Preparing to Say Yes-Tips and Advice
As a bride-to-be, you are expected to make an overwhelming amount of decisions. How do you prepare for making decisions about food, invitations, the venue, or a thousand other things that go along with planning a wedding? It all falls on your shoulders. YOU have to make all of the decisions…along with your soon to be spouse that is except the wedding dress. As the bride, YOU get to choose that fabulous dress. This dress is the ultimate expression of your individuality. Although some brides have a hard time not losing sight of that fact once the shopping begins. Here are some tips to consider when preparing to find your dream gown!
Time is your Friend
Choosing the right dress can be stressful if you are unprepared. First, start out by giving yourself as much time as possible before the wedding day. Typically, once you find the dress, if you choose to order one instead of buying off the rack, it takes between 4-7 months for the store to receive the dress from the designer. Now, I know what you are thinking…” Why in the world would it take that long?” Shipment dates vary from designer to designer and are dependent on many things like estimated production time, ship time from factory to designer, international holidays, etc. Most designers don’t have warehouses full of dresses ready to be shipped out. Their dresses are handmade by order which makes production times longer. Now, don’t let that time line scare you into buying a dress years in advance. We normally recommend 9 months to a year for the entire process of ordering and multiple fitting appointments. Not every dress takes that long but with weddings being such a stressful time anyways, why not give yourself room to breathe during the process?
The M word…
This next tip goes along with being educated when preparing for your bridal appointment. Price is most of the time the hardest part about shopping for a dress. Whether the bride is paying for the dress herself, with the help of someone else or someone else is paying entirely, a discussion of budget should happen before shopping begins. Most bridal designers don’t include prices of dresses online which does make research a little more difficult but an easy way to find out that information is to do a little more digging.
First, research the bridal stores in and around your area that you could potentially want to visit. Next, research the designers they carry. Search Pinterest, the designer’s website and social media accounts to find ones that fit the look you are going for. After that, feel free to call and visit with the bridal stores that you are still interested in visiting about price ranges of the designers they carry. Once you know the price ranges of the dress styles you are liking, then you can make the decision of how much you are willing or able to spend and or discuss with whomever has offered to pay about how much they are comfortable spending. This process makes the topic of price much easier to approach once you have found the gown!
The Shopping Squad
The last and I believe most important tip I could give any bride to be is to choose their shopping group wisely. Choosing who will accompany you to your dress shopping appointments is very much like choosing who is invited to the wedding. There are certain questions you should ask yourself when making this decision that will make it easier to decide. Here are three that I always recommend asking yourself before inviting anyone to shop with you.
1. Who are the most important people in my life/who are in my bridal party?
2. Who are the people I go to for style advice/Who knows my style best?
3. Who are the people who are most supportive of me and my decisions?
The people in your shopping group should be people that understand your vision for the wedding and know who you are and what you would be looking for in a dress. Never feel pressured to bring people that aren’t most important to you. I recommend bringing no more than 4-5 people maximum! Any more than that and sometimes the bride’s opinions and wants gets lost in the appointment and more often than not, the bride leaves empty handed and confused about what her vision for her wedding day really is.
All in all, your bridal appointment is supposed to be a special experience that every bride should enjoy beginning to end. Be sure to prepare yourself and your group for your shopping adventure to receive the best experience possible and remember…as a bride shopping for your wedding gown, YOU are the one who will be wearing it therefore YOU need to love it. Everybody else will love it because you will be happy on your wedding day.
Searching online is a great place to start, but the only way to see the gorgeous details for yourself is to visit a bridal salon with a large selection of dresses. If you live near Springfield, Missouri, visit by Normans Bridal, a full-service bridal salon. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff can provide recommendations regarding winter wedding dress ideas, styles, fabrics, and colors, and we will assist you with zippers, laces, and buttons to ensure that the appointment runs smoothly. In addition, we would be happy to offer honest feedback to help you narrow down your choices. If you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment, please give us a call at 417-866-9800. With our wide selection of gowns, affordable prices, and helpful consultants, you’re sure to enjoy shopping for your wedding dress at Normans Bridal.