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Hi Lovely! Thank you for stopping by, so glad you are here. One thing that a lot of people don’t know about me, is I used to own a bridal store front. A dream of mine for so long, I opened my beautiful store at the age of 24 with the help of my amazing hubby and family.
It was such a fun job! I got to travel and shop collections 2x a year and help brides find their dream gown. Long story short, I sold it a few years later and I am excited to share ten tips for brides when shopping for their dream dress.
- You will most likely have a group that will want to come with you to try on dresses. 9/10 times there will be at least one person that will have an opinion of their own that may not be in line with yours. The solution: Plan to bring the entire group the first time around. Enjoy the time with your loved ones, consider their recommendations but always remember how you feel in the dress. Once in the change room with your consultant, ask her to write down the one(s) you are absolutely loving. Come back another day with your mom and BFF and purchase your dream dress. In the end, you will look drop dead gorgeous in whatever you choose and on your special day, no one will have a negative thing to say about how you look!
- Tell your bridal consultant your budget right away and ask to see dresses only in your budget unless you have some wiggle room. I have seen this so many times, where a bride falls in love with a dress she put on but it’s way off her budget. Don’t cause yourself that heartache!
- You will most likely leave the salon with a completely different style of gown than what you thought, and that’s OK! We all have different body types and what looks good on the model in the advertisement might not look the same on you.
- MAKE AN APPOINTMENT! Don’t just walk in the store as you may not be able to get a bridal consultant and you defiantly want one! They are trained on how to help you in the dress and pick out gowns that are right for your body type.
- Be sure to block off at least two hours per store. Even though you have an appointment, it takes time to put on and take off dresses and the time you are in each dress.
- Allow up to 6- 8 months for your dress to arrive. If you are not purchasing off the rack, it can take up to 8 months for a bridal gown to arrive depending on where it’s coming from. Sometimes it’s sooner but better safe than sorry! You also have to give yourself some time for any alterations if needed.
- Tying in with #5, the store will most likely have an in-shop seamstress. They are the best to work with because they know all the dresses. Of course you are more than welcome to bring it else wear, just make sure they are experts in wedding gowns!
- As soon as you order your dress, look for the accessories. The shop may be able to give you a swatch of your exact dress color to help in choosing the shoes and accessories. These things are often left last minute and brides are always in a panic to find shoes (which can be too late to be ordered) or earrings that are no longer in stock.
- Do not order a size or two smaller and say you will lose the weight. I have no doubt that you will, but what if something happens (anything) and you don’t? It’s better to get it in your current size and have it taken in than having to get a whole new dress!
- Finally, I am sure you have seen the horror stories from brides ordering their dresses online from some cheap sites and it coming back the exact opposite of how it looks in the photo? You will end up spending more money because now you have bought a dress that is anything but your dream dress AND you have to spend more money on another dress. Plus, most bridal stores are independently owned and when you buy your dress from them, you are supporting a family and that’s pretty neat! I always told my customers how grateful I was for them!
Phew! There are my ten tips, hope you enjoyed them! Let me know if I missed anything in the comments below! xx
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