First time wedding dress shopping with a pushy consultant? Advice!

You dont need to say anything right away. try on the dress and maybe a couple others and at the end of the appointment let the consultant know you arent ready to purchase since it will be pending on your mom's approval and $$ since she will be the one paying for it. Dont let the reviews or anyone at the bridal salon stress you out. you;ll be fine.

ive done this several times exactly for the same reason, mom isnt with me and shes the one paying...

That's a very good suggestion. If you put the finalizing of the decision on someone else that isn't there then they really can't push you to buy anything. I always sleep on things one night so no matter how pushy someone is I stay firm to my rule. Good luck.

I agree with the other ladies that it will be easier if you tell the consultant that someone else is paying and you need that person's go ahead. You should be prepared to be told that you can't take pictures in the dress. A lot of bridal stores won't let you take pictures of a dress unless you purchase the dress.

Let them know UP FRONT that this is your first time trying on dresses so you are trying to get a feel of what silhouettes look best on you, and that you wouldn't feel comfortable buying since your mom is unable to come. Don't wait until the end of the appointment, they may feel like you've been misleading them. A good consultant will still do the best they can for you even if they know upfront you don't plan to buy today, because they want you to come BACK the second time with your mom and buy from them

Also- make sure the dress you found that is $$$$ that's much cheaper online isn't much cheaper because its a knock-off from China.

Yeah I would let them know up front that it is your first time dress shopping and your mom is the one who will be paying for the dress so you need to try a few on and wait for her approval. Don't let them change or mind or push you around stay grounded and in control. Also remember you are the customer without you they really have nothing so don't let them make you feel like they don't need your business because in the end they do.

I agree with the other readers, mention it is your first time shopping and you want to get an idea of what you like best. I would do some research because a lot of places I went to wouldn't let me take pictures in the gowns. It was really weird because you would think they would want you to have it so that you could look back and see how much you liked the dresses and go back for it but I guess not.

As you get toward the end I would just say politely that you have to come back with your mom and they should be able to save your information about all of the dresses that you liked. I hope it doesn't end up being stressful and you can enjoy it!

I would not tell them that you are planning on purchasing elsewhere. I agree though that you let them know you mother will be purchasing and you would need her final approval and ask them what their deadline for ordering in time would be (makes you sound more interested in purchasing from them).

Thankyou everyone! I am definitely going to take the advice! I found a dress and style I like more in my price range, so I may not have to wait overall for approval. However, I called a few more places and they seemed a lot easier going. I figured it I went with a smaller shop I wouldn't be as pressured ( but no) I think it is because these little shops don't have as many clients so they need the sales. I am going to check Davids Bridal first and go from there.

I have actually have better experiences at the smaller shops, those consultants werent pushy at all and never hounded me with phone calls after my visit, which the lady from Davids bridal definitely did lol

Great lol. I guess I am just going to have to try my luck. Part of the reason I backed out of the other one was because I was looking at an Allure dress ( which they have no prices online at all.) Well, it was over a $1,000 which I can't come anywhere close too. So trying on a dress that expensive where that sale would be very important to them seems like a recipe for disaster. The dress at Davids is no more then 300, so hopefully they won't be to pushy since they won't make a ton of money off me! lol

Yes, it is definitely all about you going thru the experience of it. We all have had different experiences. in my case i visited about 7 different salons, n did Davids Bridals last, if your budget is in the hundreds, then for sure that would be a good option for you. The average salon designer dresses start in the upper $800s-$1,000. unless you can find a nice sample sale, for instance for that allure dress. Good luck and enjoy it!!

I would tell them it was your first time trying on dresses, and you just want to get a feel on what you like first.

As far as David's go, their prices range from $99 and go up to $2000. I've tried on one $300 dress from DB, and it was really simple I'd have to add a $100 belt to it... the other dresses I tried from DB were $600 and $1300..the $1300 dress seemed like it was cheaper than a $1000 designer dress I tried on....

Not all small boutiques are pushy by the way. SOME can be though. I happened to find a small boutique that was so nice and elegant and the sales consultants did not push me at all.

I've been to two different David's Bridals (once on a saturday and once during the week), two completely different experiences!! They are so busy on saturdays they will hardly give you time, yet they're also not pushy... during the week, its super slow and they just want to make a sale..that's when they're pushy.

I would tell them it was your first time trying on dresses, and you just want to get a feel on what you like first.

As far as David's go, their prices range from $99 and go up to $2000. I've tried on one $300 dress from DB, and it was really simple I'd have to add a $100 belt to it... the other dresses I tried from DB were $600 and $1300..the $1300 dress seemed like it was cheaper than a $1000 designer dress I tried on....

Not all small boutiques are pushy by the way. SOME can be though. I happened to find a small boutique that was so nice and elegant and the sales consultants did not push me at all.

I've been to two different David's Bridals (once on a saturday and once during the week), two completely different experiences!! They are so busy on saturdays they will hardly give you time, yet they're also not pushy... during the week, its super slow and they just want to make a sale..that's when they're pushy.

My friend had to deal with a terrible service from the boutique she bought her dress, BMs dress, MOB & MOG dresses. They were treated so nicely when they were trying on dresses and made their purchases. After that everything went to hell: alterations not being done right (or not at all), a dress was held hostage, the owner was in the MOB's face yelling at her, one BM got banned from the store, another BM was called fat by the owner (owner told her I normally don't serve people like you), and the owner called the cops on the entire BP. It was a nightmare, 3 weeks before the wedding!

Basically, if you get a feeling that things aren't right with this store, go with that feeling. Let them know in advance that you don't plan on buying your dress that day. And if they start giving you sh*t about it, walk right out.