Wedding Dress

I started browsing online and in thrift stores for silhouettes I liked. Then I set up an appointment with David's Bridal. Purposefully didn't bring my purse with me so that I could get an idea of what looked good on me in my price range.

Just made an appointment with a few shops and started trying on all different silhouettes and narrowing it down from there.

Like most girls, I had/have a Pinterest board lol. Then I asked my friends for recommendations on bridal shops and went to one and found my dress at that boutique ☺️

I used the app to figure out what shops were near me and what the amount their dresses go for so i can figure out which ones were within my budget! i ended up finding my dress at the first shop and i honestly couldnt of been anywhere better. you just gotta go somewhere that has your style so always look ahead before you try on dresses and make sure you have something in mind. it always helps the consultant figure out what you like best and how to work around what you like most. pinterest is a great way to find what you like so you can show them and go from there! just be prepared, you may find a dress that is not what you were looking for it but it may be the one! always step out of your comfort zone!

I started by creating my budget for the wedding, then decided how much I was willing to spend on a dress I'd only be wearing once. It ended up being a REALLY small budget, and because of my fuller figure, the likelihood I'd find something second-hand at a thrift store was not good. So that is when I realized I could likely only go to DB for a dress. With my budget in mind, I ONLY looked at DB's website so that I wouldn't get my hopes up about some amazing dress I couldn't afford elsewhere.

I made my 1st appointment and I went by myself because I didn't want any outside opinions making me feel bad about my choices. I was very clear with the sales lady about my budget. She was VERY accommodating and did NOT try to upsell me a dress I couldn't afford. She even found a dress that was 6X my budget that was on clearance for JUST over my budget price, which would have been SUCH a score if it had been 'the one'. She worked very hard with me. She also picked out a few dresses I wouldn't have picked for myself.

Then I found 3 I really liked. I invited my mom and bridesmaids to the 2nd fitting and chose one I liked the best. It was one of the ones the attendant chose for me at the first fitting. Color me surprised!!

My best advice to you is to figure out your budget first so that you don't end up trying on an amazing dress only to find out it's too expensive because nothing else will compare to it and you'll be crushed. When you go to your first fitting, take your time and don't rush. And don't buy anything that first day - give it time to marinate. Take pictures of the dresses you're in, too, so that you can remember them, or ask the attendants to. If there was a dress you really want to try but they don't have it in stock - wait to see if they'll get it in or if another location has it, otherwise you might end up with dress regret.

If you DO create a DB account, here are 2 tips:

1. If you create a "favorites" list, they will be able to pull those dresses for you on the day you show up for your appointment so it's helpful to do that, but remember to keep it within your budget.

2. They will add you to a bunch of emailing lists for local photographers, Men's Warehouse, etc. so if you can sign up with an alternate email, do it because these people will constantly be in your inbox talking about how you "won a raffle for $200 off your photography" etc. The first 3 months after I got my dress I was unsubscribing from all sorts of lists and I still get mail and coupons from places I'm not going to shop at 8 months later. Some people like getting these emails, but I'm personally not a fan.

Good luck looking and have fun with it!! And congrats on getting engaged!

I had a small budget cause I can't justify spending thousands on a dress I'm going to wear once. I took my mom, FMIL and sister to BHLDN and tried on 7 dresses there and then we drove to DB and tried on some more there within my price range. I had these appointments booked ahead of time cause they don't take walk-ins. The dress I ended up getting was what my mom found at DB as she was rummaging in the sales/clearance aisle. It was $250 over my budget, but my mom ended up getting it for me as a gift so my budget is being used for alterations. I've been able to stick to the budget with everything else, so going over on the dress for the wedding was alright with me

I went to low, middle and high price range shops (3 shops in total). I wore similar dresses (fit and flare style) and picked the one that matched my price point the best! I picked mine from the middle price range and am so happy with it!

I went to two salons 1 year out, then another 10 months out. I bought my dress 10 months out and it arrived 7 months later, then took 3 months for alterations.

I made an appointment at David's Bridal. Before the appointment, I went to their website and started browsing dresses. They have a little tool where you can see what silhouette looks best on your body type. Then I marked a bunch of dresses I liked as "favorites."

When I arrived at my appointment, I showed the consultant my "favorites." He pulled all of those for me to try on, and one by one, I tried them all (about 11 dresses). I found the one!!

Last Black Friday, a bridal salon in my hometown was having a sale so I decided to make an appointment & go and try on dresses (this was before we were engaged). I wasn't really planning on getting anything that day since I didn't have the ring yet, but I wanted to see what dress styles I liked on. I tried on about 10 dresses and confirmed that I LOVED the mermaid style. I went to another store in March, then, ended up buying my dress online from another bride shortly after (brand new without alterations)!

I knew what I wanted I just had2make sure it looked nice with my frame & some dresses did & some didn't but it depended on the designer..Some hugged my hips real nice & some have me looking crazy plus Im short so some were designed for taller women.

Pinterest /online browsing, seeing what I thought I might like or what would look good for my body type.
Then looked at what bridal shops where nearby so I could actually get an idea of how many places/options I have.
Saw one had a huge sale because they were moving to a larger location, and ended up buying my dress there!
I wasn't really planning on going for another month or so, just because our wedding is in a year, but figured I would give it a look!

I went full open mind to my first appointment. I liked some styles but I didn’t know what would look good on me so my first appointment was at a small boutique that had a 2 hour appointment so I was able to try all different styles and I went from there. I soon realize I don’t like how I look in lace because makes me look older and is just isn’t for me. Something else that helps is calling the boutiques in advance and asking for starting price since some might be out of budget which in that case is better not to go there. Is also helpful to ask if they have any particular designer you like and what’s the limit on people you can bring.

I think like most girls on here have said as well, I was a super duper online shopper when I knew it was time to go dress shopping. I used the dress tool right here on WW, I used Pinterest, and let all of my girlfriends find dresses and send them to me.

I actually based my budget off of things that I liked. (Within reason.... I definitely liked some dresses that were $5K-$7K, but that's just not reasonable for my budget) But that being said, I realized most of the dresses that I were drawn to were about $1K-$2K, so I was prepared to spend around that much. Alterations have been quoted to me about $100-$200, but I haven't started the process yet. I do know that I had to pay around $200 for rush shipping, as I was about 5 mo away from my wedding date at the time of saying yes to the dress.

I only went to one Bridal Salon. I absolutely refused to step foot into a David's Bridal, or any other chain like that. I mean absolutely NO offense to anyone who went there, generally a lot of people on this site recommend them which is awesome, but I just wanted a different, more personalized experience. I chose a local salon that carried dresses from $1K all the way up to $9K, so I really wasn't sure if that would work out for me. But they created an online portal for me to view their inventory, and I went crazy. Every dress was gorgeous, and SO many were within budget. I saved so many favorites, and my stylist was an angel. It was actually her recommendation that I ended up saying yes to. (Full bodied A Line!) I couldn't be more in love with how my process went.

My biggest recommendation would be to sleep on your decision. Some people say yes right away, and that's awesome. But I'm a second guesser to the max... I had my whole entourage there the first day when I tried on my dress, but I just couldn't pull the trigger until I slept on it. Once I did, I came back a week later to try on my 2 favs again, and pulled the trigger with only my best friend/Matron of Honor present. Cried in the dressing room, drank champagne, the whole nine yards.

I feel so confident in my decision and I am so in love with that whole process to this day, I just want to relive it every time I think about it.

I figured out the type of wedding I wanted, if I wanted a theme, and then where. Then I went online to look for something that tied in, but still stood out.

The first time I went to David’s bridal having no idea what I wanted tried on 5 different dresses realized my favorite is mermaid and left wanting one that was double my budget.. went back a 2nd time finding just mermaid dresses around my budget until I found the one I’m in love with and want now it is home 😊❤️

Looked up ideas for the season I’m having it in. Looked up what I already knew I liked. Went into bridal shops with a very open and broad mind and made sure to try on dresses that is saved on Pinterest (same style anyways). Coincidentally the dress I chose was a dress style I’d never thought of or even saved. It was the only one of its still too and it’s perfect. Very different from my style lol but very cute.

Made appointments and went in! You’ll know what you like after dress 2 or 3. You also have to click with your stylist. My first store stylist was young and cute but very...... millennial. Wasn’t interest in me barely got to know my name and was dry when it came to answering questions. My second stylist could have been my mom. She was calling my her 2nd child with minutes of my appointment. Her daughter and I have the same birthday, played soccer in college and we both have broken numerous bones.... she got to know me and put me in 3 dresses. I got 2 of them.... both under budget. I can’t wait to go back to see her for fittings. She has also checked in on me about the dress and just to see how I’m doing.

I saved pics of dresses I liked and then showed them in my bridal appointments. I also gave the stylists a “not to exceed” dress budget. Then it was a lot of trying on gowns!

I may be the odd duck, but I scheduled a private appointment with an upscale, local bridal salon that specializes in gowns for the Southern bride. This was my only appointment. I knew I wanted a ballgown, but was willing to look at others. I also wanted a pale pink or blue gown. They must have pulled 20 dresses. My gown was the last one I tried on. I only tried on 8. It was a great shopping experience having the whole shop for me and my guests. Hope this helps!! 💖