bridal shop's staff helping a bride trying on a wedding dress

Things To Know Before You Go Wedding Dress Shopping

It is always exciting to go wedding dress shopping, trying out beautiful dresses and imagining yourself to look the best as you can be on your wedding day. But to save time and prepare yourself for it, there are certain things that you should know.

Research

Browse the websites, check the social media and flip the magazines for inspiration. Compile everything that you like and try to find if there are any similar themes. Perhaps it is strapless, a long gown, long sleeved, laced, or anything else. Note it down and share it with the bridal shop’s staff when you visit them.

Who Is Joining You?

It’s important to think carefully who’s joining you for wedding dress shopping. You need someone who can be honest with you, but at the same time be kind and sensitive. You will want to be given the best and right opinion on which wedding dress suits you.

Don’t bring along too many people though, when you have too many different opinions, it will only make decision making tougher. Remember, you’ll only wear it once in your life, you need to pick the one that looks stunning on you.

Make Appointments With The Bridal Shop

You’re not shopping for groceries, where you know what to get and where to get it. You’ll need to make an appointment with the bridal shop where they will assign a consultant to guide you through the process, what is available and what other services that they offer. Although they won’t stop you from walking into the shop without appointments, you might find the consultants are all busy and you’ll have a tough time trying to choose your wedding dress.

Spread Out Your Bridal Boutiques Visits

Don’t try to visit too many bridal boutiques in a day. Take your time in each shop, ask whatever is needed, talk to the consultants, and take notes if necessary. If you get too tired, you might make the wrong decisions or you might forget the details.

Call Ahead If You Have Your Eyes On A Specific Dress

If you happen to find a specific dress that you like so much when you are doing your research, make the phone call and ask if it is available. Some wedding designers have limited quantities of their designs or certain stockists do not carry every design from a brand. Call in the shop and check if they have the stocks ready.

Read The Reviews

With social media, Google and many other websites providing reviews, you might want to explore into this before you go out to shop. Nowadays, anyone can make a beautiful and sophisticated website, but reviews can help you to filter what you might not need. Although reviews may be very subjective, it gives us a general perspective about the bridal shop.

Ask For Recommendations

Word of mouth is one of the best way to find a good bridal shop. Ask your married or engaged friends where they bought their wedding dresses and if they would recommend their bridal boutiques.

When Do You Need Your Wedding Dress?

Not all bridal boutiques keep existing stocks that will fit you perfectly, you might want to allow some time for the designers to make the right fitting for you. Let the shop knows when you will need to wear the wedding dress including your wedding reception and pre-wedding shoots.

Your Budget

One of the most important aspect that you have to determine before visiting the bridal boutiques. Set a clear budget and be frank with the bridal shop. Let them know how much you can afford and they will be able to pick the right budget fit for you. You don’t want to face the situation when you have chose the perfect dress but only knew that it is too high-priced for you.

Would You Consider A Sample Dress?

A sample dress is dress that is on display or it is used for customers to try on. Usually when new designs comes in, or the sample dress is the last piece of that specific design, the boutique will sell it off at a cheaper price. It may also happen when you like the design very much, but the sample dress is the last available piece.

Dress Alteration And Customisation

Some bridal boutiques offer customisation to an existing dress so that you will have the perfect one that you dream of. Customisation according to what you like will also make your dress look unique. You may want to check with the bridal shop if they offer customisation and alteration services. Don’t forget to check on their charges to factor into your budget.

Wedding Venue and Theme

If you have already decide on your wedding venue and theme, you can also consider to fit your. wedding dress with it. You would want a dress that suits the surroundings and atmosphere. Describe the style, setup, decorations and venue to the bridal shop consultant, and they will be able to pick a dress that matches the vibes better.

What Suits You?

It is important to wear something that you are comfortable with and suits your body type. Consider the colours, the materials used, the accessories and the design if it is what you want.

Be Realistic

Sometimes people have unrealistic expectations about their wedding dresses. They’ve seen weddings of famous celebrities and they wish to dress in the same way, regardless of their assets or body shapes. 

Your Wedding Hairstyle And Makeup

Your wedding hairstyle and makeup is also important if it is practical for your wedding dress. If possible, talk to your hairstylists and makeup artists if they can give you an idea of how it will look like.

You Might Have To Wear A Little Revealing

Prepare yourself for not wearing any bra, most of the dresses have built-in support. Adding in a bra might destroy the aesthetic of the wedding dress. You will also need the bridal shop’s staff to be in the fitting room to help you with the dress.

It Might Be A Long Process, Be Patient

Most of the time, you have to try different pieces of dress and visit different bridal shops before you get the perfect one for you. Allow yourself some time to go through the process, take a break if you need to. That is why it is important to start planning earlier.

The Vow is a wedding & love magazine focuses on stories, inspiration, ideas and listings of wedding vendors.

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