What You Need To Know Before Shopping For Your Wedding Dress

Things that will help you before and during your dress shopping to maximize the experience.

Working in the bridal industry for four years, I’ve seen a lot of dress shopping experiences. For the most part, they have been good and everyone leaves happy. However, there have been several occasions that a bride has left heartbroken or without her dress. With this experience in mind; I have created a list of five things you can do so when you look for your dream dress, you’ll be ready to say yes.

Tip 1: Be Ready To Find Your Dress That Day

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard a bride say “I’m only looking today”, I would be a millionaire. While I can completely understand that sometimes you just wanna see what’s out there and what you like, you often find your dress when you go in with no expectations. The problem with this is when you aren’t ready to find your dress that day and you do, it puts stress on the situation. Whether its that you don’t have the money ready, or you weren’t mentally prepared to say yes, it puts a huge roadblock in your dress finding experience. I’ve had many brides walk away from their dress because they were just looking, and then they came back someone else already purchased it or it was discontinued. Yes discontinuation is a very real thing. So, when you go keep in the back of your mind that today could be the day you find your dress.

Tip 2: Bring Only The People You Truly Want There

This ties in with Tip 1, since you could find your dress whenever you shop make sure you have that important person there. Whether its mom, grandma, or a friend, find a day where everyone can be there to support you. Also, don’t feel pressured to invite someone you don’t want. Whether that’s a sister who has very different taste and will try to persuade you to get something else, or a friend who will criticize your budget. Just don’t bring them, and if they give you a hard time, tell them that the bridal store would only let you bring a certain number of people to your appointment. If you find your dress and you don’t have that special person with, remember that technology is amazing, Facetime them or just call. Those little things can make your experience complete.

Tip 3: Know Your Budget….. And Have Some Wiggle Room

Whether you’re paying for your dress or someone else is, make sure to talk to your fiance or whoever is paying for your dress so everyone is on the same page. My piece of advice would be to tell your consultant your budget, but tell her slightly under what you can spend so if you need to go up you still have that room to do so. For example, if your budget is $1500, then tell her $1200. Keep in mind that all formal wear has to be altered, so you may want to factor that into your budget.

Tip 4: Research The Bridal Stores You Want To Visit

When I tell people this tip, they think they have to know exactly what they want in a dress. That’s absolutely not true. When I say to research bridal shops I mean, just get the general info about the store. Reading reviews is a great way to find out more about a store; do they have hours that will work with your schedule, do they do in house alterations, do they have dresses in my price point? Just knowing these little things will help you in the long run and prepare you before hand. If you do know what style you think you want then see if they have anything like it. Most stores will have a list of designers they work with or a “look book” of their dresses. Keep in mind though, it’s always good to try on a style you didn’t think you’d like.

Tip 5: Think With Your Heart And Not Your Head

If I could only give one piece of advice on dress shopping it would be this: Let your heart make the decision. I know that sounds so incredibly corny but it’s true. When shopping we try to rationalize the process, but in reality this purchase makes absolutely no sense. It is an outfit that you will wear for one day but you will spend hundreds to thousands of dollars on it… and yet, there is such a strong emotional connection to it. So put out of your mind all the pressure, budget thoughts, and other details. I tell my brides to look at themselves in the dress and close their eyes. If they can visualize the day with their friends and family all around, but most importantly seeing their fiance at the end of the isle in that dress then they already know it’s the one they’ve dreamed of wearing their whole life.