Is 8 months enough time to find a dress?

sarah0725

So, I've been putting off doing any serious dress shopping. The reason is that I used to be really fit, but over the past few years of increasing grad school stress, I've gained about 40 pounds, and I'd like to lose as many of them as possible. This fall is a lot less stressful than the past few semesters have been, so I'm thinking that I finally have some time to devote to getting healthy. Currently, I'm thinking that I want to try to work out and fix my eating as much as possible for the rest of 2010, and then start looking for a dress in January for my August wedding.

Is this nuts? How long did you take to find your dress?

AdeleDazeem

I think 8 months is plenty of time.

But this is coming from the girl who hasn't even looked yet and her wedding is under 8 months.

My sister ordered her dress just before Christmas (from a big designer) for her Memorial Day wedding.  It all went perfectly fine.

barbbhoww

I started looking in December, found it in January, ordered then.  It came in May.  You should be okay!

KentuckyKate

My dress was a Maggie Sottero, and they told me they take 7 months unless you pay to expedite it.  In actuality I think it took 5 months.

polichik

I forgot #6, which is that if you have a few gowns that you love equally but want more time, check to see if they're readily available on preowned sites. You can get a dress from there in a month, although I wouldn't push it that far if I had a choice.

Save $ + Reduce, reuse, recycle + Short turnaround = Awesome, as long as you're not totally stuck on one particular gown.

jasmineh7777

Sarah0725 and Poli in one thread?!  SWOON.

polichik

Jasmine, your sig pic is obscenely pretty. For serious

number55

Oh I LOVE looking at wedding dresses, I too will play online shopper if needed.

jasmineh7777

Thanks Poli. I'm going to go stalk your bio now.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

It depends where you go. I had my dress in 9 weeks (they told me 4-6 months), but some girls on m club board seriously had their dresses take 9-10 months to come in.

I found my dress on my first trip (it was the first one I tried on) about a year before my wedding. But again, I've heard some people try on 50-75 dresses, which sounds crazy.

polichik

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_8-months-enough-time-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:02f32684-9d84-4751-aa6a-8dc568389ff4Post:87a04752-82d0-449a-9b01-50e00b07c9f0">Re: Is 8 months enough time to find a dress?</a>:
[QUOTE]It depends where you go. I had my dress in 9 weeks (they told me 4-6 months), but some girls on m club board seriously had their dresses take 9-10 months to come in. I found my dress on my first trip (it was the first one I tried on) about a year before my wedding. <strong>But again, I've heard some people try on 50-75 dresses, which sounds crazy.</strong>
Posted by msmerymac[/QUOTE]

Yeah.... Who does that? *looks around nervously*

My MOH tallied it up, and my final number was over 100. Seriously. Don't do it, Sarah!

reddy123

I might try a few on now, just to see what styles/brands you like. You may like some stuff off the rack, or you may fall in love with something that takes 8 months. Talk to the bridal shops and ask about the honest ship times of the brands you like. That way, when you go in Jan/Feb you will have some idea of what's up.

ETA: it took me one day and three/four shops to decide. Ironically, I chose the first dress I tried on, out of maybe 20 (many of those I tried on just for fun or for my mom).

sarah0725

Sorry I posted and ran, guys! I had to make dinner, and then I was trying to program my DVR to record both DWTS and House, and it is the first time I have ever used a DVR, and I thought it would be intuitive but it totally wasn't and now I feel like I should go out on my lawn and shake my cane at the young parsons as they go by. And I'm not even sure it's recording.

Poli!!! I'm not sure when I'll be back in CA - it might be in March sometime. My brother is coming here in October to save me a trip out. Are you planning on being back in the Midwest anytime soon?

I'm currently thinking a lace A-line dress of some kind, because I tried on a few of those the one time I went shopping at David's Bridal, and I realized that A-line dresses really do flatter your bum, and that I'm a pretty pretty princess who likes lace. I'm also planning on completely removing the train on any dress I get. FMIL is going to handle alterations.

polichik

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_8-months-enough-time-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:02f32684-9d84-4751-aa6a-8dc568389ff4Post:e6e2daf4-fb1b-4566-b894-fd21d0b0d7ec">Re: Is 8 months enough time to find a dress?</a>:
[QUOTE]Sorry I posted and ran, guys! I had to make dinner, and then I was trying to program my DVR to record both DWTS and House, and it is the first time I have ever used a DVR, and I thought it would be intuitive but it totally wasn't and now I feel like I should go out on my lawn and shake my cane at the young parsons as they go by. And I'm not even sure it's recording. Poli!!! I'm not sure when I'll be back in CA - it might be in March sometime. My brother is coming here in October to save me a trip out. Are you planning on being back in the Midwest anytime soon? I'm currently thinking a lace A-line dress of some kind, because I tried on a few of those the one time I went shopping at David's Bridal, and I realized that A-line dresses really do flatter your bum, and that I'm a pretty pretty princess who likes lace. I'm also planning on completely removing the train on any dress I get. FMIL is going to handle alterations.
Posted by sarah0725[/QUOTE]

Depending on where things are at budget-wise, you might want to check out this dress. I've seen it listed for MUCH less than this person is asking. It was NMS, but I tried it on and thought it was gorgeous!

<a href="http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/dresses/13022/Priscilla-of-Boston-Nora-Size-4.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/dresses/13022/Priscilla-of-Boston-Nora-Size-4.html</a>

There was a dress somewhat similar at DB, althoug it had beading and sequins, which were two deal-breakers for me. I think Watters and Wtoo make some a-line lace ones, too! With your sweet style, you might even find something at a website like unique-vintage.com, which would take much less time to get in.

sarah0725

Ooh, that's purdy.

I'm probably around the DB or slighlty more price range budget-wise, but I haven't seen anything on their website that screams at me as the perfect dress. I'm starting to wonder if I'll have to end up putting straps on a strapless dress in order to get everything I want in one dress.

kimheartsscott

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_8-months-enough-time-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:02f32684-9d84-4751-aa6a-8dc568389ff4Post:1fb86d5c-1c41-4e55-902c-4002fb135d7b">Re: Is 8 months enough time to find a dress?</a>:
[QUOTE]Sarah0725 and Poli in one thread?!  SWOON.
Posted by jasmineh7777[/QUOTE]

This is what I was thinking!

I think my dress came in in about 9 days.  But it was also a DB dress so there's that.

sarah0725

I'm definitely thinking pretty seriously about going with David's. So many people look so lovely on this site in DB dresses! I had sort of a weird experience the time I went to get ideas, but I think it was because my personality didn't really gel with the saleslady. She definitely had her own ideas, and she kept plunking this really terrible fascinator on my head. I kept trying to hide it, but she would find it and bring it back! Yeesh.

katiewhompus

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_8-months-enough-time-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:02f32684-9d84-4751-aa6a-8dc568389ff4Post:b6b96d5a-79ae-4f70-aed4-2081010268b7">Re: Is 8 months enough time to find a dress?</a>:
[QUOTE]We planned the whole wedding in less than 5 months. I bought my wedding dress the last week of July 2009 for my 01/01/10 wedding. I got the call that my dress was in on 09/25 (I only remember the exact day because it was my birthday). So I certainly think you have more than enough time if you get cracking. I used David's Bridal. I know some people think they are the devil, but I had a fabulous experience.
Posted by megk8oz[/QUOTE]

Same here. I walked in and told the lady I had no intention of buying that day and she still spent 3 hours with me. When I was waffling between the dress I got and another dress I loved, she found my veil that I love and adore and that sold me on the dress I wound up getting. She was never pushy or sales oriented seeming while I was there.

megk8oz

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_8-months-enough-time-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:02f32684-9d84-4751-aa6a-8dc568389ff4Post:511e60c1-d598-41d0-bb43-649616bfe2b5">Re: Is 8 months enough time to find a dress?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Is 8 months enough time to find a dress? : Same here. I walked in and told the lady I had no intention of buying that day and she still spent 3 hours with me. When I was waffling between the dress I got and another dress I loved, she found my veil that I love and adore and that sold me on the dress I wound up getting. She was never pushy or sales oriented seeming while I was there.
Posted by katiewhompus[/QUOTE]

That's pretty much exactly what happened with me, too. My mom and I figured since it was a "bridal" store, I wouldn't actually be able to afford anything real nice (And figured I'd end up getting a dress through a prom store or something), but she didn't want me to miss out on the "experience" of trying on dresses .... so we went, essentially to play dress up for the day. The sales girl was really nice, and not pushy at all. She spent a good 2 hours with us while we looked at BM dresses, MOB dress, and actual gowns for me ... I actually went back and forth between 2, and adding the veil tipped the scale to the one I went with. And my mom (Who I figured wouldn't go dress shopping until the week before the wedding) actually wound up getting her dress that day, too. I couldn't have asked for a better experience with them.

JennaV26

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_8-months-enough-time-dress?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:02f32684-9d84-4751-aa6a-8dc568389ff4Post:f0bb8d7d-21c3-4f83-9e40-dec3876cc940">Re: Is 8 months enough time to find a dress?</a>:
[QUOTE]I think you could start looking now, but wait to order until January. And, it is far easier to take in a dress that is too big, then try and take out a dress that is too small.
Posted by jasmineh7777[/QUOTE]

This. I ordered my dress in December and it arrived in June for my July wedding. The truth is that you also need to consider whether or not you're going to do bridal portraits. I had two weeks between when my dress arrived to the very last day I could take my portraits without having to place a rush order on the portrait for the wedding. Thankfully I didn't have to have any alterations but if I did it would have been really pushing it.

Just giving you something else to consider!

thesuninherhead

I got my dress 10 days before my wedding, so hey, anything is possible! 

 

(that said, I would not advocate getting a dress ten days before a wedding!). 

 

A lot of bridal stores require you to order months in advance, though- something to consider... and you will have fittings as you get closer if you go that route, so if you lose weight it can be fitted for that.

lharri12

I ordered a Maggie Sottero, and it took 6 months to come in.  8 months should be enough time, but if I were you, I'd start looking at 9-10 months just so you're not rushed to pick something that you don't love.

msange727

welp, i may be in the minority here, but i just ordered my dress in august, and the people at the shop called last thursday and said it was in. so... i think you'll be ok, as long as you're not having a seamstress make it from scratch. (oh and i put off shopping for the same reasons you did - and i think waiting until i felt more comfortable with myself helped a good bit). good luck :]