How far in advance do you need to find a wedding dress?

I ordered my dress a little over 8 months before my wedding, and it took around 4 months to arrive. I would suggest planning for 4-6 months for the dress to arrive, and around 2 months for alterations, so maybe 8 months in advance? I would also recommend ordering a dress in the size that you are at the time you purchase it, since it's easier to make the dress smaller than it is to make it bigger, just in case it arrives too small. Happy dress shopping!

I got mine around 10-11 months or so before my wedding but I’ve seen people get theirs a lot later

I ordered my dress in October and it won’t be here until September. I’ve lost 27 pounds since i ordered my gowns and they will just have to adjust it during the fitting. I plan on loosing 25 more pounds. You can order a size down if you’re comfortable making that choice. Everything is being manufactured and shipped at a slower rate because of COVID so you may want to start shopping now if you add the turn around time with you actually finding the dress that you like. Some brides take months to find the right dress. It doesn’t hurt to start looking .

I would order your dress sooner rather than later. I just said yes to my dress and it is expected to arrive in December 2020 - January 2021. I tried on over 50 dresses at several bridal salons. They all told me the same thing, due to COVID it is best to order my dress between 10-11 months ahead. Since the U.S has not beat COVID, we do not know what future holds for us brides so it is better to order now and leave enough time for delays if that were to happen.

I was told it is easier to take away from a dress than to add to it. So I would size up and then adjust your dress during alterations.

With David's Bridal, most dresses will be in their warehouses and get to you within a month or so. That's one of the good parts of going through them. BUT. I did buy an Oleg Cassini, which is one of their designer exclusives, and that they made specially for me in like two months or so. But it can be longer. I would wait a bit more for your weight loss, then go maybe 6 months out, if not sooner so you can get an idea of your options and what you can buy. Also note that Covid is messing up shipping times and there might be delays. A dress can be taken in fairly easily - my elopement dress that they had in stock was too big, so they were able to take it in to my measurements for me with no trouble. No harm in looking now, especially if you decide to see boutique dresses as well. Good luck! It's so much fun and try to enjoy the process.

I ordered my dress from David's Bridal. They told me it would take 5 months to come in. It only took a few weeks. I'm not sure if that's typical for them though.

I purchased mine in November 2019 for our October 2020 wedding. It arrived in February 2020. Now I get to hold on to it until October October 2021...

Are you planning on going to David's Bridal because you love a dress there? or do you have a different reason? If you're open to other options, I got my dress from BHLDN and it was delivered like 3 days later, so that might be worth looking into.

My dress arrived from David’s bridal fairly quickly. I went in late January and I had it in less than a month. My wedding is supposed to be November 21st. The alterations need to happen 2 months out (8 weeks).
But like everyone said, covid is impacting shipping and everything else. I’d go sooner rather than later just to be safe.

I ordered mine seven months out, and was also in the middle of losing weight. I wouldnt worry too much because it’s very easy to alter a dress to your correct size if you lose weight. Just buy it based on what your current measurements are and then get alterations

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Yes, agreed. You can let them know your weight loss goal, and order a size down if anything. I’m also on a weight loss journey, which I hadn’t started yet when I ordered mine, and I’m down 65 pounds now. Just be upfront, some people are advised not to order down since “everyone” claims they are losing (like it’s their call, sigh). It’s easier to take a dress in, then to let it out, just keep that in mind. But you’re def at a good time to start looking, especially with some shipping times being longer.

View Quoted Comment Congratulations on the weight loss!!! It’s not an easy road but I’m proud of myself for sticking through it. I’m going to continue until I hit my goal then maybe 5lbs extra for a cushion since I’m going to be eating everything in sight during our honeymoon.

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Thank you! It’s def been a journey lol but I feel so much better all around. Good luck with yours, you got this!

While the usual time is about a year out, I’d suggest going now in case you don’t find something immediately at your first appointment, the spaces at David’s Bridal are more limited because they are only allowing a certain amount in their stores at a time, and the shipping times have gotten messed up due to Covid. It’s better to have a dress and need alterations than to risk not having a dress! Good luck!

Got my dress in end of November 2019 at david bridal ( great black Friday deals) & married May 16 2020

I ordered 8 months in advance as got my alterations completed at 4 months out. It just depends on how long it takes for you to decide and how many alterations you need. I would give some extra time because of COVID, but 6 months will still be plenty!

PS: Order bigger than you think you need because you can easily take a dress in, but its a lot harder to let it back out!

I'm clearly out of the norm here... I'm planning my whole wedding with just barely 2 months time. We're getting married October 16th 2020. I just barely ordered my dress online from a fantastic company with excellent reviews, great quality, & great prices. They custom make each dress upon ordering whether you use a standard size or custom size. I'm opting for a custom size and hired a local tailor to make any additional adjustments upon receiving.
They state 18 days for making 6 days for shipping. I estimated an additional 2 weeks for shipping due to Covid, which leaves me 2 weeks to spare to my wedding. Keeping my fingers crossed.
With that said I would definitely talk to the store you're ordering from. Find out what's their typical time frame on ordering & shipping. Find out if the dress is typically in stock, backorder, discontinued, or if it will be out of season (yep, seasonal dresses). Discuss tailoring time frames with your local seamstress or tailor. Then go from there. If you're planning on losing 2-3 size, I'd plan on waiting pending what you find out from the store. It just depends on how strict & how well you're weightloss is going. Hope that helps.

I ordered my dress in March 2020 for March 2021 and they said 4-6 months for it to come in. It's been 5 and isn't in yet so the earlier the better with COVID