Who did you bring dress shopping?

cusi229

na

mary9449

I'm bringing the most important women to me. My Mom, my grandma, my sister and my FMIL. They all have the same taste (which is similar to mine) and there won't be drama with them. Keep it small and laid back. It should be special and not stressful!

baystateapple

I brought my mom, my sister, and my MIL, because she has three sons, no daughters, and always wanted to go.  We had a blast.

ETA: And no, it didn't take away from time with my mom.  I was glad to have my MIL there and she was happy I invited her.

hlq2011

First time, I brought my mom.

Second time, I brought my stepmother and aunt (my maid of honor).

I brought my FMIL with me to my first fitting.  She wasn't available to come when I went the first time, or I'd probably have invited her.

I don't think, unless your FMIL is a drama queen, that bringing her will take away from the time with your mom.

sklink0486

I brought just my mom. I did invite my MOH too, but she wasn't able to make it that day. FMIL lives in the Philippines so that couldn't happen, but let me just say that if she had been there, I could have seen it going one of 3 ways: 1) either i finally try on a dress and she lovesss it and I am happy cause she is hard to please or 2) I find a dress I love and she hates it or 3) she finds a dress she loves on me and I hate it. She is a very opinionated woman because she is really into fashion and thinks she knows what's best for someone, and being from a different culture, etc. her taste somewhat differs from mine. So bringing her to the appointment could have been a nightmare for me. 

If your FMIL is just one to sit back and watch everything and have an opinion when she is asked or just there to be supportive and have the experience, then I think that's fine. But I would think it may take away from your mother's experience IF she is anything like my FMIL.

nurse.misty

I went dress shopping before we were "officially" engaged and FMIL didn't know we were planning anything yet, so it was just me and my mom. Otherwise I would have definitely invited her. I don't think it takes anything away from your mom to have FMIL there. You could still do lunch or a pedicure or something with your mom for some one on one time if you want.

xyrius

Even though I invited my mom, FMIL and FSIL but only my Mom could make it.

FMIL did come later to see the dress, she wanted to be part of it because she has two sons.

thesequel

I only brought my mom.  FMIL is really nice but is really opinionated and she and my mom do not get along.  I went looking at dresses with her when we were visiting, but didn't try anything on (wrong undergarments!).

I also wanted some special time with my mom because I live halfway across the country.  I invited my best friend (who is like family) but she wasn't able to get the time off.

When she cried...I knew I had found the right dress!

[Deleted User]

The first time I went with my Mom. After I had narrowed it down to 2 dresses, I took my MIL and SIL along with me since my Mom nor my MOH were able to make it.

HockeyFan4

i ended up only going to one store (bought my dress at the first store @ the first appointment)

I invited a crapton of people...my mom, my SIL (who is my MOH), my cousin (who is my BM), my FMIL, and all three of my mom's sisters....only one was able to come.  (probably a good thing because the one who came is the least opinionated)..

at anyrate i think it depends on your personality.  I knew that in the long run i really didn't care what they thought and i was willing to say this is the one i want, regardless of their opinions.


i know one aunt loved one dress that just wasn''t for me...and my SIL at one point exclaimed "OH my god i think i am going to cry!" ...i just looked at her and said "Well don't, i hate it"

my mom helped me try on every dress in the dressing room, so we got a moment alone before everyone else saw me.  it was fine....and my FMIL (my FI is also an only child) loved being involved.

mica178

I went to a few different stores.  The first two were just with my mom, and the point of those visits was to figure out what dress shapes I liked.  The last was with my mom, sister and MOH.  That's when I picked out my dress.

I wouldn't go with more than 3 people.  It was overwhelming hearing everyone's opinion.  I can only imagine throwing in more opinions with a larger group.  Ick.

laurenclaire1386

My mom and my childhood nanny (one of my mom's friends) were with me. I only went once.

Habs2Hart

I took my mom, and 4 of my 5 bridesmaids.  They were an awesome group. I wouldn't have normally taken that many people, but I knew they'd be honest, but they wouldn't push what they wanted on me and they'd let me make all the decisions.  They were awesome and we had a blast. 

I didn't invite my FMIL because my mom was really looking forward to it.  She wasn't involved in my brother's wedding and never saw my SIL's dress until the day of, and my FMIL has been great and keeps saying it's my mom's day as much as mine.  She's sweet and has made the process a lot easier.

Plus none of our family has met yet.  I think it would depend on the dynamic.

tpender13

The first time I went I took my best friend/MOH and H's step-sister. The second time, when I actually bought a dress, I went with just the SS. My mom lives a couple hours away so she COULD have made it, but neither of us were sentimental about it. MOH couldn't make it the second time, FMIL lives too far away, and I had the cash to spend on the dress and wanted to get it done ASAP since we were having a relatively short engagement.

I almost went by myself, but it was nice to have someone there at least to take pictures.

hoffse

Breaking the mold here, but I brought my mom and my dad.  My dad and I are super close and he makes funny comments like, "that one reminds me of a cupcake..." or "why do wedding dresses always make bride's 'front part' look like the prow of a ship?"  I knew that once he didn't have a comment to make like this it would be right.  I know the salespeople were surprised that a guy was in there, but honestly half of the people who will see me in that dress are men and I didn't want it to be something that a guy would find ugly or trashy-looking.  Ultimately all three of us have very similar opinions on what looks good, and the best clothes I have are things that all 3 of us have agreed on.

[Deleted User]

I only went to one store, and brought my mom and MOH. We invited my stepdad but he got all "No way! That's girly stuff, I'm going to the car shop" on us so he just dropped us off. Which is funny, because later he insisted on picking out my necklace to match the dress.
 
I would have taken my MIL and SIL, but they live far away.

Wiscisbliss

I went with my mom and grandma.  We had a really good time and all knew right away when we found the right dress! 

I went to my fitting alone. 

courtney1188

I brought my mom and my closest friend, who is also my cousin and a BM. I wanted opinions and those closest to me to be there, but I didn't want to get TOO many opinions. And not to sound mean to her but my FMIL has this thing she does all the time where she makes a joke followed by a long laugh about lots of things, from us having save the dates to our venue. And I can totally see her doing that about a dress I love and making me feel unsure about it.

aleighk1

The first time I went was just for fun so I brought my two friends and my cousin. I really regret not bringing my mom because the second time I went, I had to go by myself because FI and I went out of town and I went while we were there. I bought my dress there and wish my mom would've came with me.

kristinmc8

I had my mom, dad and MOH. My FMIL is not really that interested in shopping and my fiance didn't think I should ask her, so I didn't. She also has a daughter who is already married, so she's been through all this before. I would say if you are close to her and comfortable with her being there then certainly invite her.

kristinmc8

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_did-bring-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:ea909a5f-9de4-4aaf-a854-2a2898db162ePost:c111f33c-9dc7-44db-8b7c-383fa9da37c6">Re: Who did you bring dress shopping?</a>:
[QUOTE]Breaking the mold here, but I brought my mom and my dad.  My dad and I are super close and he makes funny comments like, "that one reminds me of a cupcake..." or "why do wedding dresses always make bride's 'front part' look like the prow of a ship?"  I knew that once he didn't have a comment to make like this it would be right.  I know the salespeople were surprised that a guy was in there, but honestly half of the people who will see me in that dress are men and I didn't want it to be something that a guy would find ugly or trashy-looking.  Ultimately all three of us have very similar opinions on what looks good, and the best clothes I have are things that all 3 of us have agreed on.
Posted by hoffse[/QUOTE]

Same here!! My dad does exactly the same thing, and once he didn't have anything funny or silly to say, I knew that was my dress :)

peanutty2

1st time - my bff/bm.  she is one of the few people i'm super comfy shopping with, would give me honest but nice feedback, and she tried on bm dresses too

2nd time - my mom, FMIL, FSIL/bm, cousin/bm - not a fan of that many people watching me but it worked out for everyone to go at once, both moms felt "special" to be part of it, and the bms tried on dresses too

3rd time - just my mom, it was during the week, i wanted to try on one more dress (the one i ended up buying) and i didn't want to go alone... plus good chance for it to be just me and my mom

i'd say do whatever your comfortable with... you can always go wtih your mom and sis the 1st time and bring your FMIL the next time... have fun!

jemmini6

I brought my mom, my sister (MOH) and my friend (BM).  I invited my FMIL because she has 3 boys, so she'd never get to do the dress shopping thing, but she lives 3 hours away and couldn't come up the weekend I had planned to go.  I did show her my dress as soon as it came in though.

sarahmi5308

1st time - I went with my mom and 2 sisters
2nd- mom and sister
3rd time- mom and grandma (bought my dress!!)

My mom made it clear she did not want my FMIL invited to dress shop (she has a daughter). They are nice to eachother, but my mom really dislikes her. They both have very strong personalities so I think there would have been too many opinions, and disagreements. I chose to keep it drama free!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

Just my mom, but that's because our families live out of town and my mom happened to be visiting about a year before my wedding. If I had to go a second time (I found the dress the first time) I would have taken my 2 BMs.

bonnyandtim

0

I saw a dress I liked on David's website. When my mom got home from work, I showed it to her & I bought it.

leia1979

I went one time with my mom, the other three times I went by myself. I preferred to mostly shop on weekdays when the stores were less crowded.

snwilson0416

I've been twice with my mom, once with my MOH, and once with my FMIL. For me, it was really important that the first time just be me and my mom.

cndycne2005

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_did-bring-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:ea909a5f-9de4-4aaf-a854-2a2898db162ePost:2a9b7721-b1de-4a51-99c1-612f9d7c071f">Re: Who did you bring dress shopping?</a>:
[QUOTE]I brought my FI. Yes it is unusual but he is very opinionated and I wanted to get something we both loved. 
Posted by spikeinc[/QUOTE]

Same here.

musicxstore

I brought my FMIL (my mom isn't exactly the most helpful person) and three friends, one of which is my wedding planner. (There's nothing like the opinions of three gay men, haha). However, the woman working at the boutique ended up picking out THE dress at random! She brought it to me and said "I'm bringing this to you because it's in your size and I want to see if you like the silouhette." I absolutely loved it! I almost cried, my FMIL teared, and so did my wedding planner (he's been best friends with the FI for almost twelve years). It was a great experience after going to several stores where the service sucked.  

tenofcups4me

The first time I got married I went with my mother and father to all the stores. When DH and i got married, I went with my mother and sister -- I wasn't buying a wedding gown, just a regular gown, so it didn't have the same emotional impact and no need to bring dad.