Dress Shopping

amontano13

I'm going for the 1st time tonite! Any advice??

emilyb213

Ah, dress shopping is so fun!! Here are some tips:

Wear a strapless bra and full coverage undies.

Don't wear a lot of makeup so it doesn't smudge all over the sample dresses.

Bring a bottle of water with you, trying on dresses gets hotter than you'd think.

Bring a pair of heels with you. Even if you're not planning on wearing them for the wedding, a lot of the dresses are pretty long and having on heels will give you a better idea of the lines of the skirt.

Take a camera and ask if you're allowed to take pictures.

Have fun!!

Sjmiller418

everything emily said!
Have fun and good luck finding a your dress!

anastassiiat

What Emily said!

Also, if you plan on wearing your hear up for the wedding it might be a good idea to wear it up for the appointment, so that you get the whole look.

Good luck!

amontano13

Thanks!!

SB1512

Hi OP.  If you are going with others, take their opinion into consideration, but make sure that you, first and foremost, are happy with your purchase.  There are several to-be and former brides on the message boards that post about dress regret because they chose a dress they didn't really like, but either their mom, grandmother, MOH, etc really pulled for them to get it.  Also even if you have a particular style in mind, maybe branch out and try something you weren't thinking of, just to see how it looks.  One of the biggest obstacles I dealt with dress shopping was how ugly everything looked at hangers stacked up one after another.  At the first bridal salon I went to I picked out 2 dresses to try on because I thought everything else didn't look nice.  Thankfully I had a great consultant and once she knew what I wanted pulled 8 more dresses for me and ultimately the one I ended up buying!  Good luck and have fun!

cnf2013

Water, definitiely. 

Be open. The first salon I went to the owner who was the only one there at the time and was going to also be my consultant was busy with a bride in crisis, so I had to pull things for myself. I liked maybe two things. She pulled me like eight or nine more I passed over that ended up looking really nice on me and fit what I was looking for. 

I second a strapless bra and full coverage undies. I actually stopped to buy a pair on my way because I only have ones with crazy colors and prints and didn't want to look silly. Though my mom ended up being the one in the dressing room with me, so it was fine. 

I also agree with skipping makeup. I was sweating pretty good by the end of everything. The second store's a/c wasn't working right, so any make up I wore ran anyways. 

rooney2012

I agree with PP.

Bring a pony tail band along in case you want to see what your hair looks like up and down in the dress.

Also, even though my family was reserved with their opinions, I could sense what they were feeling and had a difficult time choosing a gown. I ended up going to salons by myself to get a feel for what I like and invited them to see my top choices. Even if you are bringing guests today, keep that in mind bc you can always sched more appts

If you're on the fence about a gown, sleep on it.

And happy shopping!!

ems27

Everything PPs have said!  And even if you think you definitley want a ballgown, try on a few other silhouettes.  I knew I wasn't going to get a mermaid but wanted to try one on- because really, when else would I be able to?

I did go with primarily ballgowns and a-lines since I knew I'd end up with one of those, but throwing in a couple completely different ones can help "cleanse your palate" a bit in between similar dresses.  (worked for me, at least! That helped me decide that ball gowns were what I wanted, not drop-waist)

rooney2012

I just thought of a few more things...
Some gowns you pull over your head, some you step into... so if you have your up it may not last. I wore light makeup so that I still felt pretty but didn't ruin any gowns. And I also wore dangling earrings so that I could see how it went with the dress. It made a big difference to me I felt naked with bare shoulders, hair up, and studs. When I brought along my dangling earrings, I felt much better!
Also, be prepared for the staff to adorn you with sashes, headpieces and veils. Make sure your hair is fresh and that you check the pricetags of the things they put on you. I fell in love with a sash before finding out that it costs $400.

cnf2013

Yes to everything rooney says. I wore my hair in a low messy bun because I want a low up-do for my wedding. It got super rumpled pulling dozens of dresses over my head. But I would just yank it out and redo it every few dresses. I got veils and headpieces and sashes thrust at me a lot, so that too. I like the idea of bringing some jewelry. I didn't do that. But I did wear heels of a similar height that I plan to wear day of so I could get a sense for the actual look of the dress versus my height.

katiereith

The best advice I got was try it on even if you think you hate it. I thought that the dress I ended picking out looked awful on the hanger. It ended up being the one that I fell in love with and picked.

SB1512

Oh also, if you happen to find a dress you love and think might be the one, ask about a general idea of alteration costs, as that can often get forgotten about in your budget.  If your dress has a lot of layers, hemming can be expensive, so also find out if the designer allows for your dress to be ordered with a custom hem because it can save you so much money in alteration costs.  Not saying it should make or break you buying a gown, but if you know ahead of time a general idea you can be sure to budget for perhaps pricey alteration costs.

SB1512

And one more thing.  Sorry, I keep remember stuff from when I went back in March.  If you have a max number you want to spend (inlcuding alterations), make sure you tell your consultant that before you try on any dresses.  One salon I went to the woman helping me asked me right off the bat and would only pull dresses for me that were within my price range.  Another salon didn't ask and just started having me try on dresses.......I glanced at one of the price tags and it was a $4,000 dress, $2,500 over my budget!  Thankfully I didn't fall in love with that dress!

amontano13

All of these things I never even thought about! Thank you all so much for the great advice! Im a lil nervous but really excited!