Wedding dress shopping advice

[u/oops131]

Hey everyone! I have a quick question about wedding dress shopping.

I have 1 appointment booked to go dress shopping & invited some close family & friends. To get the most out of our time i’m considering booking multiple appointments for the same day. Would that be doing too much? If not, how many should i book maximum? I was thinking 3 places but i worry that’ll be too tiring. I guess i’m not really sure of what to expect! Any advice is helpful! Thanks!

[u/sweetsaleem]

Definitely not three in one day! I had two appointments lined up and got a flat on the way to the second so I had to cancel. I was so mentally and physically exhausted that I was happy I didn’t have to go.

My advice:

1. EAT before!! I barely ate bc I thought it’d have time in between appointments- I was wrong
2. it sounds like you are bringing a lot of people which means a lot of different opinions. I’d strongly urge you to do only one with a group of people. Do a couple others with just one person or even yourself so you are not swayed by others opinions
3. research styles that you def want to try on and photos certainly help but also look at dresses on the rack
4. kee

p an

1. open mind! My dress ended up being the silhouette I thought I’d like but embellishment wise I did a 180 which what I originally had in mind! I knew I didn’t want a ballgown but tried one on anyway. I actually liked it a lot more than expected but knew that is wasn’t “me”. Try on different styles bc you may be surprised!

3. id do two appointments max in a day but make sure you have time in between to decompress. I was shocked at how mentally exhausting it was. And again, if you are bringing a group of people, I’d only do one with all of them!

[u/sweetsaleem → u/sweetsaleem]

Omg idk how the formatting got so janky- hopefully you get the points hahah best of luck to you!!

[u/Me722]

I did 2 in one day twice. (2 on one day, 2 on a second day a couple of days later). I thought it was the right amount. You could probably get away with 3 but I'd make sure to plan a lunch break in between at some point.

The reason I was nervous about doing three in a day was in the chance that I found the dress I loved/wanted to buy at the first or second shop, I didn't want to feel obligated to have to go to the third. A lot of the bridal boutiques I went to had a cancelation fee within a period of time (24 hours I think), so I didn't want to be on the hook for that. I wanted flexibility so that's why I scheduled the additional two shops for a couple of days out so I could've canceled if I wanted to without penalty.

Also, dress shopping is fun but also can be mentally exhausting! I think I tried on 10-15 dresses at the first shop, maybe 6-8 at the second, so I just don't think I would've been able to keep things straight with stores after that. Yes, you have pictures, but just the in person "what dress have I tried on" starts to get muddled.

So all this to say, I think 2 is an ideal number. 3 can work too if you need, but I would definitely plan it in a way that you can take a lunch/extended break between the 2nd and 3rd just so you can have a mental rest!

[u/Potential-Note7463]

HI friend! I want to preface by saying that i have a high tolerance for shopping and do not get discouraged very easily. I booked a whole weekend for shopping with two appointments on saturday and two on Sunday and it was great (although I found my dress at the first place on sunday, the third shop overall). I found the following approach to work great incase it is helpful for you.

1. I started at the boujiest store first and went in with the mindset that while it would be cool to find my dress there, the main thing I wanted to do is learn about what i liked. While i knew generally the fabric I liked, I went in very open minded about the silhouette and purposely tried on almost every type to see how they looked on my body! The attendant helped explain different waist and bust lines which helped a ton in learning what I liked on my body.
2. I planned a mix of shops so I could have a variety in price points and styles. I did the boujiest store first, then a less nice couture place with a lower price point on the first day with a lunch break in between. On the second day I scheduled appointments at a off the rack place in the morning and then an appointment at an anthropology bridal location in the afternoon.

I ended up finding my dress at the off the rack place! Although the vibe was not quite as elevated, they had an incredible variety at amazing price points and the attendants were incredibly helpful pulling dresses they thought I might like. I was VERY grateful that I started at the couture places and tried on a lot of variety the first day. I probably would have felt a little lost in the off the rack place and because of the knowledge i gained from the day before, I could tell them pretty quickly what I liked and didn't like.

I found this to be a very doable schedule and probably tried on like 20-40 dresses between the two days! However, its important to be honest with yourself! If you get discouraged easily while shopping, it may be better to break things up. I can definitely see how my approach might be very draining to others!

Really excited for you and wish you the best of luck dress shopping!