7 Tips When Shopping for Wedding Dresses

I had the best weekend shopping for wedding dresses with Hailey, my future daughter-in-law and her family.  I have never done this before and it was quite a fun experience.  Now I am passing on 7 tips when shopping for wedding dresses to you!

 

7 Tips When Shopping for Wedding Dresses

1.  You must have an appointment

This isn’t like regular dress shopping.  You make an appointment in advance so the store can have a personal attendant with each bride.

They assign a dressing room and and a “viewing” area if you will for the family to sit and then see the bride in a large mirror as she tries on the each dress.

The assistants are very good at their job and they actually go into the dressing room and help get the dresses on, off, zipped, etc.

2. Be on time, or early!

We were early to every appointment and all but one store let Hailey start right away or when the attendant was available.  There was only one store that made us wait until the appointment time.  They were a touch snooty.  The other stores were fabulous.

3. Take your time finding what you like

When Hailey made her appointments they usually asked what types of dresses she wanted to try.  I am not sure that Hailey knew exactly what she wanted.  They were more than willing to get whichever dress she wanted to try.  In fact a lot of the stores had her go around and tag the ones she wanted to try by putting a colored ring on the hanger.  Then as she moved a long the attendant would go out to the shop and pick up the dresses she had chosen.

By the end of the day Hailey knew what type of dress she liked and then tried only that type on.  It became a more narrowed search.

4. Alterations – ask questions

Wow!  What a crazy ride alterations are and it is funny that each bride tries on the dresses that are either way too big, way too small or that just about fit.  The attendant uses clips in the back if the dress is too big so you can see how it would look if it did fit.

But the best thing is how they can alter a dress to be unique to the bride.  For example if the dress has a zipper in the back but she would like a corset back they can do that.  If the dress has a satin belt and it is a cream color they can change it to be a color you want or take it off or what ever you want.  It really is amazing.  Of course it all costs money but it can be done if needed.  I would have never known this if Hailey hadn’t started asking the questions.

5. Ask about storing the dress

This really isn’t a shopping tip but it is something I learned while shopping.  Many of the shops will store the dress for you if you don’t have a place to store it.   It thought this was a great service to offer.

6. Have them write down the style and name of the dress

If you really like a particular dress have the attendant write it down on the card you filled out at their store and on a card for you to take.  All of the dresses start to blurr after several shops and many dresses have been tried on.  Many of the shops allow you to take photos but some don’t.  If you really liked one from that shop you need to have the details written down so you can remember it if you want to purchase from them.

 7. Have fun and enjoy your experience

This is the most important tip of all.  There is no use getting stressed when you are supposed to enjoy your shopping time.  You are surrounded by family and it is all about you.  So go for it and have fun!

and one more just because…

8.  Wear shoes that you can take off and put on easily

Almost every shop we went to had us removing our shoes.  If you are going from store to store it is much easier if you wear shoes that can be removed  and put back on easily!

I hope you have enjoyed these 7 tips when shopping for wedding dresses.  If you like this post please share with your friends.  You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!