What are your biggest dress shopping regrets?

Wasting my time with salons and bridal gown consultants that had an attitude and acted like they were doing me a favor by bringing me gowns to try on, like they couldnt wait for me to either buy something or leave.

the salon i ended up buying from treated me like gold and went out of their way to make sure the experience was a great one.

Loved every minute of my experience and honestly have NO regrets. I'm picky but very decisive when I find what I like. Don't overwhelm yourself with trying on a million dresses. Once you get "the excitement/tingling/butterflies/crying" then STOP. Too much dress regret for lord knows why. I took 3 highly important people who made the experience a blast! Have fun and remember you're the one wearing it so pick what you love

Letting my bitchy, selfish MOH walk in late to my appointment only to say she hated the dress I had on, when I was admiring it in the mirror.

Letting my FMIL and mother almost talk me into a dress I only liked. Letting the opinions of my BP get me down. Dress shopping is so much fun! Just remember it's your day so put your foot down. I think you will enjoy it and I hope the dress you are going there for is the one you fall in love with. I went in not knowing what I wanted. I went to two different bridal shops and ordered my dress at a third one. I only wanted to go to one but that obviously didn't work out. What I got, was so different. Good luck and really enjoy it. So far, that was my favorite part of planning!

*edited because words aren't my strong point

**edited again because I forgot to say I edited it before (face palm)

My biggest regret right now is getting attached to a specific salon and their consultants... My Mom and I have been there 3 times, and we just feel guilty and like we're betraying them to go anywhere else. I'd like to go elsewhere because right now there are other more local salons with a more accurate dress shape to what I'm looking for, and I really wanted to try on Maggie Sotero and Alfred Angelo (the salon we're attached to is a very small salon that only takes one bride at a time and has Sophia Tolli, Watters, and David Tutera), but I'd feel bad even going somewhere else because I end up falling in love with a dress there I feel I'd be betraying the other salon when they've been so patient and helpful with my indecisiveness lolz...

Not doing research on how much alterations cost. I didn't budget enough for them, and it put me in a bind.

My regret was being in a rush to find "the" dress. I got mine 13 months before the wedding, and now wish I had looked around a little more. Your timeline is right on target though, so nothing to worry about there. I guess, don't let the bridal consultants tell you that if you don't purchase it then they can't guarantee that it will be in stock ... because that was what made me purchase my gown hastily. I liked it a lot. My figure looked the best in it out of approx. 20 dresses I tried on. So, I jumped on it. If I waited and looked around more, I think that dress would have still been in stock. Its probably still in stock! Haha. Also, the consultants kept bringing out what they thought I should be wearing. Finally, I got so frustrated, nothing was catching my eye, I started scanning the racks with them. That is when I found my dress. The consultant gave me the side-eye because I found my dress, and not her. I literally had to ask her if it were ok if I could scan the racks with her (it was a private bridal shop) - she said yes of course, but that is not the impression I got in the beginning. So scan the gowns right there with them.

Edited to add: Another big regret I had was that I didn't stick with the bridal shop's seamstress! I went to an old-fashioned Italian community seamstress. The bridal shop's alterations were considerably more expensive. They warned me that if I go elsewhere to remember they do nothing but wedding gown alterations, they know their stuff. Well, I went elsewhere to save a few hundred dollars, and my bustle was a nightmare. I guess that is my biggest regret. So, make sure you go with the seamstress who knows their stuff.

I made my dress but went through a phase of not liking any idea and not being able to decide. I wanted a vintage inspired ball gown, but talked myself out of it. So I went shopping just in case, before it would be too late to get a dress if I decided to buy one.

A owner of the place that thought she knew everything felt it would be best for her to help me since I was a 'older bride'. I should have just insisted that one of the younger girls help me because that woman had no taste. I asked for ball gowns and she told me they weren't available in my size- liar. After trying on about 3 a line dresses that looked terrible on me and not my style at all I was just sick. I told the woman I'd have to think about it, so she went into the back room. Once she was gone, some of the younger girls pulled a few ball gowns that could be ordered in my size and held them up to me. Suddenly I was excited and realized that the ball gown look I'd talked myself out of was what made me feel like a bride.

If the person you are working with just isn't clicking, then ask if you can work with someone else!

Don't be afraid to try on different looks even if you think they may be wrong, but if you don't like them don't try to force a square peg into a round hole. The no taste woman that I worked with insisted that A-line was the only look for me to try because 'it looks good on everyone' I have a long waist and have never felt that A line was the best look for me. I didn't like the 1st a line on me, I didn't like the 3rd one either.

I guess at that point I was just too emotionally worn out to trust my own instincts. Don't make that mistake!

I don't know if I would say that I have any regrets per se, but I do wish that I was able to try on different styles of dress - even the ones I know wouldn't work for me, like a mermaid or fitted, just to see what they look like! My body type makes the most sense and looks the most beautiful in an A line or ballgown and so that's basically all I tried on. I went to one salon with many designers, fell in love with a dress there, and made an appointment at the designer's show room, and that was it! Found my perfect dress after two appointments good luck and enjoy!!!

I would have went alone the first time. Having opinions from family only made it more confusing.

I am so glad I tried on lots of different styles. Before I even went shopping I knew pretty much exactly what I wanted (and stuck with it) but I wanted to try other styles just to make sure. My dress is a mermaid but trying on the biggest tulle ballgown in the store was so fun! I knew that's not what I wanted but I still got to see myself in a "princess" dress. It was pretty awesome wearing all those gorgeous dresses.

Not knowing the availability of the alterations department at my salon UP FRONT! I am planning our wedding from out of town and bought my dress at home so I could see my family more often when I came home for fittings. I was planning on having weekend fittings at least twice, and when my dress came in I was informed that alterations is only open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday! And the last fitting appointments are before 5, so how does someone who works get their dress fitted? I had to find somewhere else to get my dress altered, which ended up working out but the situation just resulted in unnecessary stress.

I tried on 4, #2 being the one I picked. I didn't have a huge moment where I cried(my mom did) but I couldn't stop smiling while I had it on. That's all the affirmation I needed. I knew it before i even tried the other two that it was the one. I tried a few more in different styles just to see if what I didn't want, might look good.

I knew ahead what I thought I wanted, and sure enough it was.

Good luck. And it can be the first dress you try on.

I had no regrets! I mean sometimes I feel bad my mom wasn't there, but then she reminds me why I didn't have her there and I get over it. My best friend and I went looking together and we both got our dream dresses! We've always imagined that day together so being able to actually do it was the best thing ever!

I regret that I was on my period that day, because I was bloated and cranky and could've enjoyed it more. But I was too lazy to change the appointment, so oh well.

Other than that I have no real regrets. I slightly wished that I had not invited my MIL, because she pressured me to get a different dress, but in the end I got the dress I wanted so it didn't matter what she was saying.

I kind of wish I tried on a ballgown or two because this is the only time in my life I'll be able to try on wedding dresses so I should have had more fun with it. I only tried on the style I pictured myself wearing. I think I tried on a total of 6 dresses before saying yes to the one.

I wish I tried on more dresses and visited at least one more store. I was overwhelmed at the time and wanted a simple dress. But sometimes when I see these gorgeous dresses you gals post on WW, do get dress envy. Doesn't matter that they probably wouldn't look nearly as good on me, lol.

Nicole!! I am sort of in the same position with both a florist And the bridal salon! Eek! I don't want to hurt their feelings but I am leaning more and more towards other options... I think I am going to buy them both a gift (A hand made paper flower) and give them a hand written note about how awesome they were and how I wish I could have made it work out and that I will tell everyone how awesome they are...

I just can't spend a ton of money on something I don't Love, and you shouldn't either!

I skipped the bridal stores after getting treated bad a Davids so I got my dress off Kijiji ( Like Craigslist ) for $425 for the dress, veil, shawl and the crinoline and it was the exact dress I wanted in stores they wanted 1,500 plus alterations I got lucky all I need to do it have it dry cleaned

My only regret was being too hard on myself. I have one area of my body that I am really self-conscious about and I would fixate on it. I still do even now in the dress I bought, even though I love it, if that makes sense.