3 Wedding Dress Shopping Mistakes to Avoid
Shopping for a wedding dress is both the most exciting and the most stressful part of planning a wedding. When all goes well, the bride finds the perfect dress. Unsuccessful shopping excursions, on the other hand, can leave brides feeling stressed out. Every trip to a bridal boutique can be a fun experience, however, even if brides leave empty-handed. To optimize the dress shopping experience, brides should avoid making the following mistakes.
Don’t: Choose the Wrong Shopping Companions
It can be tempting to bring a large entourage to every wedding-related shopping trip. Shopping for a dress is, after all, the perfect excuse to pop open a bottle of champagne and celebrate! Before brides invite a dozen friends to go shopping with them, however, they should consider what they’re looking for in a shopping partner. When there are too many people crammed into the dressing room, giving opinions, selecting the perfect dress becomes more difficult. It’s hard for the bride to know her own mind when she’s getting feedback from so many directions. For a successful shopping trip, it’s better to bring two or three companions, who the bride trusts to give an honest opinion. Many brides bring their mom, their sister, and/or their maid of honor. They usually understand the bride’s personal style, ensuring that they help rather than hinder the wedding dress buying process.
Don’t: Try on Dozens of Dresses
When surrounded by dozens of beautiful dresses, it can be tempting to try them all on. This isn’t a good shopping tactic, however, as the more dress options a bride has, the harder it is to choose a single gown. That doesn’t mean that a bride should just go with the first dress she tries on. When she tries on dress after dress after dress, however, she’s at risk of becoming overwhelmed. By the end of the shopping trip, she may be more confused than she was at the start. It’s best to enter a boutique with a general style in mind, like “strapless A-line wedding dress” or “boho wedding dress,” and select five to ten gowns that meet that criteria. By selecting a manageable number, brides will be able to keep track of what they do and don’t like, and they won’t get weighed down by an indistinguishable mountain of tulle and taffeta.
Don’t: Try on Dresses Out of Your Budget
It’s a scenario familiar to many brides. They spot a beautiful dress on a mannequin, check the price tag, and discover that the dress is hundreds or thousands of dollars out of their price range. Many brides decide that wedding dress shopping is a time to indulge in fantasy, and they try on the unaffordable dress. The impulse is understandable, but it only leads to heartbreak. Finding the perfect dress is no fun if you can’t afford it! Instead, brides should set a wedding dress budget and stick to it. They should inform the boutique of their price limit, which guarantees they’ll only be shown dresses in their price range.