Thoughts On Being A Bridal Consultant

Taking a quick look into what a day of a bridal consultant really looks like.

When I tell people what I do for a living, there are always a lot of questions. “Do you have a lot of bridezillas?” “Does anyone pick really ugly dresses?” “Is it just like say yes to the dress?” Some questions are funny and others silly, but most people don’t realize what TV portrays isn’t accurate. It looks like a glamorous job, but it actually hard. The days are long (usually about 10 hours), and are physically draining. The story I work at is three stories, with no elevators so I get about 15,000 steps in one day. Some dresses also weigh upwards of 35 pounds so you better be strong to lift them.

While being physically draining, it is also emotionally draining too. One aspect that makes it difficult is family dynamics. I have often found myself being a counselor in an appointment, mediating a daughter’s and mother’s rocky relationship. It amazes me how something as simple as a look can shut a person down. There is a huge learning curve in understanding people’s emotional and mental state and being able to connect the two. When I first started my job I never considered this aspect, and it has only helped me be able to read and understand people better.

The hardest aspect to deal with is the pressure to make a sale. At some bridal stores, consultants work on commission only. So knowing your only income is solely dependent on your sale, can give you tunnel vision. I’m lucky to work at a store where I have a base salary as well as a commission pay, upper management always pushes sales. Every day I am fully aware that the success of the store and my coworkers relies on my ability to bring in money.

What has helped my success is putting that aside and remembering what this means to my brides. These women has dreamed about this for their whole lives, and if I’m able to take myself out of the equation it reminds myself why I love what I do.

9 Comments

Dana Hockbein

February 15, 2020 at 7:00 pm Reply

@Hockbein
I never had thought about the life of a bridal consultant before. I assume there will aways be a market and business for that- seeing that people are always getting married. I never really watched many bridal shows on TLC but I figured the job isn’t that glamorous as they make it out to be. Im glad that you are passionate about making the bride happy on her special day.

Ian Dunn

February 16, 2020 at 3:21 am Reply

I never knew dresses could weigh so much! Theres so much you said here that I never would’ve thought of for this job. I can’t wait to hear more about it.

-Ian

Zuri

February 17, 2020 at 12:51 am Reply

I am a big fan of “Say Yes to the Dress,” it has always intrigued me to see the process brides go through in choosing the dress of their dreams. I definitely built a Pinterest page at one point with dresses I liked, so I agree with your last comment on how important this is to them and how they have probably dreamed about it for a while. I think it is really cool that you get to help people feel good about themselves and find the dress that will be at the start of a new family. You brought great insight into how this job is not easy or glamorous, especially to how it is portrayed on those TV shows. Good luck!