pins and clips to make on-the-spot style changes. You’d be absolutely shocked how different a dress can look with your hair up vs. down and some jewelry added to the picture. I encourage you to use that to your advantage and also play around with different styles of dresses with your hair held differently as you may feel very its appearance changes.
Before anything else - prioritize your comfort in your dress. You want to be able to breathe, move, dance and sit in your dress. Make sure you try doing all of those things, especially when your dress comes in and you take it for alterations. Your bustle will change the way the dress sits and feels, so make sure you familiarize yourself with that too. Often times the dress becomes heavier on the back side as you are now holding up all of the trains’ weight. If you do not feel comfortable with a larger dress all night on the dance floor, and it is too heavy / too much fabric for a convenient bustle, consider going the trendy route of a dress change! A second dress, or reception dress, can be a more fun, maybe sparkly or fringey, possibly short, light weight dress that kicks you into party mode. If this is your vibe, you don’t have to be as concerned with the bustle, weight or technicality!
Do you feel ready to tackle your dress shopping journey? You may still have nerves, and that’s perfectly normal. This blog is to help you understand that although every one is going through the same thing, each one of our experiences in saying YES To The Dress, is unique, personalized, and incomparable to others. Feel confident, beautiful, and calm in your selection. Don’t overthink it, there will always be another dress, another store and another designer. And in 3 years someone will release a new dress that you love.
They say when you know you know, and it really does apply to this too. You’ll know when you look in the mirror that you’re in THE dress. Go with your gut!
Happy shopping brides!
Xoxo,
Alyssa
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