Starting my dress shopping

When I went to David's Bridal, I was underwhelmed by the dresses I looked at. I don't know if it was really the dresses, or just me. My fitting room attendant made me feel like I wasn't going to have that "this is the one" moment, so I settled on the one I liked the most that day. It was pretty, but I regretted it as soon as I ordered it and took it back for a store credit two months later. It's a stressful task, that's for sure. You have SO much time, so my best advice is not to buy anything until you KNOW you love it. I'm ordering a second dress from Azazie, I think they're worth checking out if you're open to it Best of luck!

Don’t feel discouraged! Honestly, David’s Bridal is awful and poor quality. I promise, it will get better! Look for local bridal boutiques/salons in your area. See the designers they carry and look at their dresses. If you see something you like, make an appointment to go try some things on. Or, you could do what I did, which was find a designer that made the specific style of dresses I loved and found stores that carried her line! I promise, dress shopping is so fun. You just have to find the right stores! Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Thanks! I was at a local store because I’ve heard so many bad things about David’s lol also because my fiancé and I are really big supporters of small local businesses so we’re trying to get everything for them. Anyways I guess my expectations were to high. But I will definitely try other local places though.

I would read reviews online before going into a salon. What is your budget? I went to 3 salons, I started 1 year out and shopped through 10 months out (purchased my dress 10 months out). My budget was $2,000 before alterations, I didn't go to David's Bridal because I had heard lots of bad things & wanted a more personalized experience rather than the chain store experience (I had been in the store for other brides & as a bridesmaid and hated it). The 3 salons I went to around Denver all had very nice dresses around my price range.

I'm going to New York Bride and Groom this weekend, hopefully they have good quality dresses. I'm avoiding Davids Bridal because the one where I live sucks I will update how the process at New York Bride and Groom goes for me. So far, I've just talked on the phone with them and every time they've been super nice. Lets see how smoothly it goes this weekend.

View Quoted Comment My budget is “if I like it”. I read reviews and everyone said that they had such a great experience and the selection was amazing and idk. I didn’t like any of the fabrics and I’m honestly like nervous like are all wedding dresses made with the same fabric? Are they all going to feel cheap or was it just that one store that had cheap dresses?

I would say look at dresses on pinterest and maybe look by designer here on WW. I found a designer with dresses I LOVED so I looked up local boutiques that carried that designer's dresses. I had one specific favorite dress I had seen online, so I called to make sure they had that dress to try on before I made the appointment. I tried on a couple others, and then the one I had been in love with online. It ended up being the one!

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I didn't try on a single dress that felt cheap, but most of them were from designers that didn't make dresses until they were ordered by a bride so they were more custom dresses. If your budget is "if I like it", I would just look for the higher priced salons in your area. Your page says you're in Arizona, right? It looks like Mariee Bridal in Scottsdale, Uptown Bridal Boutique in Chandler, and Avancy Bridal in Phoenix all have great reviews. Depending on your budget and if you can afford the travel + the $5,000+ dress cost, you could always fly to Kleinfeld!

You mentioned being worried about the fabrics, it might also be because other brides have tried them on before too so they are probably handled a lot so the fabric might not feel as luxurious as the dress that you would receive/ order.

I know it can appear daunting, but you really have a lot of time to consider! I wouldn't order your dress until maybe a year out, not much earlier.

Try to go in with an open mind, you may love something on the hanger but hate it on you or vice versa. Try on different silhouettes, unless there's something you're positive you don't want (I knew I didn't want all lace or a mermaid/trumpet dress because it's not my style)