Long distance dress-shopping?

Re: Long distance dress-shopping?

• JoanE2012 member

  

  September 2013 edited September 2013

  
  

  Aray82 said:

  I'm getting married next October in my hometown, which is a 5-hour plane ride from where I live now. Should I buy my dress here or where the wedding is? I've looked a bit and seen a few that I like, but my mom and sisters really want to look at dresses with me when I'm visiting there for Christmas break. If I buy my dress there, I won't have to worry about taking it on the plane or shipping it out...but on the other hand, I can't afford to fly back and forth for multiple fittings. The styles I'm considering are pretty form-fitting so an accurate fit is top priority for me! One friend who was in a similar situation for her wedding and bought her dress in her hometown told me that since she was long-distance and not able to go by the shop's exact fitting schedule, her dress ended up not fitting quite as well. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Where did you end up buying the dress, how did it go, how did you handle fittings, etc.? Any advice would be much appreciated

  If you cannot afford to fly back for fittings, buy it in your hometown (or vicinity).  It's probably the most expensive dress you'll ever wear....make sure it fits right by going to the fittings.   

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• msuprincess04 member

  

  September 2013

  Go shopping with you mom. Pick out your top favorite dresses, andthen buy it when you get home. That's what I did, and it's worked out great. I had a blast shpping with my mom and friends back home, but bought my dress where live. Or, you can by the dress with your mom and have it shipped to your house and just have it fitted locally. It doesn't have to be fitted where it's bought. As for transportaion, that's a pain, but doable, and worth it to have a great fit.

  "There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness." -Friedrich Nietzsche, "On Reading and Writing"

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• erinlin25 member

  

  September 2013

  definitely agree to go shopping with your mom and sisters, but look at dresses that you potentially could buy back in your hometown so you can have accurate fittings. OR  If you do fall in love with a dress out there, maybe there is a way it can be shipped to you back home (by either the salon or your mom) and you can deal with alterations outside the salon you purchase it from?
  
  I purchased my dress back in my hometown, which was a 4 hr car drive.  Luckily I was able to schedule my fittings around the times I was home for my bridal shower and bachelorette party. And luckily the fittings went smoothly so that was all I needed, but you never know!
  

  
  
  
  

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• LDubHawksFan member

  

  September 2013

  I had very little fittings for my dress but it still takes time. You should plan on having your dress with you leading up to the wedding and taking it home (on the plane).
  I live 2k miles away from my hometown too. I went dress shipping in IA with my family while I was back for something and found my dress. I easily could have taken the dress number with me and ordered it from a local CA dress shop (btw it's illegal for dress shops to not tell you the dress brand and model so don't buy that bs that some feed you), but this shop offered something like 15% off the prove if you ordered within 24 hrs of dress shopping which was like $150. But I went into knowing how much it would cost for them to ship it insured to me ($30) and anticipated that. I was getting married in CA so I wouldn't have to deal with flying with the dress right before. So my message is to either buy it from a local shop or have it shipped to you for fittings and then fly with it to your wedding (or ship it back and have your mom get it steamed that week before).

  
  

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• Majelin86 member

  

  September 2013

  msuprincess04 said:

  Go shopping with you mom. Pick out your top favorite dresses, andthen buy it when you get home. That's what I did, and it's worked out great. I had a blast shpping with my mom and friends back home, but bought my dress where live. Or, you can by the dress with your mom and have it shipped to your house and just have it fitted locally. It doesn't have to be fitted where it's bought. As for transportaion, that's a pain, but doable, and worth it to have a great fit.

  
  I bought my dress in a different city than where I live and am getting it fitted locally and it's working out great! That is definitely a good option if you want to buy a dress while shopping with your mom.

   

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• Aray82 member

  

  September 2013

  lwoehlk said:

  I had very little fittings for my dress but it still takes time. You should plan on having your dress with you leading up to the wedding and taking it home (on the plane). I live 2k miles away from my hometown too. I went dress shipping in IA with my family while I was back for something and found my dress. I easily could have taken the dress number with me and ordered it from a local CA dress shop (btw it's illegal for dress shops to not tell you the dress brand and model so don't buy that bs that some feed you), but this shop offered something like 15% off the prove if you ordered within 24 hrs of dress shopping which was like $150. But I went into knowing how much it would cost for them to ship it insured to me ($30) and anticipated that. I was getting married in CA so I wouldn't have to deal with flying with the dress right before. So my message is to either buy it from a local shop or have it shipped to you for fittings and then fly with it to your wedding (or ship it back and have your mom get it steamed that week before).

  
  Good to know! My gut has been to have it with me for fittings but friends have all been saying "OMG What if something goes wrong or it gets lost in shipping or damaged on the plane?!" I'm fine with paying for shipping insurance if it means that I'll be able to make all the fittings and my dress will fit. Also, I had no idea that some dress places would try to withhold the info about the brand and model--that's nuts! I had friends come with me to take pics while I was trying on dresses and they snapped shots of the tags on each one as well.

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• Aray82 member

  

  September 2013

  Thanks, ladies! Having it shipped back to me or bought locally has been my gut all along. My friends have been giving me worst-case scenarios to think about with shipping and/or plane travel, but I honestly think I'll have way more peace of mind knowing that I'll be able to do all the needed fittings and the dress will look great...as opposed to knowing that it's safe and secure in one place, but may not end up being the best fit. 

   

  Also, the consultant at David's Bridal was telling me that if you're a bride, you can call the airline and they will let you keep it in the captain's cabin with his suit?? I haven't looked into this, but it may also have just been a way for her to convince me to buy the dress there...

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• SomethingBeautiful08 member

  

  September 2013

  I've heard that rumor about the airlines putting wedding dresses in a cabin. I would double, triple check that, and probably get it in writing. 
  

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• JoanE2012 member

  

  September 2013

  Aray82 said:

  Thanks, ladies! Having it shipped back to me or bought locally has been my gut all along. My friends have been giving me worst-case scenarios to think about with shipping and/or plane travel, but I honestly think I'll have way more peace of mind knowing that I'll be able to do all the needed fittings and the dress will look great...as opposed to knowing that it's safe and secure in one place, but may not end up being the best fit. 

   

  Also, the consultant at David's Bridal was telling me that if you're a bride, you can call the airline and they will let you keep it in the captain's cabin with his suit?? I haven't looked into this, but it may also have just been a way for her to convince me to buy the dress there...

  I highly doubt this.  I talked to a flight attendant with United and she said they used to put them in the regular closet, but the dresses are so heavy that they kept breaking the rod.  She said they will no longer hold any dresses in the closet and it has to go in the overhead bin.

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