Questions about dress shopping

RedJacks25

I need to get a move-on with dress shopping. I'm going to try to book some appointments in the next coming weeks.

My question is (sorry if this is really dumb), do you have to pay for an appointment? If I don't find a dress, do I just leave the store without paying anything? Or do I pay the employees for their time spent with me?

Also, my mom said she knows that we won't be able to take pictures of the dresses I try on. She used to be a seamstress (20+ years ago), and she said they'd never allow people to take pictures in the store because then they could just go home and make the dresses themselves. Is this true? Do we have to be sneaky if we want to take pictures? Or is this not the case anymore?

MandyMost

The dress appointment is free. If you don't find your dress, you leave the store and pay nothing. It's actually good to understand this, because if you have a pushy consultant they're really going to be telling you you look great in something just to get the sale. 

MOST stores will not allow any photographs until you've purchased the dress. Some stores let you photograph away (I think both Alfred Angelo and David's Bridal had no problem with pictures, but the boutiques didn't allow any photos). However, any store will write down the name of the designer and the style number of the dresses you're considering, so you can go online and get pictures of them. They're not pictures of YOU in the dress, but at least they're pictures of the dress.

melbenso

I was able to take pictures of the dresses I tried on at every bridal salon that I went to, both national chains and local shops.

SmileDamnit

I was able to take pictures without question as well. I even left the store to go have a drink & contemplate and didn't feel pressured in the least to purchase. How strange that some shops don't allow photos...you can find pictures of nearly any dress online so I don't get the "copy" excuse.

lkristenj

I found my dress yesterday and I'm happy to be done looking.

I went to six different stores. 1. A boutique with one designer 2. A large salon with a huge selection of designers 3. An "as is" store selling discontinued samples 4. David's Bridal 5. A consignment shop with 600+ dresses "as is" and 6. Another large salon with a huge selection of designers.

I took photos in all of them. My mother lives 4 hours away from me but thankfully was able to travel to most of my appointments. The only place she didn't go was the bouique for one designer. She brought her camera every time. We took photos with her DSLR camera and with both or cell phones. Even at the place she didn't go, the consultant was more than happy to take photos of me with my point-and-shoot camera so my mom could see the dresses. No one ever said anything about not taking photos. Most of the consultants or attendants at the stores were helpful about photos, even, suggesting angles and ways to stand to make the dress look better.

I guess it just depends. If I wasn't able to take photos, I would have trouble remembering all the dresses and making a decision. I think most consultants understand this and want you to have the best/easiest time of making a decision as possible. They don't get paid unless you buy, so anything to help you buy seems like a good idea in my book.

I also want to add that the 6th place did require a credit card to hold my appointment. It was a $50 fee if I didn't show up. They're a busy location and don't want to waste their consultants' time for people who aren't serious. They also charge a $50 fee for any visit over two times, which goes as a credit toward your dress if you do finally decide to buy from them. This is also to protect their consultants' time.

wandajune6

You shouldn't be charged for trying on dresses! As for photos, I have a ton of hysterical photos of some of the disasters I tried on.

It was a lot of fun actually- some of the dresses were so hysterical that my mom and sister were bent over laughing. And the photos were just great!

RedJacks25

Okay, thanks ladies! I think my first appointment will be at David's Bridal, so I'm hoping I won't run into any photo-taking issues.

I love TK. Always so helpful.

QueerFemme

Davids is typically ok with pictures.  Some other salons that carry designer dresses won't be ok.  I think Davids is ok with it, because their dresses are exclusive to Davids.  So, if you want the dress, you have to go back to Davids to get it.  Other bridal salons carry designers, so in theory, you could go to another salon that carries that designer.  They don't want you to do that.

Dignity100

As far as taking pictures:
David's Bridal - Allowed
Boutique 1 - Allowed
Boutique 2 - Did Not Allow & They cut the designer names out of the gowns (this place was shady for other reasons)
Boutique 3 - Did Not Allow; however they were willing to bend the rules for certain cases (my mom did not go shopping with me so they bent the rules ONLY to dresses I would actually consider).
Boutique 4 - Allowed / encouraged when I told them I'd need to sleep on my decision
Boutique 5 - Allowed / encouraged when I told them I'd need to sleep on my decision

shaylagirl

Alfred Angelo allows photos of the gowns. 

I'm not sure about the veils though.  My bestie did a 'sneak photo' of the veil's edge, because...seriously?  $100+ bucks for a bit of tulle was WAY beyond my budget. 

AA is the only store I have first hand knowledge of.  I didn't go anywhere else. 

Enjoy the shopping experience!!

Do some checking on the boards for some tips and advice for your appointments. 

Like, wear underwear (my own consultants confirmed some women show up commando for dress appointments...WTF?!), take water (you'll want it, I did!) and maybe a light snack for a pick me up.

hyechica81

i went to 4 places davids was  a quick run in run out i was in the area didnt take any pictures tried on 1 dress..

second place was a as is sample consigment shop non of the plus size gowns fit right in my bridal size was allowed lots of pictures

3rd place salon with 4 designers was allowed as many photos ( where i ended up getting my dress

4th place salon with 5 designers was allowed photos as well

CMGragain

Honestly, the pictures we took of the dresses weren't very helpful.  Daughter probably tried on about 15 gowns in five different places.  When she tried on "the one", it was obvious from her stunned reaction that this was an astonishing dress on her.  We didn't need the picture to remind us, and we looked it up on the designer's website to double check.  (It was Demetrios)  We placed the order a few hours later on the phone. Deleted the other photos.  It was no contest.

doeydo

RedJacks25 said:

I need to get a move-on with dress shopping. I'm going to try to book some appointments in the next coming weeks.

My question is (sorry if this is really dumb), do you have to pay for an appointment? If I don't find a dress, do I just leave the store without paying anything? Or do I pay the employees for their time spent with me?  No, you are not obligated to buy anything nor do you have to pay the consultant or the store for anything.  

Also, my mom said she knows that we won't be able to take pictures of the dresses I try on. She used to be a seamstress (20+ years ago), and she said they'd never allow people to take pictures in the store because then they could just go home and make the dresses themselves. Is this true? Do we have to be sneaky if we want to take pictures? Or is this not the case anymore?  Some stores (ie. Kleinfeld's) do not allow you to take pictures of dresses while others are more lenient.  You can certainly ask them if you can.

OHBride85

At the boutique I went to, they were the ones that suggested we take pictures! 

Another boutique I went to tried to get me put down a credit card number when I called to make the appointment and told me if I was a no show, they would charge me $50. 

MadHops21

The salon I ended up buying my dress from had this policy that they needed a credit card on file when making the appointment. If you didn't show up for the appointment, then you would get charged $25. If you didn't cancel within 24 hours, you would get charged. I've never heard that before...but it was a couture salon, so that might be why.

LadyMorvenMacBeth

My FI is going dress shopping tomorrow, and all the salons have a credit card on file. If you didn't show up to the appointment, they charge you £50. But, I guess that makes sense, since the salons are the only couture sari salons in the UK. They only let you take pictures of the ones you are seriously considering.

Lowell14

I went to 3 stores. They were all private salons.

The first was 'no photos',but the girl helping me let me take a photo of 2 dresses was considering. The second shop also let me take photos of the 2 dresses I was considering. They usually have a 'no photo' policy but I asked as my mom lives in a different country and I asked to send her pics.

the 3rd was sktchy! They had signs everywhere: 'please do not a for a discount! Our dresses are competitively priced' (um...no, they aren't...) 'no photos', '25% deposit required to order' in the end, they had nothing worth photographing...

All you can do is ask if they have a policy...or sneak some pics...:)

Mitch617

I went to 3 places: David's bridal and 2 local shops. You absolutely shouldn't pay for an appt or feel obligated to pay the consultant. Sometimes they make a sale, sometimes not. Just be polite and take down the dress numbers if you're not going to buy that day. And be conscious of how long you are taking if you don't think you will buy... You don't want to waste too much of their time. But photos depend on the place. 2/3 places I went to let you take photos, the one I actually bought at wouldn't let me take a photo til after I "said yes to the dress"