David’s Bridal

Ill be getting my dress from there as well. Ill looking in for some advise too

Also if it were me (others may not agree) I would take it to a private seamstress for alterations. In my experience their alterations are way overpriced.

Hi hun! Make sure when you make the appointment online! You should be given a survey to take so one of the stylist knows what to grab for you as options. You can list out the styles, cut, color, and even price range. I spent $100 over my budget, but that was totally fine because I found THE ONE I didn't care who the designer was because I just knew what liked and what I was kind of going for. I did not know who the designer was, but I do give kudos to that designer because that dress was beautiful and I am so glad I said yes to it. You can let your stylist know that you are open to any sale options, but that may be something you have to browse in store as it may be limited and available in certain stores. If you do not find the one you can always make another appointment. Their appointments run an hour. You can always make an appointment again a week or two to gather your thoughts and what not. You can also subscribe to David's Bridal to get notifications for any sales so this may include possible notifications for black Friday.
ALSO! My biggest tip is to opt out of doing alterations at David's Bridal. They do a good job, but they also do charge quite a bit.. So, if you can find a local seamstress who has good ratings and has reasonable prices then go with that person! I think I saved about $400 in alterations if I had not gone with my local seamstress.

If you decide to go with your local seamstress and if they have your dress available in store then yes, you can purchase it and take it home with you. However, if they don't have the dress in your size in store (meaning if the dress is off by a whole size or more) then they will most likely have to order your size for the dress for you.
They will try to push to have you do alterations there by the way, so if anything just say that you would like to call them when you would like to bring it in especially if you don't plan on getting it done there. That's what I told them and they never contacted me for a follow up lol.
Also if you want to save money just make sure to ask for quotes. some of them may request for you to bring it in so they know what they would have to do

When you go in for your appointment, tell them your budget and let them know, right then and there, that it is firm! I would even recommend to tell them your budget is slightly lower than it actually is to accommodate taxes, and fees (and alterations, but I didn't include that in my own since I had alterations as a separate line item in my budget). For example, if your budget is $1000, tell them you wanna stay under $800. If your budget is $1500, tell them $1200. I only recommend this because quite often your consultant will start within your budget, but as you try on dresses and pin-point what aspects of dresses you want, they will push the budget. And I know there will be people who say "the consultant would never do this, they'll respect your budget." As wonderful as that would be, some do and some don't. My budget was $2k and I told my consultant my budget was $1500. Ultimately I chose a $1700 dress, which was $1875 after taxes and fees, so 20% over the budget I gave them. Ultimately it was still under my budget, but if I would have told them $2k, it probably would have been closer to $2400 (20% over).