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Whether you’re the bride, bridesmaid, family member, friend, or just tagging along, if you have wedding dress shopping in your future, this post is for you.
My friend Lindsay is in the midst of planning her 2019 wedding. When she asked if I and our friend Rachel would be interested in helping her take a day to shop for a wedding dress, I said “Of course!” and “I’ll bring my camera!”.
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| Blast from the Past: Do you remember back in the day at the hair salon when you’d pick your style out of a book? Apparently that’s still the case at some dress boutiques today. |
The day’s Plan of Attack was on a Saturday and began with heading to BHLDN in Friendship Heights at 11AM, followed by Brunch at 1:15PM, a 3PM appointment at Ellie’s Bridal Shop, concluding with a 4:30PM appointment at Fabulous Frocks of Alexandra. It was a very long day, but through it we all learned a lot. Here are my key takeaways:
1. Research on Yelp
Do your research! Yelp is your best friend here and you can filter our certain words in your search such as ‘pressure’ and ‘chaotic’ as in if someone wrote ‘I felt pressured into buying that day’. You want to find Bridal Shops that really listen to the bride and that are not chaotic.
Included your research, you should add some variety. For example, BHLDN was a great choice as it offered very affordable options compared to traditional shops. Also, Fabulous Frocks of Alexandria sells sample dresses and some consignment pieces. Adding variety in these aspects will help expand your options without going to a ton of places – you’ll know what you like afterward and be able to focus your search there.
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| The BHLDN Pop-Up in Friendship Heights |
2. Make Reservations
A bit obvious, but if you are planning to try on a good amount of dresses, you’ll need to make an appointment. Two of the three shops we visited were small and chaotic – many brides brought 8-10 people with them. So even you try to wing it, you will likely be turned away. Also, be sure to plan ahead with the reservations. Lindsay wasn’t able to score an appointment at BHLDN for 2 months!!
3. Champagne is Just for TV
No place offered us champagne. Say Yes to the Dress created unrealistic expectations for all of us. Do yourself a favor and plan a mini after party with champagne after the day is done. Trust me – you’ll need it.
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| No champs – but Fabulous Frocks of Alexandria did have a spread in honor of the Royal Wedding. |
3. Plan 90 minutes at Each Place Regardless how Long the Appointment
As mentioned above, bridal shops are often small and chaotic, with grandmothers, dads, etc., floating about. A lot of places made us wait 15 minutes past our designated appointment time because the bride before us ‘found the dress’ and therefore no one was able to assist us. A good amount of time you will spend at each salon is 90 minutes, no matter how long your appointment says it will last. So plan accordingly if you have a day of back-to-back appointments.
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| Coming through! Hustling down the streets of Alexandria Old Town to our next appointment. |
4. Have an Idea About What You’re Looking For and Your Venue
You may have heard stories about a bride thinking she’d never go for a ballgown and then ends up wearing a ballgown for her wedding. This does not mean it is a good idea to go in with a blank mind. Have an idea of the shapes you’d like to try, and do some research on some designers. The later isn’t so much important as long as you have an idea about what you’re looking for. We said a lot of “Lindsay is looking for something Calvin Klein-esque” and the stylists knew exactly what we meant. Some other things include: Would you be interested in separates? A train? How long do you want the sleeves?
Also, even if your venue isn’t nailed down, have an idea about where you’ll be tying the knot. Getting married in a Church versus the Beach carry very different vibes.
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| Rachel makes an excellent hand model – we were constantly drawn to all things *SHINY*. |
5. Bring Colored Post-Its
I think this is probably the best tip on the list and don’t know why I haven’t heard of this before. When you get to the shop, they’ll ask you to mill around the store and find some pieces that the bride will try on. Then the stylist will assist in bringing those to the dressing room.
However, the dresses are usually packed very tightly and well, there are hundreds of them and many of them look similar. It was so hard to remember which ones we all liked on the racks. Bring a stack of colored Post-Its and stick them on the hangers of the ones you want pulled – easy! Then just let the stylist know or pull them yourself. This will save a TON of time and frustration.
6. Try 1-2 Dresses That Are Completely Out of Your Comfort Zone.
We had a running joke of pulling dresses we called “Friend’s Choice”. Lindsay’s style is very sleek, elegant, and subdued. Therefore we would often hunt for the biggest, poofiest, ballgowns for her to try on.What surprised all of us is that she found some of the ballgowns to be the most fun to try on! It also helped lift the mood – there would be a maybe a handful of sighed ‘nos’ and when she exclaimed that she was trying on a “Friend’s Choice” we knew it was most likely a ‘no’ but all got a laugh out of it.
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| The Bride trying on some flower crowns. Another pro tip: Buy accessories on Etsy. Trust me. Once you see the prices charged at bridal salons, you’ll thank me. |
7. Take Lots of Photos
You don’t need a DSLR to take good photos, an iphone works fine. But just take LOTS of photos. Some gowns photograph so much differently than what appears to the eye. If you do happen to have a DSLR – take it because it will capture light so much better. Also, it was super helpful to be able to go through all of the pictures at the end of the day. We could side-by-side compare dresses from different shops, and also upload them to a Flickr album to share with friends and Lindsay’s future in-laws so everyone felt included.
8. Buy Accessories on Etsy
You will see beautiful belts, hair accessories, etc. that start at about $150 and can be as much as $400. No matter how much you may like an accessory – resist the urge to impulse buy! We were told at one salon to look on Etsy first and man, they were right! A belt that cost $200 in the shop cost $25 on Etsy and IMO, some of the belts/sashes on Etsy are more beautiful than some of the pricey shop ones.
Do you have a great tip that didn’t make my list? Let me know in the comments below!
