Wedding dress shopping in pandemic

I would check out Azazie. They let you try on dresses before you purchase them. The problem is that you are really crunched for time. Even if you were able to try a dress on in the store, you'd have to get one of the shelf because wedding dresses take about 6-9 months to come in.

Most bridal boutiques have always been appointment only, even before the pandemic. It ensures you have a resource fully devoted to you while you are there who can help point you toward the right choices and help get you in and out of dresses. Is there a reason you're opposed to making an appointment at a bridal shop?

I agree with Veronica, try out azazie and other places that let you try on before buying. If you buy from a boutique it has to be with plenty time. I bought my dress in August and it still hasn't come in. You'll also need time for alterations.

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Oh. I didn't know that. I am super new to the process of planning a wedding in the US. I am not really opposed to the idea of the bridal shop. Just have no idea what to expect when you go.

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Oh got it. Yes, that makes sense. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try Azazie.

You should go and try on dresses at the stores that will let you do so. You can make an appointment and try on dresses - that doesn't obligate you to making a purchase. I ended up purchasing a pre-owned dress online that I loved and wore for our ceremony, but I tried on probably a dozen or so dresses at a boutique first to help me narrow down what I did and didn't like. I knew I preferred a pre-owned dress (for sustainability reasons and cost) but going and trying on dresses in person was super helpful. Even though I didn't make a purchase, I had a great experience and I wrote the boutique a great review.

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That's wonderful advice. I will definitely book some appointments and try on dresses to at least get a general sense of what would look good on me and what I like. I would also prefer a pre-owned dress (cost would be a bigger reason). If you don't mind me asking - where did you purchase your pre-owned dress from?

I've never come across a bridal salon that wasn't appointment only. I'd reach out to some more places to book some appointments! When it comes to your wedding dress, I would definitely recommend trying on first to get a sense of what works for your body. It's best to have an idea of what style and designer you like before going the pre-owned route since pre-owned dresses are usually non-returnable. Like a PP mentioned, you're under no obligation to purchase anything from these appointments!

Hi Mona! I'd also start thinking about production time on your wedding dress!! Most of the bridal salons carry dresses can take 6-8 months to come in after ordering!

I'd recommend checking out bridal brands like Azazie, BHLDN, by watters (their in-stock online options), and David's Bridal.

Additionally - ASOS, Lulus, Reformation, and Revolve all carry bridal options that ship quickly!

Most wedding dress shops are by appointment! Some do allow drop ins, but if you do that route, it doesn't guarantee you a fitting room and a specialist to help with the dresses.

You should try to make an appointment to at least try some on in person! If you can't find anything then at least you can figure out your wedding dress size for when you order online.

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StillWhite! There are a number of pre-owned wedding dress sites out there but I really liked the search options on StillWhite. One of the best features is that you can search by street size, which is helpful since bridal sizes can be quite variable. I will caution that StillWhite itself is based in Australia, so I found it really helpful to limit my search to USA or North America only because there do tend to be a lot of dresses from Australia and the UK posted, and I didn't want to deal with customs and expensive international shipping.

Other sites you can try include Nearly Newlywed and Preownedweddingdresses.com (wedding dresses only), or general consignment sites like Poshmark, Mercari, Tradesy, ThredUp, or TheRealReal. Of those other ones I've only ever purchased from Poshmark, so can't really comment on how good (or not) the other sites are, but I've done a lot of browsing and they all have plenty of wedding dresses posted.

On StillWhite I ended up finding a dress I loved at a really good price, and from a bride with nearly the same measurements as me, so when I got the dress I was actually able to wear it without alterations, and it already had a bustle added. It probably would have benefitted from some minor tweaking for a custom, precise fit, but we ended up doing a Covid elopement on our original wedding date (which was in May 2020, so back when everything was shut down and I couldn't go to a seamstress/tailor) and it worked out!

I'm also the type of person that hates "ruining" pristine things by using them, so I just felt better knowing my dress wasn't "perfect" to start. And when Covid ended up throwing all our plans out the window, I was a lot less nervous wearing my pre-owned dress for our mini celebration (which was outdoors and had our dog as ring bearer) than I would have been if I had spent thousands on a new dress that only a handful of people got to see and enjoy. We still hope we can do a "redo" wedding and celebrate with our loved ones in the future, and after picking out some sticks and twigs that got caught in the lace while we are doing photos (and plucking a random caterpillar hitchhiker off my dress), my dress looks as good as it did when I got it and I'll be happy when/if I get to wear it again. And if you choose to sell your dress after your ceremony, you'll probably get a better return on investment re-selling a used dress, and might even be able to sell it close to the price you paid for it, vs something you bought brand new.

Also trying on dresses in person and having an appointment at a bridal boutique made me feel like I didn't miss out on that part of being a bride. Dress hunting online isn't quite the same, so it was fun to have a "bridal" experience even if a bit different. Also at the bridal boutique I got to try on a few veils and hair pieces as well, so going "in person" is a good opportunity to try on bridal accessories. Chances are you've worn plenty of dresses for other occasions before, but you probably haven't tried on too many veils or tiaras in your lifetime, so be sure to take advantage of that as well.

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Totally agree with this but most importantly the last part of this.

You need to try on a wedding dress to know your size, I firmly believe bridal dress sizing is a conspiracy to crush women, they run SO disgustingly small, I can guarantee you are not the same size in a wedding dress than you are in normal clothing.

My mom owned a bridal store for 24 years, and now sells her left over inventory online, she brings home dresses all the time that she's sold in my standard size, and I can't even get them over my hips.

Ladies, thank you so much for your wonderful advice and suggestions. I took them all into consideration and booked appointments at three different shops. I tried on a bunch of wedding dresses (at least 5 at each place).

A few conclusions we came to after the appointment was that my wedding dress size is still a 0 which limited me to the dresses available to try-on. I however did try some dresses in size 2 which would need alterations and tweaks for it to fit me. Also trying them on in-person helped me settle on the type of dress I want.

I have an appointment at Brides for Cause (they sell reused dresses) next week and I am looking into some online websites to find the one for me. Thanks again for all the suggestions. They were definitely helpful and gave me a much clear path.