Things to Know Before Your Bridal Appointment
GET IN BRIDES, WE’RE GOING SHOPPINGGGGG!
One of the best moments of planning your wedding is shopping for your dress! It’s time to start booking those bridal appointments. BUT FIRST, there are some things you need to know. Enjoy our tips for what to prepare for before your bridal appointment so that you can have the best experience ever and find your perfect dress!
BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
We know that schedules can get crazy and you can’t always plan everything out, but we highly recommend that you book your bridal appointment in advance. This ensures that you will get the most personalized shopping experience, and you can relax knowing you have a full slot allowing you the most time and attention to find your perfect dress. Also, if you prefer a more secluded, private experience, you should avoid booking on Saturdays. Saturdays are our busiest days (we also have weddings on Saturdays 99% of the time). Scheduling your appointment during a week day will most certainly provide you with more space and a more individualized experience.
*Be prepared for how much time you get in an appointment - showing up too early or too late will interrupt other appointments and will take away from the experience for other brides.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
We recommend that you have an idea of what you’re looking for before coming in, but also keeping an open mind to what you might find. Go to Pinterest, blogs, and designer websites/social media to pull images of styles that you are more drawn to, along with other inspirational photos that will help your bridal stylist have a better idea of what you want in your perfect dress. It is also a good idea to establish what your budget is, and then look up the designers that are in the shop to have a range of what prices to expect. That way you won’t be disappointed putting on THE dress, and then it being more expensive than you expected.
THE ENTOURAGE
Bring your best and most supportive entourage! Surrounding yourself with positive people will make your experience even better. Keep in mind, we recommend only bringing about 6 people with you. There is not enough seating or space for too many people, and you don’t want to feel overwhelmed by too many opinions. We always welcome children! However, we ask that they have fun in the fitting area, or with an adult at all times, rather than roaming around the shop. We wouldn’t want them to get hurt, and we also have expensive inventory to protect.
*It is also completely okay to come to your appointment by yourself! If you have a busy schedule and want to shop on your own time, then go for it! It is also a good idea to come alone if you are easily swayed by other opinions, and want to have the experience for yourself.
UNDERGARMENTS & ACCESSORIES
Bringing the right undergarments and accessories to your appointment will give you a more realistic idea of what your dress will look like on your actual wedding day. We recommend that you bring nude seamless underwear of your preference, what you think you will wear when the day comes. Keep in mind that the stylist will be helping you change, so wear what you would be comfortable with. You will most likely not wear a bra with your wedding dress, but you are welcome to bring a strapless bra, pasties or a stick on bra.
You want to have the best idea of what your dress will look like on your wedding day, so bringing similar shoes (or the exact shoes if you have them already), jewelry, hair ties/bobby pins, and have your makeup/hair done to an extent. None of those are necessary, but it will add to your experience and help you envision each dress until you find THE ONE.
THE FITTING
Expect to try on about 5-10 dresses. We do not carry every size of every dress (1 sample size) and we don’t carry them in every color way. BE PREPARED FOR IT NOT TO FIT. Since we don’t carry every size, it is not going to fit you perfectly. The stylist is there to help you see the dress as if it was specially ordered for you. They can work their magic with clips so you can see how the dress would look in your size.
Try not to focus on all of the little details. More than likely, you will absolutely fall in love with a dress, but there will be one tiny detail that you don’t like. Think to yourself, “should this one little thing that no one will notice keep me from getting the wedding dress of my dreams?”. The only thing that matters is the overall feeling you have in that dress. Think about it in the same way you look for a partner - you look for that feeling they give you, not checking off a bunch of boxes.
BE READY TO PURCHASE
When you are ready to make a bridal appointment, you should also be ready to buy. We know that the excitement sets in, and once you are engaged you want to immediately start trying on dresses. However, you don’t need to make appointments two years before your wedding unless you are ready to buy that far in advance. Don’t feel the need to go to every shop for the fear of missing out or wondering if there is something better somewhere else. When you know, you know. Trust that feeling when you put on YOUR dress.
Start bridal shopping 9 months before your wedding. It takes about 4-6 months for your dress to ship, and 3 more months for alterations (trust me, it will need alterations). When you have found the dress, you will always be required to put a certain percentage down that day. If you are not prepared to pay any amount that day, it is best to wait to make an appointment for when you are. That way you won’t be disappointed and you can leave with the mindset that you found your dream dress, and that it’s one more thing you can check off of the to do list!
