Dabl at Home
6 Mistakes To Avoid While Shopping For Your Wedding Dress
Avoiding these 6 mistakes while dress shopping will help you find the wedding dress of your dreams while enjoying every second of the selection process!
-While shopping for a wedding dress should be a blissful occasion, some brides-to-be make mistakes that take the magic out of the experience.
-Common mistakes made during wedding dress shopping include allowing others to influence your opinion, going over budget, shopping at the wrong time, or suffering from buyer’s remorse.
The day you decide to say yes to the dress should be one of the happiest days of your life prior to your actual wedding day! When you think about it, your wedding dress is one of the most important clothing purchases you will ever make. This is the dress you will be wearing when you say ‘I do” to the love of your life in front of all your friends and family members. Trying on wedding dresses isn’t only fun and exciting, but it’s often the first moment women get to really see themselves as a bride.
That said, simple mistakes can transform wedding dress shopping from a dream come true into a nightmare. When it’s time to go wedding dress shopping, you need to be prepared for all the process entails. Having a clear idea of what type of wedding gown you’re looking for, remembering your budget, and bringing the right people to the bridal boutique to support you will help ensure that wedding dress shopping feels too good to be true! On that note, make sure to avoid these 6 mistakes that could take away from the wedding dress shopping experience.
Don’t let other people influence your wedding dress decision.
Even if you’re newly engaged, you likely already know that everyone has an opinion about every aspect of your wedding, including what your wedding dress should look like. However, it’s not their wedding. It’s yours. The only opinion that truly matters is your own.
You need to choose the wedding dress that makes you feel beautiful and happy because you love it, not because someone else made the decision for you. In short, don’t let others influence your opinion. When you go wedding dress shopping, you need to bring the right people along who will give feedback when you want it but are ultimately there to support you and make you feel beautiful. It’s best to bring a small group of close friends or family members along who will lift you up as you choose your dress, not bring you down. Don’t bring someone with you if you expect them to be overly opinionated or controlling during your bridal appointment.
You may have heard it said that there are too many cooks in the kitchen when multiple conflicting opinions cause chaos. Because brides often want to bring everyone who is important to them to their bridal boutique appointment, their entourage becomes too big and opinionated. The different opinions being thrown at the bride can be overwhelming and make it more difficult to choose a dress. When large entourages become vocal about their warring opinions, the bride could become focused on pleasing her guests and wearing a gown that others want to see her in instead of choosing the wedding dress she really wants.
Don’t succumb to buyer’s remorse.
Wedding dresses can range in cost from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. As most future brides are not used to making such expensive clothing purchases, it’s not uncommon for women to develop buyer’s remorse. We want to encourage you to embrace the moment and remember that it’s only a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. If you love your dress and remember your wedding budget, there is no reason to fret.
Similarly, the significance placed on weddings can cause brides to become hypocritical of their dress, or on one small element of the dress. After the high of making the purchase wears off, some brides start to develop doubts or fixate on an element of their dress they are not sure about anymore. Others worry that they picked a dress too quickly and the right one is still out there, just waiting to be discovered.
Instead of letting these doubts fester, we encourage you to trust your gut and remember the initial opinion that convinced you to say yes to the dress. If you’re really wondering if you’ve made a mistake, ask your bridal boutique if you can come back to try the dress on one more time. Once you see yourself in the dress again, you may realize that your fears are completely unfounded. But if you do realize it’s not the right dress for you, you’ll be able to discuss your options with your bridal consultant.
Stick to your budget.
Before you go wedding dress shopping, make sure to carefully review your finances to set your wedding budget and decide what you can reasonably spend on a wedding dress. When you set your number, remember that in addition to the price of the dress, you may also need to pay for tax, shipping, and alterations. No matter what your budget is, know that there are beautiful wedding dresses available that fit every price range.
When you arrive at the bridal boutique, make sure to communicate your budget to your bridal consultant so she only pulls dresses in your price range. Don’t try on more expensive gowns “just for fun,” because if you fall in love with a wedding dress that’s too expensive you’ll likely live to regret it. If you’re worried about sticking to your budget, make sure to have someone with you who can help hold you accountable. You’ll be happiest if you can keep your sights set on the beautiful dresses you CAN comfortably afford!
Don’t go dress shopping too early...or too late.
There is a balance between shopping for a wedding dress too early and shopping too late. Before you schedule your dress appointment at a bridal boutique, you should have set a wedding date and chosen a venue. The time of year and your wedding’s location may impact what you are looking for in your wedding dress.
That said, you need to shop for a wedding dress with enough time for the dress to arrive and to complete alterations. According to Brides.com, you should purchase your wedding dress 9 months before your wedding date. It takes 6-9 months for made-to-order wedding gowns to arrive, and you need to leave time for at least 3 fittings. There will be a week or two between each fitting in which alterations will be made to your wedding dress. If you wait too long, you may have to select your wedding dress from a more limited selection of sample dresses carried by bridal boutiques or be forced to pay high fees to expedite your purchase.
Don’t judge a dress before you try it on.
Before you visit bridal boutiques, you should have a clear idea of what you’re looking for from your wedding dress. For example, do you prefer strapless gowns or sleeves? Do you want a princess gown with a long flowing train or a mermaid gown with lace and beads? Do you want a dress with lots of sparkling bling, or do you prefer elegant simplicity? Since there is a seemingly endless amount of wedding dresses out there, this will narrow your search.
At the same time, make sure you arrive at your wedding dress appointment with an open mind. For example, your bridal consultant might suggest some alternative dress styles that would complement your figure or you might find you don’t like how your intended dress fits once you try it on. Don’t judge a dress by how it looks on the hanger, because its look can completely change once it’s on. Many a former bride has been surprised because they hated how a dress looked on the hanger, but then loved it so much once they tried it on that it became their wedding dress!
Don’t shop for a dress that you’ll need to change your body to wear.
Here at Dabl, we believe you are beautiful exactly as you are! But many soon-to-be brides dedicate themselves to living a healthier lifestyle in order to lose weight or slim down before their wedding day. However, this often causes future brides to shop for a dress to fit the body they want to have, not their current physique. This is a mistake. Similarly, ordering the dress in a size down as a motivator to lose weight can be dangerous.
Choosing a wedding dress that your body will need to change or conform to fit into puts way too much pressure on the bride, and can lead to the development of unhealthy behaviors and poor mental health. Instead, it’s best to shop early for a dress that accentuates your current body and allows plenty of time for alterations. If you reach your health goals, your dress can then be altered to fit your new figure. The key takeaway to remember is that your wedding dress should conform to you, not the other way around.
Want more wedding tips and tricks? Visit our Dabl Wedding Hub!
Get more great inspiration, travel tips, and ideas for your home on Dabl! Check our Dabl TV schedule and find out where to watch Dabl TV.