Start your wedding dress shopping experience in the right way, with these top tips to consider before and during your search for 'the one'!
We would like to welcome you to the dreamy world of wedding fashion. It is a wondrous place filled with endless possibilities, beautiful dresses and princess-like experiences. But for some, this fresh reality can be bewildering, and full of unanswered questions. In order to help new brides-to-be's, Laura herself decided to step in front of the camera and share her Top Tips for Wedding Dress Shopping in 2021. Essential advice that will guarantee a flawless browse & buy, without all the stress and heartache.
Watch the video below and discover how you can have the best wedding dress shopping experience ever, with expert tips from Laura.
Wedding Dress Shopping in 2021
1. Do Your Homework
Before you book your wedding dress appointment, take a look through the website and social media of your chosen shop, and decide if they're right for you. Also, see if they stock the designers that you're interested in.
2. Look into How Much the Dresses Are
If your chosen wedding dress shop shares the prices of its gowns online, brilliant, take a note of them and make sure that the ones you like fit in with your budget. If the shop does not share prices online, give them a call and ask about the specific styles you like. That way there's no nasty surprises when you arrive in-store!
3. Shop Local
Wedding dress designers offer exclusivity to their retailers, which means that another shop down the round from them cannot start selling the same dresses or label. What this means for you is that if you shop locally, you'll see a wider variety of styles and brands, compared to a shopping trip to the next nearest town. Sounds strange, but true!
4. Book Your Appointment by Phone
Contacting the wedding dress shop personally will give you a better feel for their customer service, and give you the evidence that their personality on social media is the same as in IRL. You'll also be able to ask specific questions, and possibly book a time that isn't necessarily available via a standardised booking form. You will also have the opportunity to ask about the sizing of their gowns.
5. Consider Who Your Bride Tribe is
When embarking on your first wedding dress shopping experience, choose one or two trusted friends/family members who will give you calm, useful advice. Otherwise, if you bring a huge army of loved ones along, you may start to get confused with all the opinions flying around. You can always invite lots of people to further appointments when choosing bridal accessories for example.
6. Check Beforehand to See How Many People You Can Bring To Appointments
Some shops have a limited capacity (especially at the moment), so if you are planning on bringing 4 or more people along - check before to see if it's going to be OK. Nobody wants one bridesmaid waiting outside in the cold...
7. Be Prepared to Wear a Facemask
We should all still be wearing facemasks when near others, and this is certainly the case when visiting a wedding dress shop. So be prepared to keep your face mask on the entire time during your appointment. If you feel this will spoil the experience, wait until after the 21st of June, when restrictions will (hopefully) be lifted.
8. Be Aware of a Shop's Customer Service In-Store
A shop may be lovely on the phone, and on their social media, but in person it could be another matter. This is not the end of the world if all you want is to simply to come away with a dress. But it's important to notice how they treat you because unless you're buying off-the-peg, you will be having a relationship with this shop over the next few months. And it's good to know if they are trustworthy, and friendly.
9. Don't Worry About Your Size, Weight etc
It's important to not get hung up on your size, or worry about your weight. Your wedding dress shop exists to find you your dream dress. They are there to make you feel good, so remove that feeling that you will be judged, or made to feel anything other than beautiful.
10. Don't Dismiss a Style of Gown, Just Because of One Dress
While trying on wedding dresses, it's important to try on a variety of silhouettes in order to see what works best for you. If you try on a particular style, say a ballgown for example, and it doesn't look right, don't dismiss it forever. That dress may not have been the right one for you. There are many different variations of each silhouette, so remain open to all of them.
11. Be Nice
We all find it very easy to say what's bad about something, but imagine putting the same amount of effort into being nice about something, or someone. The job of a bridal stylist is a hard one, but extremely rewarding. We are finding girls their dream wedding dress, to wear on their biggest day, and that is a huge honour. But sometimes, we just can't find the right one for you, it happens. And your stylist will go home almost as disappointed as you. So, why not, instead of sharing on social how annoyed you are that you didn't find your dress, praise your stylist's effort in trying to help you. Just imagine how that will make her feel, and how it will inspire her to find that dream dress for the next girl who walks through the door.