Shopping for a dress in a different state than I live in?

orangjul

I am not getting married until May 2013 but am starting to think about shopping for a dress.  I live in Colorado and am visiting my family in Maryland in late April.  I would like to include my mom, sister and best friend (who all live in MD) in shopping for a dress, so I'd like to start shopping while I am in town.

I am not sure where to start at all.  How do I figure out what bridal shops to go to?  I am not familiar with any in the area my family lives (not that I am in CO either).  I don't want to go into some place and find out it's too expensive or doesn't suit my taste. 

And on top of it, is it a bad idea to buy a dress from a store in another state?  I am not going to fly home to MD for 2-3 fittings.  And BTW, I am getting married in Florida! 

Maggie0829

Where in Maryland will you be visiting?  I am from the Baltimore area so I could give you some names of shops.  You could also post the question on the Maryland board to get some more answers of great bridal stores.

As for purchasing a dress in another state...I would first ask the bridal salons that you will be going to how they handle something like this.  SInce you aren't getting married in Maryland then the best thing that the shop could do would be to ship you the dress.  You could also shop around in Maryland, make a decision and then buy the dress you like back home in Colorado (call shops around your town to see what designers they carry, etc).  Since you will either have the dress shipped to or purchased in Colorado have the fittings done in Colorado.  Most posters on here recommend that you find a local seamstress that you trust to do your alterations...they are usually better and less expensive then going through a bridal salon.

orangjul

My family lives North of Baltimore, but we'd be willing to travel a little ways (under 2 hours).

I have used a seamstress here in the small town that I live in and she was reasonably priced.  There aren't any bridal salons close by (would have to travel 90+ minutes) so probably using her would be my best bet. 

I talked to one salon in Towson, Gamberdella, and they said they would recommend I come in for one fitting and do the rest in Colorado with someone local.  She said I could come in at Christmas - this seemed odd though since that is 5 months before my weddings.  Isn't the first fitting supposed to be around 2 months out? 

QueerFemme

I would try to find a few of the designers you like online... then, look at which shops in the area you will be visiting that carry those designers. Then, start reading the YELP reviews for those shops.

Maggie0829

Gamberdella is a nice salon.

I bought my dress from Amanda Ritchey's in Fallston.  They have a great selection of designers and the staff is really nice and easy to work with.  Their website can be found through google as well. 

Betsy Robinson is a very well known salon in this area.  They are located off of Reisterstown Road.  You can look them up on google to see their website.  They carry a large variety of designers with many different price points.

As far as when Gamberdella said to come in for the first fitting.  The first fitting is trying the dress on and making sure it is the right one.  I am sure they would rather you sign off on it instead of shipping a possible wrong dress across the country.  Once you okay the dress (that it is the right one) you can always take it back home with you to Colorado on the plane..  When my dress came in around Christmas I went in to try it on, not have the seamstress look at it, just to make sure it was right.

orangjul

My sister went with a friend to Betsy Robinson and she said it was not my style or my budget at all.  Her friend got a big fancy ball gown and I am looking for just the opposite - I'm looking for very simple since I am getting married on the beach (I plan on being barefoot!).  I would love to spend under $500.  Do you think Amanda Ritchey's would have anything like that at all?  Or should I just give up and go straight to David's Bridal?

chickenbut143

Small world...I'm in colorado too, getting married in FL.  I found my dress at Davids Bridal in the springs and have my fittings up in Arvada where I found an amazing seamstress.   

ElisabethJoanne

Finding bridal salons was strangely hard for me. They weren't all online, weren't all in the phone book. I think yelp was the best source, though I ended up using the yellow pages. Larger public libraries have yellow pages from all over the country, or you can have someone in MD send you the appropriate pages.

As for price and style, some salons put their price range on their websites. You should be able to call with your price point and get a straight answer at the others. As for style, get an idea of what designers you like, or what styles and, again, call and ask if they carry those. The largest not-David's salon in this region carries only one dress with long sleeves, for example. A smaller salon likewise told me an appointment wasn't worth anyone's time if I insisted on a long-sleeved dress.

ccarrion77

If you're willing to travel you have to stop by Cameo in Glen Burnie! Make sure you see Gina, she was incredible! Great selection! Found my prefect dress in 15 minutes!

ErinW1912

I live in CO as well, the first shopping experience is all about finding what you like and looks good on you and then you can go to other places with other dress that are similar to to ones you like. I found my dress at the first place but it took 2 hours b/c i am super picky. I still wanted to make sure it was the dress so I went to a few other places and then realized that I kept getting drawn back to maggie sottero dresses so then I looked on maggie sottero's website and found salons that carried the designer and tried on a few more dresses until going back to the original store. So if you find a designer that you like you can then look on the desingers website and find stores in CO that carries them. If they do not have the exact dress you want but carry the desinger they can order the dress-that is what is happening with my bridesmaids dresses. Depending on where you live in CO I would reccommend going to Dora Grace in FC Timiry is amazing