| 7 min. read |

If you are going for the “Say Yes to the Dress” experience, then heading to a bridal shop to try on dresses with a stylist is for you. Read below on how to successfully schedule your appointment and be prepared emotionally and physically for your try-ons! Below, I go into detail about how best to prepare for wedding dress shopping:

1. When to set up your wedding dress appointments 
2. How to pick which bridal show to visit 
3. Who to invite 
4. What to wear
5. What to expect

1. When to set up your wedding dress appointments 

One random day, my anxiety set in, and I realized I needed to try on dresses ASAP! I was 13 months away from the wedding date, so I had time, but I had been planning to try on dresses a year out from the wedding so that I could get a real feel for how my tan would look in the various shades of white.

When I went to set up my dress appointments, I realized I had no idea which bridal shop would have a good enough selection. However, I hopped online to first determine how soon I could get into the shops to try dresses on. I noticed that some shops I could make an appointment for that weekend, while other shops did not have any available Saturday’s for at least another month. So, plan for a month’s lead time from when you have selected your bridal shop to actually getting into the shop to try on some gowns!

However, dresses can take 3-6 months to arrive; I am still waiting for mine, and it has been 3 months already, so be sure to start looking for your dress at least 9-10 months in advance, especially if you think you will need alterations.

2. How to pick which bridal shop to visit 

Next, I was overwhelmed by trying to figure out which shop would even have the dress I liked! So I went on Pinterest and looked at wedding dresses I liked, made note of the designers of each of those dresses. Once I had pinned a curated selection of dresses, I looked around to see what shops near me carried those designers and booked my appointment there.

As an indecisive bride, I was very shocked to find that some dress shops only allow you to try on a certain number of dresses or charge a fee just to come try on their dresses. Since I can be rather uncertain, I steered away from these shops and picked a shop that I thought had a lot of inventory so I could really hone in on what style and fit I wanted.

3. Who to invite 

The most common advice you will hear from people, as well as the bridal shop wedding site where you make your appointment, is to only bring 2-3 people. While at the time I thought this was silly, I realized that most places do not have enough space to comfortably accommodate more than three guests.

While you probably want to bring all your girlfriends, grandmas, aunts, and sisters, it could be overwhelming to receive more than 3 opinions with every dress you try on, possibly leaving you confused. Instead, I would ensure that one of the 3 (or 4 people) you chose to bring will provide you with an honest opinion and know you well enough to help you find the dress of your dreams.

During my appointment, I brought my mom, grandma, and my sister. While my sister and I have different styles, she was the best bridal assistant. She helped to keep my expectations realistic by talking me through the pros and cons of each dress I tried on and how that compared to what I was looking for. She also took pictures of every dress I tried on, regardless of whether I liked it or not, which was so helpful when getting through the “wedding dress regret” I experienced once I found the one.

The bridal stylist helping during your appointment should also be able to facilitate similar conversations, but it always helps to have dialogue with someone you know and trust as well.

4. What to wear

Sample bridal gowns can be SHEER! Be sure to wear neutral underwear as well as any shapewear you may be planning to wear on the day of the wedding. This will help you fully get the vision, instead of having what-ifs around if the dress will look better with different undergarments. Buying a dress is a big financial decision, so you want to be sure!

Try on a veil! If you are almost sold on a dress but it is missing a long train or some extra details, or some simplicity, try adding a veil with that missing element. A veil really elevates any bridal look and may just catch you by surprise! (Don’t sweat the price tag though; there will be plenty of affordable veil options to pick from online rather than the one at the bridal shop; this is just for visuals.)

Bring any accessories you are planning to wear in your hair; this will also help give you a real feel for the day of look.

Do your hair and wear makeup. It doesn’t need to be the caliber of a professional hair and makeup artist, but having a nice get-ready sesh while sipping on some bubbles and listening to music sounds like the perfect way to get into the mood to try on some dresses!

5. What to expect

There are so many ideas and expectations pushed by the wedding industry and media about the wedding dress shopping experience, from crying when you’ve tried on “the one” to facing harsh critics. While I am just one person, here is how my experience went.

You may or may not be naked in front of the bridal assistant for most of the appointment. I fortunately found my dress after two appointments, but my experience with each stylist was different. The first stylist helped me in and out of every dress, while the second would only zip and unzip dresses for me, and I went to another room to change. Regardless of your experience, be prepared for both.

One thing the first stylist did that I loved was ask me to rate each dress I tried on out of 10, this helped her an I get a better understanding of what direction to go in when trying on the next dress, after all most dress appointments are only and hour and half.

As someone who has struggled with body image for most of my life, I was scared that my body would not look good enough for many dress options and I would struggle to find a flattering dress. It turns out, wedding dresses have an extra level of attention to detail that help to compliment your figure like, corsets, boning, appliques or lace strategically placed to enhance the shape, and additional layers/lining.

Be prepared to find the one! They say you try on your wedding dress within the first 5-7 dresses, but I found mine at lucky number 27. Finding the one will take, honesty from yourself to your consultant, so be prepared to say how you really feel. Your stylist (likely) will not have designed the dress so you are not going to hurt their feelings, they wan you to find your dress too!

After 20 dresses, I was starting to become discouraged and was feeling the pressure of wanting to find my dress while my grandma was in town. I was losing hope and only have 10 minutes left in my appointment and one more dress. I put the dress on and at first glance in the small mirror in the dressing room, I wasn’t sold; then I stepped out into the big vanity mirror and was taken aback by how perfect it looked, instantly knowing that was my dress. I did end up crying, but only because I was so happy the search was over, I didn’t have to go back on line and find another shop to visit, and I found the one with my mom, sister, and grandma. Phew what a relief!

And then I instantly regretted it. Post coming soon: “I Regret Buying My Wedding Dress.”