How far in advance to purchase a dress?

kellybeans14 · October 2013

I was wondering how early you ladies purchased (or are planning to purchase) your gown? I think I have found the one, but we are planning for a year away. Is this standard?

(I am also afraid I will keep looking at dresses!!)

doeydo · October 2013

If you found "the one", you can buy it now if you want. A year in advance isn't that far ahead, IMO.

ameraznhuney · October 2013

Most bridal timelines suggest 1 year to 9 months out from your wedding. If you're getting a nice dress from like a boutique or other bridal store (not David's Bridal, though I'm not knocking it), then I'd stick with that timeline because it can take up to 6 months to get a dress after you order it. I bought mine about a year out. It also gives you more time to get fittings done if you need to. So, as PP said, if you found "the one"..then go ahead and buy it!!

ETA: spelling

manateehugger · October 2013

I bought mine a year out.

Really, after 9 months you start to limit (some but not all) of your options for designers. If you love and want to wear it, going for it! Just don't keep looking after you put money down! There are a bazillion beautiful dresses out there - you will always see something you love. But just remember that you love your dress too and how you felt in it.

After I got my dress, I started wasting time by looking at other wedding-related stuff instead of dress - flowers, invitations, decor, etc. Just find something new to obsess about if nothing else haha.

kellybeans14 · October 2013

Thanks ladies! I think I am going to go for it, and try to ignore all the dress-related stuff going forward!

lauracutter · October 2013

I got mine at 10 months out. It takes time for a dress to come in, so I'd recommend starting to look at about a year. You don't want to have to rush or be limited.

rakkaya87 · October 2013

I bought mine 8 months out and it should arrive in December (3 months before my March wedding). I dont think an additional 4 months will matter, if anything, you have more opportunity for more fittings! Just consult with the alterations dept and ensure that you have unlimited fittings (I do, and that made me feel better)

KiMA3 · October 2013

I started trying on dresses at the 1.5 year mark because I had so many in mind and I wanted to narrow the list down significantly before I brought anyone along with me to any of the salons. This was a good idea because many of the ones I thought I loved either looked awkward on me, out of place for our venue, or just didn't look right.

That being said, one of the dresses I wanted was going to be featured at a designer trunk show in my area, so I HAD to try it on, and I initially had the intention of putting it on my "list", at least I was able to try it on and determine whether it looked good, right? I could always order it later.

The funny thing was, I was having THE worst day before I went to my appointment. It also took me nearly 2 hours to take the bus from downtown in my big city to the suburbs. I almost wanted to cancel my appointment but I knew I wouldn't be able to try this dress on until the trunk show came back or until it became a regular sample in stores. I'm glad I went, because I fell in LOVE with this dress. None of the other 20-30 dresses even compared. I bought it right away. By the time it arrives my wedding will still be a year away but I'm glad I found something that I love!

mbrooke2008 · October 2013

kellybeans14 said:

I was wondering how early you ladies purchased (or are planning to purchase) your gown? I think I have found the one, but we are planning for a year away. Is this standard?

(I am also afraid I will keep looking at dresses!!)

It also depends on how much altering will be needed and if you plan on doing bridal portraits. If you have your dress earlier, you can plan your bridal portraits according to the weather. I did mine in August in Texas and it was miserably hot outside. If I had my dress earlier, I could've done it before the heat really hit. I got engaged on Christmas Eve, bought my dress late December / Early January (it was the only thing I could do at the time, we were late to set a date), my dress was ready late May (then needed alterations which took June&July, and then I did bridals in August and was married in October.

katieg520 · October 2013

I think a year out is perfect!

CLI242009 · October 2013

Bought mine back in July of 2012. I'm from Cali and my parents and best friend is from there too. I didn't think I would be able to make another trip out to Cali before the wedding (I'm not in NY). So just in case we went dress shopping. I found my dress.

When you find "the one" I would go with your gut and get it. You just have to remember not to look at anymore dresses after that.

JCbride2015 · October 2013

Along those lines-- how long did it actually take you all to shop for and choose the dress? And did you shop at a lot of different stores, or stick with just one? I live near NYC so my options are dizzying. I'm 1.5 years out now.

rakkaya87 · October 2013

JCBride2014 said:

Along those lines-- how long did it actually take you all to shop for and choose the dress? And did you shop at a lot of different stores, or stick with just one? I live near NYC so my options are dizzying. I'm 1.5 years out now.

I highly recommend staying away from RK Bridal in midtown!! I went there twice to try on my specific dress I had in mind.... the owner gave me a price of $1700 for the dress and $300 for the bolero. That was way over my budget.... I went again to try on others, and the lady helping me that time told me my original dress was actually $1700 for jacket AND bolero together. ALSO that because I am 6ft tall , that I would need to order extra fabric for $200 and that alterations were $350. They guaranteed I would not find the dress at a lower price and told me to tell them if i see it cheaper anywhere else because they have an agreement with the designer to be the best price. It seemed really sketch to me, and I already had an appt at another store in NJ (Bijou Bridal in paramus) and when I went there, I asked the price of my dream dress just so I can get it out of my mind. The price there was $1500.... the dress fit me perfectly straight down to the ground even with a petticoat under to fluff it out from being zipped in the bag on the rack ( so I didnt need extra fabric like RK insisted) and because I wasnt doing any hemwork, my alterations capped out at $200.

With that rant being said, DEFINITELY GO TO MULTIPLE PLACES!!!

CLI242009 · October 2013

JCBride2014 said:

Along those lines-- how long did it actually take you all to shop for and choose the dress? And did you shop at a lot of different stores, or stick with just one? I live near NYC so my options are dizzying. I'm 1.5 years out now.

I tried on about....10-12 dresses I believe. Found my dress near the end when we started narrowing it down to either A-line dresses or mermaid/trumpet style dresses. I think it took about 3 hours?

ashleyep · October 2013

I went dress shopping almost exactly one year out - one of the salons was having a trunk show. I didn't end up buying a dress from that designer, but I found another dress there that day and bought it. I think it was the 4th or 5th dress I tried on. They told me it should be in in December, about 4 months after I bought it - that's way sooner than I was expecting it. My wedding is in August.

Llikotdesserd · October 2013

If you go shopping, and find THE dress - buy it. I made the mistake of finding a gorgeous dress this summer (My wedding isn't until June 2015) and I DIDN'T buy it when I found it due to worry about losing alot of weight (I'm not worried about gaining, I've been the same weight for the past 5 years) and thinking if that's the case I should have just ordered a smaller size. Now the dream dress has been discontinued, even though the bridal shop said it was a more recent design. The sample sizes from my area aren't the size i would need, so I'm SOL. If you find one, buy it no matter how much time is in between now and the wedding.

kellybeans14 · October 2013

@llikotdesserd, that was exactly what I was worried about. Or that would happen and I'd always have the vision of this one in my head and wouldn't be able to find something I'd love equally during future shopping trips, making me regret missing out on it.

Llikotdesserd · October 2013

I'll tell you, I've been looking online for similar dresses, or even a new style and I don't like anything even half as much as I loved my original. It's a good thing there is plenty of time between now and the wedding to fall in love with a new one!

csaville · October 2013

I bought mine over a year and a half in advance because there was a trunk sale so it was discounted and I absolutely loved it! If you love it, buy it!

atlastmrsg · October 2013

As soon as possible is better. I ordered my dress in April 2013 for a May 2014 wedding, it will be delivered in January 2014. I like knowing there's time if something isn't right, and so alterations won't be rushed. Some designers deliver sooner, but every now and then you hear the sad stories of dresses coming in and being the wrong shade of white/ivory, without customizations, or not fitting. The more cushion you have, the less you'll be stressing at the end just in case something goes wrong.

I was relieved to find the perfect dress, so I haven't been tempted to look any more. I also made a decision not to subscribe to any wedding magazines so I wouldn't be tempted to change my mind. I bought a few magazines that looked interesting early, got ideas, and stopped looking once I had a particular part of the wedding done. I'm still working on things like flowers since a florist can do more than one wedding in a weekend, but the big things like venue, dress, and band were the first things I completed and didn't look back.

mommapizano · October 2013

Now is the time to buy your dress. Mine took 8 months but some take up to a year! If you love it go for it.

mommapizano · October 2013

Now is the time to buy your dress. Mine took 8 months but some take up to a year! If you love it go for it.

LydiaJoy12 · October 2013

I purchased mine almost exactly 12 months before the big day! I didn't plan on buying it that early, but I fell in love with my dress!

laurag524 · October 2013

I got mine about 11 months before our wedding, so a year is perfect! I think if you start to late you might feel rushed about picking one.

heathertims · October 2013

Bought mine if Feb. got it in July. Give yourself about 8-9 months

cstates84 · October 2013

I found my gown in May of this year- 2013 and my wedding is May 2014. The boutique I got my gown from said mine will take 10months, so im happy i got mine early. There is no set time or rules but don't wait to late. I love my dress and I have no desire to look at other gowns.

Antonia9984 · October 2013

If you already found the one, then just buy it. A year is not very long to make a perfect gown!!

kajones14 · October 2013

I have a two year engagement and found mine shortly after we got engaged. We are getting married this upcoming May and I ordered it last August. It took a year to get here and my seamstress is so busy that I wont have my fitting until December. Which is fine I have time but I am glad I ordered it when I did.

YJW0113 · November 2013

I was in the same situation as you. I started looking for dresses so far in advance that I wasn't sure what to do. I found my dress on a website called www.preownedweddingdresses.com where they have new, preowned, and sample gowns. My dress was a sample gown. I found the same dress in my area, went to try it on, and purchased it on the website. It's two sizes to big and need some stitching corrections done to it but other than that the dress is amazing. I just decided I wont get my alterations done until closer to my wedding date. Good luck with your purchase!

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