When should I go looking for my dress? The simple answer - and the reasons behind it.

Every week I get lots of phonecalls, emails and Facebook messages from brides asking me for tips and advice about wedding dress shopping.  The most frequent question I get asked is 'When should I go looking for my wedding dress?' and I always give the same answer: 

Go looking when you are ready to buy.  

For one bride, she may be ready to buy 20 months before her wedding,  For another, it may be 7 or 8 months before the big day.

When a bride visits our shop, we give them over an hour of our time and expertise.  (And sometimes a lot more if she books a second viewing.)  Our aim is to find a wedding dress for each bride who visits us.   We gladly allow each bride to try on thousands of pounds worth of dresses.  We help her to get in and out of each dress, often pinning her into the dresses to get the best looking fit to help her imagine what it would look like if it was the perfect fit (brides visiting our shop often remark how well we do this compared to other shops).  We will guide her towards the dresses which we feel she will like and which will flatter her figure.  If she likes a dress, we will help her accessorise it, giving tips from what shoes to wear to how to do her hair and what jewellery and head dress she should go for.   We don't charge for these consultations - we do them for free in the hope that some of the brides we help will 'Say Yes to the dress' in our shop and do business with us (so that we can pay the bills!!!) 

Our job is to sell you your dream dress - and when we do that appointment, we are working with the stock we have on that given day.  Fast forward 1 week... 1 month.... 3 months... 6 months.... As each week passes, that stock is constantly evolving.  If you follow our Facebook page you will see constant updates.  Pictures of new arrivals.  New styles straight from the catwalk so that we keep our stock fresh, following all the latest trends that our designers have to show us.  You'll also see Facebook updates warning of imminent discontinued lists.   For example, we lost 13 Essense of Australia dresses at Christmas to one of these dreaded lists.  Before that, we lost 18 Maggie Sottero dresses in September.   Also, if a supplier runs out of a certain fabric or trimming, they will discontinue a dress with immediate effect.

As well as losing stock to the designers' discontinuations, at Beautiful Day, we have always sold current season dresses 'off the peg' in our shop, mainly to brides with wedding dates that are too close for them to order a dress in.  We cannot hold on to every single dress in case someone decides to re-visit it at a later date. With every new dress I get in, I have to move a dress along to make room for the new stock on my rails.  It's all part of keeping our selection fresh and current and helping to fund the process of getting new stock in.  I love seeing the new styles come along to replace the ones we've moved along - we're in a fashion business and following changing trends is what we do to avoid our business becoming stagnant.

So where does this all fit in with my advice on leaving your bridal consultations until you are ready to buy a dress?

I'm always harping on to people to strike when the iron is hot and to order their dress once they find 'the one' - we can never promise that a dress will not become discontinued or won't be sold to someone in between your first visit to our shop and an appointment on a later date when you've decided that it's time to buy. With the sheer volume of brides who visit us, we cannot be expected to track every single bride and keep her up to date on a style's status if she hasn't put down a deposit. (We do track them however is a deposit is paid.) For every ten brides who leave loving a dress in our shop but don't pay a deposit, we are lucky if one or two of them ever even come back to order it, so unless a deposit is paid, we do not mark a dress down as 'the one' for a bride. In the past few months we've had several disappointed brides who've come back to our shop to see a dress they'd tried on during a previous visit and they were bitterly disappointed when they found it was gone. Some brides had left it nearly a year to come back - for one bride, it was only just over a week. It's not nice breaking the bad news that she can't try it on again, or even worse, that she can't even order it. frown emoticon   I've had the tears, the drama - even the slamming of doors from brides who came back thinking all they had to do was hand over the deposit for that dress they saw on a previous visit, only to find themselves back to square one, often with a very limited time-frame to start from scratch.   One bride a while back had even got a custom made head dress costing hundreds of pounds to match a certain dress that she found was discontinued when she came back to order it.  Another had went and bought bridesmaid dresses to match in with a dress that was gone and no longer available to order.

Please ladies - only go shopping when you are ready to say 'Yes to the dress' should you find it there and then. Leaving the decision until a later date because you are not ready is a risky tactic, and you should only walk away from a dress that day if you are willing to take the risk of coming back and having the decision taken out of your hands.   To avoid this happening, shop only when you're ready so that you're not pouring your time and energy - as well as ours - into something that you may not be able to get at a later date.  Say 'Yes to the dress' that you know you can wear on your wedding day, not to one that you hope (fingers crossed) that you will be able to come back and still get in the future.

Happy shopping!!  Ciara xx

www.beautifuldaybrides.co.uk


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Shopping for your wedding dress - some questions and answers.......

Hi everyone!!  Haven't been blogging now for a few months, so trying to get back into the swing of it!  I've had several queries recently (particularly at the wedding fayres) and I've been jotting them down to address in a blog, so I'm grouping them all together in this topic.   Your essential guide of Q&As in relation to going wedding dress shopping in our shop. Hope you find some useful tips. xx Ciara

When should I go looking for my dress?
We are always getting new styles coming along and dress styles are always getting discontinued, so in short, my answer is go when you are ready to seriously think about buying the dress.  In an ideal world, we'd all go looking 2 years before to get ideas, we'd find a dress, and then come back 8 months and it's still there waiting for you, but in practice it doesn't work. So don't make the mistake of missing out on your dream dress because you've come too early and found out that the dream dress you found last year has gone discontinued or that we've sold our sample.  And don't leave it too late either or you may be limited to buying off the peg!!!  Last orders are usually 6-7 months before the wedding, but 12 months before is a good time to start looking.  Our brides order on average about 10 months before their big day.

Who should I bring with me?
We have seating for up to three people in our bridal rooms. Any more than this, and the search can often get chaotic with too many opinions and not working on focussing on you and what your wants and needs are. Ideally, one or two helpers is best, but don't be afraid of setting out to look on your own either.  You'll often want your closest friend, a sister, your mum or someone close to you to help you make that final decision, but just make sure that whoever you bring, they will be on the same wavelength as you and that they will give you honest feedback without letting their own personal tastes get in the way if finding the dress for you. Choose your helpers wisely!!  If you don't, you could be setting yourself up for a difficult and frustrating time!

How long do I get for an appointment?
You will normally get 70 mins for an appointment.  However, if you get to the end of your allocated time and you find that you want to see more dresses, you are more than welcome to book a second appointment to come back another day.  We often run on a tight schedule, especially on Saturdays, so try to be on time.  If you are late, we cannot let you eat into the time of the girl after you. (I had a bit of a backlash about this one recently from an unhappy bride, but I'd like to think that most of you would be happy to oblige when it comes to helping to keep our appointment book running to schedule and not keeping other brides waiting.)

What should I wear?
If you can, wear a strapless bra and big knickers (unless you aren't embarrassed about being seen braless or in a skimpy thong!)  You are free to wear leggings or tights if that makes you feel more comfortable (or warmer in the winter).  We do give a one-to-one personal service in our shop and you will be helped into and out of the dresses at all times, so make sure you feel comfortable with what you are wearing.  Bring heels if you can as the dresses are quite long (we'll have extra pairs of court shoes and a box for you to stand on if you need a little help though!!)  And we would would ask for minimal make-up and no rub-off tans. You will be trying on thousands of pounds worth of dresses, so things like heavy foundation and lipstick mean expensive trips to the dry-cleaners for us, so you may be asked to remove make up if you come with quite a lot on!!

I have a strict budget!
Our dresses range from £400 to £1800, and we always will do our best to steer you in the right direction should you be on a strict budget.  Just let us know what your budget is when you arrive or when you are booking your appointment and we will keep you right!!  We would never encourage you to try on an £1800 dress if your budget is £900 and it can often lead to frustration on the brides part, so keep us informed.

Can I take pictures?
I used to turn a blind eye to this one, but due to designers' stricter copyright rules, photography of their dresses in our shop is not permitted (unless it is a dress you have purchased or have placed a deposit on). We are not even permitted to take photos at our designers' fashion shows :(   Almost all dresses can be viewed on the designers' websites anyway, so we will point you in the right direction should you wish to have a picture of the dress to see at home.  And don't forget that you are welcome to come and see your favourite dresses again should you need to - we won't expect you to make a decision based on your memory of one visit.

If I find a dress, what deposit do I need?
You'll need 50% of the dress price to place an order.  However, assuming you have got the time, you can pay an initial deposit of £200 and pay up to the 50% in instalments.  Quite a lot of our brides find it easier to do it this way.


Also, just a note to say that it is always a wise move to look for your wedding dress first before you move on to your bridesmaids.  It can be often a confusing task when presented with bridesmaid shopping when you have no idea if your dress is white or ivory or champagne, when you have no idea if you will fall for a modern style or vintage inspired style, or when you have no idea what neckline you are looking for.  Get the wedding dress sorted first, and your task will be much easier and you'll have a clearer focus.

And let us know if your close friend, your cousin, your sister-in-law or workmate has got their dress with us. Our dresses are available for anyone to order, but if we get a heads-up on connections with existing customers, we can make sure we steer you away from picking the same dress as them :)

And remember to keep an open mind when you go shopping.  You might feel a million dollars in a dress that you never dreamed of trying on, so don't come in wearing blinkers and be prepared to surprise yourself!!  Some girls find their dream dress in their first shop - for others it takes a few more trips around to find one that they love, so be patient and don't get too disheartened if you don't find it right away.

An organised bride is a less stressed bride - when should I get my wedding dress?

At recent wedding exhibitions, I have been asked the following question by loads of brides.  'When should I order my dress?'   As a rule, we tell our customers that they should have orders for wedding dresses in 6 to 7 months before the wedding (at the very latest!!! order earlier if you possibly can!)  and 5 months for bridesmaids - stick to that rule and you shouldn't go wrong.  

We always allow a ‘cushion’ of at least 6 weeks between the quoted delivery date and the bride’s wedding.   I like all orders to be in a good bit before the wedding to allow adequate time for a relaxed run-up to the big day for getting things like alterations carried out and accessories picked, so whilst the company are not actually quoting us the full 6 or 7 months, this is the guideline which keeps stressful timescales at bay!

If you can , get ordered a good 8 or 9 months or more in advance.  The earlier you get in your dresses, the sooner you can relax and get organised.  No bride wants to be be getting anxious over how close to her wedding that her order is going to arrive.  Organising a wedding can be stressful enough without having to worry about how close to your wedding your dress will arrive.  And as a busy shop owner, it is a worry that I can do without as I get stressed out over deliveries too!!!!! (especially when they arrive later than what I was expecting)  I often get brides who keep putting it off as they are losing weight, but don't forget, you can always go out looking a year before, and if you find your dress, you can still put a deposit down to secure it and get measured 7 months before the big day to give you a chance to start on your weight loss regime. The dress can always be taken in if you lose any additional weight.  Better to do that than to leave it a couple of months before the wedding and miss out on the dress that you really wanted. My heart sinks when a bride makes an appointment and tells me her wedding is only a few months away as I know she will be limited in her choice of dress.  Every bride should have the liberty of choosing any dress in any size in any colour that we can get.  The more organised you are, the more choice you will have.

In sum, my advice is 'be prepared and get organised!!'  Get out at least a year before your wedding if you can – the earlier you get out the more relaxed the whole experience will be and you won't be feeling pressure to 'panic buy'   Most brides coming to our shop for the first time have over a year until their big day. 

Our entire Essence of Australia range and some of our Maggie Sottero dresses can also be got on rush cuts (additional fees apply to most of these) so if you have left it a bit late, we won't turn you away - we always have options available including the option of buying off the peg (although your choices will be more limited).   Many of our bridesmaid dresses can also be got on a rush cut so don't fret about that either if you have left that task a bit late.    

And one last tip – only go shopping when you feel you are ready to buy..  Our stock is forever evolving.  New dresses coming… dresses being discontinued… dresses being bought off the peg.  So if you do decide to go shopping early, NEVER assume that you will be able to come back and revisit a dress in the future as it may no longer be in the shop or it may be discontinued. This is something I find happens all the time (and I often get grief from brides to be about it!)  so wait until you are ready to go shopping, as opposed to saying ‘Let’s go out for ideas and revisit those ideas in 6 months time or next year’.   It's a bit like you saying that you want to buy a house in 18 months time.  You wouldn't go visiting estate agents or arranging house viewings until you were ready to make a move.  You might have a nosy at websites to get ideas, but you wouldn't throw your energy into house-hunting until the time was right to act on making a purchase.

 And if you do go out early and find ‘the one’, then STOP LOOKING at wedding dresses!! Get it ordered, and when it comes in,  put it away when it comes in and don’t let it lose its magic by looking at it too much!  I get loads of brides visiting my shop who tell me that they have a dress at home that they have went off.  Wedding dresses are too expensive to buy and not wear, so don't fall into that category and be disciplined to tick the box as 'done' when you decide on the one.

Happy (stress free) shopping.x x   Ciara