Dress

A year in advance so do not ask me lol. Although I have heard 8-10 months esp now considering shipping can take longer and factor in alterations if needed.

I bought my dress 19 months out at Davids and had it altered at 14 months and checked one more time at 2 months. There were a lot of factors involved in that...I knew for sure what I wanted, I was about to move across the country and wanted to buy it before that, and I’ve stayed the same size for 10 years.

Mine took 8 months to arrive and I was freaking out because that was only 1 month before my wedding. A bridal shop I worked out after I was married said for most designers plan on 6-9 months. But thanks to Covid, I would bet shops will advise brides who are buying dresses anytime in the next year or two, to give as much time as possible. It's fine anyway to order 12 months before your wedding but now that might be an especially good idea. I've learned so many things can interrupt dress delivery: a national disaster (flood, fires, earthquake, virus) in Asia or the U.S., a delay at U.S. Customs, postal service issues, employee strike at the manufacturing plant, etc.

I got mine less than a year before my wedding

We are getting married in December and I went shopping at the end of January. I was initially going to wait until March/April for my mother-in-law to come with us, but went earlier because January sales caught my attention (and now with COVID-19 affecting the world, I'm relieved I bought my dress early on!).

To be completely honest, I think you're better off going earlier than later as you have more time if there are delays / need extensive alterations, and also will have a better variety than short order dresses.

Happy Shopping!

I ordered my dress in November 2019 for my October 2020 wedding. It just came in two weeks ago (end of April). So it took about 5 months to come in. Take into consideration style, manufacturer, etc. Some places rarely have dresses on hand ready to buy, but it’s possible! I looked on Pinterest , google, David’s bridal website for inspiration. However my vision and my dream dress that I choose were two completely different dresses! I have found that a lot of brides share that opinion. It really comes down to what you feel and look your best in!

I ordered two dresses from David’s Bridal to try at home. Both were in stock and available so they took about a week to arrive.


Neither of those worked out so tried a home try-on dress from Cocomelody. The home try-on took a little over a week to arrive. From that I’m ordering a custom dress from them which will take about 45 days.

Thank you everyone! I did talk to a local bridal salon and she is open for by appt only fittings with social distancing. I am getting married next May and I was thinking of waiting until July as I have already lost 20 pounds and was hoping to get another 20 off before I went... anyone have advice for that?

I would wait until you're closer to your goal weight and then go. I purchased my first dress when I was thirty pounds heavier, then for health reasons I lost the weight. Then they quoted me something like 1500 to replace the zipper with a corset, and I hated that dress anyway. BUT if you find a dress and keep losing weight, they can generally take it in a size I believe. It also depends on the dress - more intricate the details the more work alterations will be. David's Bridal is having virtual appointments, and they tend to have their dresses in stock to ship within a week or two. I exchanged my dress in December and had a dress by January. Azazie is another good try at home option, and I've also seen luxreduxbridal. But you definitely want to try things on before you commit to anything. Good luck!

I have two dresses for my beach elopement that will be followed by a small reception on 7/12/2021. I guess you can say that I purchased them 14 months before the wedding. I haven’t changed in size in years so that helped in the process of buying the dress sooner than later.

A little over a year and I'm glad I did. It's all custom and handmade, won't be here until Christmas time...now with covid happening probably after lol.

Thanks everyone! This is my second wedding - divorced 6 years ago. I gained a lot of weight throughout my first marriage and never quite got it off. I want all fresh starts and have been working on me since my divorce. I met my fiancé and it was like a breath of fresh air..... I am at the point where I am ready and want to lose weight. So..... I will wait another month or two to go to the bridal salon but keep working hard on losing the weight!

I spent a lot of time looking on Pinterest and the David's Bridal website to see what I liked. I ended up buying my dream dress from David's Bridal two years in advance. It came in quicker than they said, but I'm sure currently things are taking longer to arrive. I'm getting married in September and getting my alterations done at the end of July.