20 Jun The 5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid When Wedding Dress Shopping
We get asked all the time “What should I bring when wedding dress shopping?” We even have an article on the 8 things you should bring when wedding dress shopping. But, we rarely get asked, what should I avoid when wedding dress shopping? Being one of the most popular bridal shops in Michigan, we see a lot of brides from all over the state. No matter where they’re from, we get the occasional bride that does not follow these three tips. This can easily lead to unnecessary stress that has to be resolved before the bride says “Yes!” to her dress. To help you prevent stress during your bridal shopping experience, we’ve compiled a list of the three biggest things to avoid (and tips on how to prevent them) when wedding dress shopping.
1. NOT BEING HONEST ABOUT YOUR BUDGET
Whether that is with your stylist or your group, it is essential that you are completely honest about your budget. At Pierre’s, our stylists are trained to not pull styles that are over your budget, or to explicitly ask if there is wiggle room before pulling a style that you may love, but is slightly over the amount you’d like to spend. Furthermore, we do allow your group to pull styles for you during your appointment, so it’s important that everyone in the party knows the budget so they can check pricing as they go. Our stylists will try to let you know if a family member pulled a style over budget, but we may not catch it if the family is pulling many styles at once.
If there is wiggle room in the budget, it is okay to let our stylists know, as we will try to find your dream dress for the lowest price possible (trust us, we love a deal, too!). But if there is a dress we think you’d love, but is over the budget you wrote on the appointment sheet, we may leave it on the rack. On the other hand, if you have a hard cap on your budget, it’s okay to say that to your stylist! We’ve had a bride or two that wasn’t completely honest about her budget and ended up falling in love with a wedding dress she couldn’t afford. It’s heartbreaking to see a bride fall in love with something she can’t have, so we want to do everything in our power to avoid that situation. We promise, our stylists won’t judge anyone planning a wedding on a budget. No matter your style, size, or budget, our stylists will give you the same attention, experience, and time as every other bride.
2. JUDGING A DRESS ON THE HANGER
This is a *very* common mistake that we see. It’s a tip brides don’t even think about! Budgets are pretty high on the list of thing to consider when a bride starts planning on shopping for a wedding dress, so most brides have at least thought about it before shopping. Rarely, do brides think about how different a dress can look on the hanger versus on the body! This is something our stylists preach at Pierre’s – you cannot judge a dress by the hanger. Wedding gowns always look different in model photos, as opposed to being on the hanger, versus on your body. You just might hate your dream dress on the hanger, but love it on yourself!
This is why it’s important to have an idea of what design elements you’re looking for (i.e. a corset, A-line silhouette, sleeves, neckline), inspiration photos of styles you’d like to try, and an open mind! Our stylists have an extensive knowledge of our dress collections, and are able to pull styles that we think you may like, based on your inspiration and discussion while trying on dresses. They may look a little questionable on the hanger, but just trust us, we know how they’ll look on the body!
3. THE "I HAVE TO VISIT 3+ STORES" MENTALITY
After years of watching “Say Yes to the Dress,” many of us have a certain perception of what wedding dress shopping “should” be. Lots of dresses, drama, and tears. That infamous TLC show made us believe that we have to try on 100+ dresses at 3+ stores before saying “yes!” to your dress. It is very common for our brides to visit us first when wedding dress shopping, and it is common for them to find their dream dress during that visit (for some brides, it’s the first dress they try on!). Unfortunately, it is also a common misconception that a bride should not say “yes” to a dress during their first appointment. This leads brides to believe they should shop around more, as if finding their dream dress was “too good to be true.” This simply isn’t true! If you find a gown you love, it’s okay to say “yes!” to it.
4. NOT BEING OPEN MINDED
This goes in part with judging a dress on the hanger. Not being open minded can cause a bride to stay away from a dress that she will love. We see it all the time: a bride walks in with one inspiration photo, but walks out with something completely different. Your Pinterest may be full of dresses that you love, but then you try on a wedding dress that isn’t popular online, fits you differently than expected, or is from a designer you didn’t research. It happens! Don’t doubt yourself in these moments. When you fall in love with a dress and can see yourself walking down the aisle in it, you know it’s the one.
On that note, we’ve noticed that it is helpful for a bride to describe how she wants to feel, what kind of aesthetic she wants to emulate, or if there are any design elements (like sleeves, silhouettes, necklines, types of embellishments, etc.) you want to try. With a general idea of how you want to feel and look on your wedding day, our stylists can pull a variety of styles that may fit their vision. From there, we can narrow down which styles you’re gravitating towards.
5. BRINGING THE WRONG PEOPLE
The people you bring to your bridal appointment can make or break the wedding dress shopping experience. You do not need every member of your bridal party at your appointment. You do not need to bring the family members that you don’t really want to be there, but feel obligated to invite. This appointment is about you finding your dress, everyone else can see it at the wedding. Only invite people that you trust to give valuable opinions, people that will support you, and will not try to make the appointment about them or what they want to see you in.
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