How far in advance should bridesmaid purchase their dress?

She should purchase the dress with enough time for it to arrive in time for alterations and the actual wedding. Find out the designers timeline and go from there. There is no reason to have the dress months and months in advance

It depends on how long it takes the vendor you are getting them from to make/ship them. Our vendor took 8 weeks from the date of order to ship the dresses and then you need a few weeks for any alterations. The earliest I have ever had to order a bridesmaid dress for weddings i have been in is 5 months.

My bridesmaids and I went to pick out dresses about 5 months before, and the vendor took 12 weeks to ship.

My concern would be if they are supposed to be the same style or even color, that it might be discontinued.

5-6 months before the wedding is the perfect time. Much later than that, you risk the dress not arriving in time, and much earlier you risk it not fitting correctly due to possible body changes, even if someone doesn't plan to be a different size sometimes things happen (pregnancy, medications that make you gain or lose, life in general) so you don't want get a dress too early and leave too much time for changes

You've still got time. David's Bridal gave me a January deadline for my June wedding. The dresses ended up arriving very quickly for most of them because the style, color, and size was available in the warehouse. But if that's not the case I believe they only cut fabric and make new dresses a few times a year and it can take a few months.

However I would ask the dress provider what their best timeline is.

It depends on the production time of the company you are ordering from. My girls ordered from Azazie, and their production time was 9 week at the time. I wanted them to have their dresses around 6 weeks before the wedding so that they could get any alterations that were needed (though I think they all did the custom sizing). They all picked a time that was convenient financially for them (ended up being around 5 months before the wedding) and ordered then.

Also, some stores i went to recommended the girls buying their dresses all around the same time so they are made from the same dye job and look the same. But yes it depends on the shipping date provided by the designer/company and you also want to have time for alterations and stuff needed. I think i will shoot for the girls dresses to be in a month before the wedding or a little sooner around 6-7 weeks

When I was researching dresses for my wedding, I found that most take 12 weeks to come in, and then you have to add a couple weeks for alterations, so I'd say by 5 months out it should be ordered. My dresses were by Hayley Paige Occasions; the girls ordered end of April, they came end of July, and then they had 2 months to go for alterations at their leisure. Everyone wanted to order sooner rather than later, but it prob could've waited another month or so.

ETA and they all ordered at the same time so they were made in the same dye lot. We picked a date that everyone would get their measurements to the shop by, and then once they all did, the shop ordered all the dresses together.

The dye lot thing is a sales tactic unless you are talking about top of the line mega mega buck silk dresses. Salons do that to get you to order the dresses all at the same time and get the sale/commission. Dyeing is done by computer now, not a person so it is quite specific.

I'm actually going through ModCloth for both their dresses so it may not take as long to get them shipped. Thanks for all the feedback. I definitely have an idea now.

My girls ordered theirs last week. Our wedding is in October of this year and the designer takes 12 weeks. When they come in they will have about 3 months to complete alterations.

As many people said purchase with enough time for alterations to be completed. But also dont order to early! I was in a wedding and ordered my dress WAY too early and ended up gaining weight, having it altered was a nightmare!

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OMG YES! My MOH wanted to go shopping 6 months ago and kept telling me we would run out of time if we waited. I pointed out the fact that she would have to watch her weight for the whole year and she stopped. lol

View Quoted Comment So I may have goofed and gotten my wedding dress too early (I'm a year out) but the excitement was killing me! Thankfully now that I'm older my weight really only fluxuates by about 5 lbs.

View Quoted Comment I bought my dress in November of last year, so I understand.

I had the BMs' dresses made 6 months before the wedding and personally visited/mailed out the dresses 5 months before to give the BMs time to try the dresses on and get minor alterations if needed. Also, 6 month time frame wasn't too much time for weight inflexions (their concerns).

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You didn't goof! They say to start shopping a year out for a wedding gown because it can take a while to find THE dress and alterations take longer than BM dresses. I got mine a little over a year out. BM dresses usually come in a little faster and require less alterations so 6 months is typically a good time to buy.