Here's Your Complete Wedding Dress Shopping Timeline
When it comes to finding "the one," timing is essential. These are the wedding dress deadlines you don't want to miss. Ever since you got engaged, you can’t stop imagining yourself in the perfect wedding dress—so shopping for it is sure to be an exhilarating, exciting and, yes, overwhelming experience. When should you start? Where should you go? What happens once you're there?
Consider your worrying over—from ordering to altering, here's everything you need to know.
12 Months to Go
Set Your Gown Budget After setting the budget for your wedding, you’ll need to decide how much of that will be spent on your dress. In addition to the cost of the dress, add on taxes, alterations and possibly shipping. Don't forget to also set aside part of that budget (10 to 20 percent) for extras like your shoes, veil and jewelry.
Do Your Research
Before you start shopping, figure out what style you're looking for. Your venue can help you narrow that down. If you're having a beach-side wedding, you'll probably want a flowy, unfussy gown.
Getting married at an upscale hotel? A formal ball gown could be your dress. Also find out what silhouettes best suit your body shape. Then look through pictures of wedding dresses online and in magazines, and tear out or save your favorite styles.
The Wedding Look-Book
Browse wedding dress marketplaces for a list of salons in your area. While plenty of research can help narrow down your options, keep an open mind. An experienced consultant can help you find the right dress for your budget and body type—and the style of dress you end up loving might even surprise you.
Choose Your Shopping Mates
Bring either your mom or a trusted friend when you dress shop, but limit your entourage to two or three people. Too many opinions can make your dress shopping experience unnecessarily confusing.
Go Wedding Dress Shopping
There's a reason you need to get a jump-start on your gown search—you're not buying off the rack, so your wedding dress is essentially custom made for you. This means it will take months of work to create and a series of alterations to fit your body perfectly. Schedule your appointments early since salons can get booked up fast. When you go for your bridal salon appointment, bring photos of dresses you like so the salesperson will be better equipped to help you. If you know you want to wear a specific designer, see if they're having a trunk show (a traveling show of their entire collection) at a salon near you.
8 Months to Go
Buy Your Dress Now it's time to make a final decision and place the order. You'll know it's "the one" when you don't want to take it off. When you buy your gown, you'll have to sign a contract and put down a deposit, which is usually about 60 percent of the price of the gown. This is because your one-of-a-kind dress takes manpower to create, so designers need a down payment to start production. Before you sign the contract, make sure all the information is correct. Ask at the salon when they expect your gown to arrive—on average it's 16 to 20 weeks from the day you place your order—and confirm they'll call you when it comes in.
5 Months to Go
Shop for Your Undergarments
Get your under-the-dress essentials before your first fitting. Whether you're planning on wearing a strapless bra, slipping into a body-slimming shaper or going braless, the slightest switch in your undergarments can change the fit of your dress.
Choose Your Hair Accessories
It's also time to find your veil so you can get an idea of your entire look, from head to toe, when you have your gown fitting. For a casual dress, go with a complementary short blusher or cage veil. If you're wearing a ball gown, you might want to choose something more dramatic and grand, like a chapel- or cathedral-length veil.
Select Your Shoes
Take the height of your heel into consideration. You'll be on your feet for most of the day, so make sure your toes can handle it. If you’re looking for fun alternatives to traditional wedding heels, look for classic flats or modern sneakers.
3 Months to Go
Have Your First Fitting
You'll most likely have three fittings to get your dress altered to fit you perfectly. It's important to get the timing of each alterations appointment right. Have your fittings too early and you may end up with a dress that doesn’t fit properly—you may lose or gain weight after yo
ur gown is altered. Bring your gown in too late and you won’t have enough time to make all the alterations. Most gowns will need at least some sort of alteration, and while some salons charge a flat fee, others charge per item. The costs can range from $200 for a simple hem to more than $1,000 for major adjustments. And remember: Don't bring just your gown—you’ll need your undergarments, shoes and accessories as well.
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