Wedding Dress Shopping 101
Since I just spent the day helping one of my brides shop for her wedding dress I thought I'd write a blog about it! Some brides find shopping for their dress to be a daunting task. If you're prepared it doesn't have to be. Here are some tips to make this an enjoyable experience.
Start shopping as soon as possible. Some dresses can take four to six months to order in. Some shops will sell you the floor model (such as my bride's today) but others will not. And remember you'll need time to get the dress altered.
Take a day during the week to do your shopping. Saturdays are the busiest days for bridal shops. If you take a weekday this will give the sales person more time to spend on you and you won't have to try to get her attention away from multiple other brides.
Have a budget set...and stick to it.
Take along some close friends or family who's opinions you trust...and listen to them!
But don't take too many people along. Your mom, sisters, bridesmaids, and more may want to come along to help, but if you have too many people you'll get too many different opinions. Ultimately the final decision is up to you and too many opinions will cloud your judgement. Just take the ones you really trust and will listen to.
Go through bridal magazines and get an idea of what you like. But don't necessarily be set on one dress until you try on several different styles.
Listen to the sales person. She has helped hundreds or even thousands of brides find their perfect dresses. She knows what dresses look good on different body shapes. If she asks you to try a dress on, do it. Hanging on the hanger it may not look like something you would like, but once you try it on you may fall in love with it!
Even if you fall in love with the first dress you try on, try on at least a couple more. You may be so giddy with excitement that you love every single dress you try on. When you find "the one" you'll know!
If you have to think too much about a dress or have to get reassurance from everyone that it looks good, it's probably not the dress for you.
Make sure the dress is comfortable. Walk around in it a bit. Try sitting down in it. Make sure there is no boning sticking into you or bead work rubbing your skin.