Calling All David's Bridal Brides!

I bought my dress in April, it arrived in May, had my alterations appointment 7/5, and picked it up 8/5. So March might be cutting it close, but I did mine in 4 months. It depends what dress you pick. Mine was a David's Bridal dress, not a designer, so short shipping time. The dress arrived much quicker than they said. I think they said 6 weeks and it was like 3 weeks. Also, the only alterations my dress needed was a bustle. If you need more work, the alterations might take a little longer. Hope this helps!

The general rule of thumb is to buy your wedding dress 9 months out! Some dresses can come in much faster, so might take a full 9 months for shipping plus multiple alterations!

ETA: It sounds like DB dresses come much faster!!

It took less than a month for my dress to arrive after they ordered it.

I think it can depend on your dress and the store.

I ordered my gown in early February, I got it back at the end of March. (About 5 weeks)

I just went for my second fitting yesterday. I could have taken it home, but they had to adjust the hem up another 1/2 inch. I go back to pick it up Oct. 2, my wedding is Oct. 17

I will say that my dress is pretty simple: no illusion neckline, no lace, no overlays, and I'm not adding a bustle, so there wasn't a lot of alteration to be done except to hem and take it in.

I would start looking in February/March for a July wedding.

I personally did not purchase my dress at DB but I have a friend who got married this past July and she ordered her dress from DB in January and it arrived in plenty of time. It might depend on the dress though.

Yes, March or April is too late to start shopping.

Chose a dress for the body you currently have. You can always have it taken in. Also maybe do some preliminary shopping without your mom and narrow down your options for when she is able to make it.

I ordered mine in March and it got here in April.

FYI I learned from watching SYTTD that a lot of the cheaper dresses that are imported from China take longer in the Winter (think December through February?) I think because it's the Chinese new year and a lot of shops and factories close for the entire month or so.

I bought my dress in May of 2014 and had it late August of 2014. However when we got our Bridesmaid dresses we ordered at the end of January 2015 and got them between the end of May 2015 and mid July 2015.

I got my dress at David's Bridal and I got it right off the rack. I was able to take it home that night.

I also ordered mine in March and it arrived in April - BUT - I think a lot depends on the dress and how readily available it is. Mine has just been hanging in the closet until my first fitting next week. I'm not having mine altered at DB though. I went with a different local shop that said 4-6 weeks for alterations.

They're definitely more inexpensive than a boutique. I got my dress for $500 and it's gorgeous, satin A-line.

I walked out of the store with my dress. It was a new dress and they had several sizes for it in stock. The size 10 fit me perfectly. I didn't have to order mine at all, and it's gorgeous!

I ordered my dress in early June and it just came in today(!!!). I ordered in white instead of ivory so it was a "special order," so that's probably why it took a bit longer.

I got my dress two weeks after ordering it. They have a lot of dresses that are quick ship option.

I bought my dress over a year early. It wasn't planned but I saw it, tried it on, had to have it. It took like two weeks to get it. Took a month for alterations.

I got mine at DB, and it took like 2-3 weeks for them to get it in and then 3 weeks for alterations, so I'd make sure you get it at least 8 weeks ahead of time, to be safe

This is tricky because most dresses arrive quickly but some don't. I was one of the rare ones whose dress came in late. And by late, I mean that it arrived after the stated arrival date! Some dresses are pre-made and shipped to a warehouse. Those dresses are the ones that arrive quickly.

Some dresses, like mine (Oleg Cassini CW592), are apparently "cut to order" and in my case, the Chinese new year interfered. DB made it right for me and apologized profusely but the dress took almost six months to arrive. I didn't have a very long engagement so it arrived only a few weeks before the wedding.

Make sure you ask if the dress is special order / cut to order. The sales rep will know whether the dress can be ordered or not. If they tell you that it will be tight timeframe, believe them.

I ordered my DB dress in early May and it arrived in 3.5 weeks even though they said it would take 6 weeks. My mother did my alterations so I can't comment on their alterations process. I would worry about waiting until April to order a dress. If it really took 6 weeks that could put you into June with almost no time for alterations. I have heard of other brides getting dresses early and then DB allowing an exchange because their size changed so much. Maybe look now and order in February? Whatever you do, don't buy it too small. It is easier to take a dress in than let it out.

It really depends on the dress you picked - whether or not they can ship quickly, and how much alteration work is required. You definitely want to give it at least 2 months, I'd say 3 or 4 months before your big date just to be safe. And remember to factor in the time you spend trying different dresses! You can always start looking early to save time.

I went into DB exactly 2 months before my wedding and ordered my dress, then went in about 4 weeks later for my alteration appointment. The dress only needs minor work like hemming and bustle, so I'm scheduled for final alteration and pick up next Friday - just a week before my wedding! If anything has gone wrong (still keeping my fingers crossed!) in between, I would have been in a lot of trouble!

I bought my dress off the rack, it was on clearance for $600 and fits very well... i just have to have a bra sewn in and slightly alter the straps and do the bustle (I don't yet know what this will cost). But yes.... It really depends on the dress you pick!....

I'll say, I was actually surprised by the cost of their dresses! It seems like they've worked to improve their dresses in the past few years and some are very beautiful... but everything I tried on and everything I remotely liked was over $1,600..... personally, too expensive. My sister used to work there, so I had her raid the clearance rack and find me something! It's not my "dream dress" but I love it and it'll def work for me for the 4 hours I'll be in it!

I had assumed BD was a place you could go to if you had a $500 budget, but that's not quite the case anymore as they *seem* to be filling the store with higher priced items.... some beautiful gowns though! (and still more reasonable than the boutiques, I guess).

My wedding date is a week after yours! :-) I bought my dress from David's Bridal this past June--I could've waited longer but I fell in love with it and it was on sale for $300 so I couldn't turn it down! It's not too early for you to start looking so at least you'll have a decent amount of time to see what styles you like and to be a little picky.....Good luck & have fun shopping!!! :-)