Tips On Wedding Dress Shopping

When I first told Colton I was doing this post, he made sure to tell me that he may skip over this one – lol. Which I love and respect him for. Even though I would never post a picture of me in THE DRESS on here, I did want to bring you guys along my journey with me. In most cases, I am the most indecisive person in the entire world. Like I cannot make a decision for the life of me, but picking out my wedding dress was one thing I had no problem with. I guess it’s true what they say when they say that “When you know, you know”.

Before going into Saturday, I had not tried on any dresses before, but I had done a ton of research. I found a few boutiques that had designers I liked, made appointments at them and then called everyone going with me, to let them know when our appointments were. Our first one was at 12:00 which was perfect. I was able to get up that morning, go to spin and get some errands done before heading out. The first (& only) boutique I went to that day was Now & Forever Bridal Boutique. When we all arrived, I met my consultant and discussed with her what I was looking for. We popped a little bit of champagne, then went out onto the floor to pull dresses. After trying on a few dresses, I knew I had found my dress, but we still had other appointments to go to, and I knew I needed to see more options. By the time we got to our next appointment, I couldn’t find one dress I liked. I was comparing every dress to the one I fell in love with at the first boutique. Finally, my future-mother-in-law came up to me and was like “Why are we here? lol”. I quickly agreed, called Now & Forever to see if I could come back and try on my dress again. The moment I put it on again, I made my decision! I have never felt more beautiful in a dress in my life.

So how did I pick a dress so quick? Well here are all of my tips that I truly think made my experience so much fun and so easy.

Do research on the bridal boutique you want to go to: Each boutique has a list of the designers that they carry on their website. It’s important to look up these designers so that you have an idea of the type of styles the boutique will have. On that same note, if there is a dress you love, find a store that has that dress and go there first. That way, you are able to decide right off the bat if it is your dress or not. You also want to make sure that your bridal stores of choice carry various dresses in your price range. I originally made one appointment at one boutique because I had driven past the store a million times growing up. When I called to talk to them, they kindly told me the starting price of their gowns, and I kindly canceled my appointment lol.
Book an appt ahead of time: Booking an appointment ahead of time is vital – especially during the weekends. It’s one thing to go into a boutique and browse the dresses, but if you are actually wanting to try them on and work with a consultant, an appointment is a must. While we were there, a group of girls came in to try on dresses and the brides face was heart breaking when she was told they had no appointments left for the day.
Don’t bring too many people. This was something the boutiques all talked to me about ahead of time and for which I completely agreed. If you have too many people, there will be too many opinions and it will only confuse you. Three-five people is plenty. I for one had my Mom, Colton’s Mom, my best friend Annie and my little sister Hannah.
Go in with an open mind. I truly think that going in with an open mind was my main saving grace. I had an idea of what I liked and what I for sure wanted to try on, but I was still open to trying on all styles! I didn’t have “one dress that I had to have” or anything like that. I had ones I saw online, that I wanted to try on, but I was still really open. Most brides pick the one dress they thought they never would have picked (that’s what I did!)! So keep that in mind when you go 🙂
Keep Your Venue & The Theme of Your Wedding in Mind. If you are having an outdoor beach wedding, then you may not want to spend the day trying on ball gowns. Keeping your venue and theme in mind for the wedding will help narrow down your options and will actually make you picture yourself at the wedding.
Try on your mother’s picks – even if you don’t like them. Chances are, your mother has been dreaming about wedding dress shopping with you, for longer then you have been dreaming of it yourself. Like I said above, go into the whole experience with an open mind. If your mom or your friend finds a dress they love and are dying for you to try on, just try it on. Even If you hate it, it will make them happy to see you in it. And also, who knows! Maybe you will actually like it!
Eat something before: Eating before is key and it’s also a good idea to make sure the people going with you eat before as well. This is because you don’t want everyone around you (or yourself) being hangry and you also don’t want to feel rushed out of an appointment just because everyone wants to go to lunch. My advice is to bring a few protein bars in your purse for your self or for anyone who may get hungry and then also pick a breakfast that won’t cause bloating. Here are some great options!