Wedding Wednesday- Dress Shopping

For most parts of planning my wedding, I knew exactly what I wanted, but wedding dress shopping was not the same. I had noooo idea what style of dress I wanted and so it made shopping for a wedding dress a little bit difficult. The very first dress I ever tried on is my wedding dress and I can’t believe that is how it worked out for me, but I am so happy that I went back to the shop to try it on one more time!

Let’s start with Dallas Bridal Shops first:

Lovely Bride (my favorite for obvious reasons)
A and Be
Grace Loves Lace
Patsy’s
Lewisville Bridal Boutique (commonly called BB Lewisville)
Neiman Marcus

Tips for shopping for your dream dress:

Have an idea of what you want. Style, length of sleeves, lace or no lace, slit or no slit, glam, chic, traditional, boho, beaded, off the shoulder etc. Have just some sort of idea, because when you enter into a bridal shop, the first thing they’re going to ask you is what you’re looking for. I tried on a few styles, but knew only that I wanted “boho”. The dress I ended up with is what I like to call “boho-chic”. You only try on about 10 dresses per appointment which really isn’t a lot. Appointment slots are around an hour each.

Know that almost anything can be changed in alterations. Want to add long sleeves? They’ll do it. Want to trim the train? They’ll do it. Want a side slit instead of a front slit? They’ll do it. Want breast cups added in so you don’t have to worry about under garments? They’ll do it.

Know your budget going in. They’re not going to let you try on dresses out of budget, which is fantastic because naturally you’d fall in love with the one you can’t get. I knew my budget going in and they say your wedding attire (dress, tux, veil, alterations) should be about 8-10% of your budget. Of course this depends on the couple and budget, but we tried to stick to this as best as possible. I had a specific budget and did not try on dresses over that budget. My veil and dress ended up being EXACTLY what my budget was!

Shop 10-12 months out if you can. Obviously this one can’t work for everyone, but after getting engaged and picking a date- this should be your next project. The reason is, your dress will be ordered unless you get it in a trunk show or off the rack sale, and it takes about 5-7 months to get your dress in. And then you have to have it altered.