To ask what to expect at a wedding dress appointment?

I'm glad to hear you had a good time!

Aw that's lovely ! very interesting to hear that it is a completely different style that suited you best - that is the whole point of trying on a variety.
It does sound like you will be back to them to buy, one day.

A successful day all round.

I don’t think it’s really fair on the poor staff to go with no intention of buying, they are there to make a living not give you a nice day out. Go back when you know you’re definitely getting married in a reasonable time frame and can purchase

@ElleBelleLou

How was it ?

excitedly awaiting an update...

My first appointment was with my best friend only. I had not a clue what I wanted.. best friend thought one thing on looking around and I had another. Tried on every cut (is what they call it I think?) and neither of us were right in our thoughts 😂
i ended up elsewhere to buy once I knew what I was looking for!
couldn’t have been more grateful to that first shop for narrowing down my “style”.

go in absolutely open minded and you’ll be surprised 🥰

Have a look online before you go and see if there is any particular styles/brands you particularly like the look of. We really liked the Morilee range, they had dresses where you could have an additional detachable skirt and have 2 looks on the day. Also getting alternations can be pricey, so I wouldn’t recommend a dress that needs too much work to it. Be careful not to make a purchase on the day, it’s really easy to get pushed into a decision even when you don’t usually do this. I speak from experience, I ended up with 2 dresses 😬. Have a nice time.

Wear decent underwear. I hadn’t appreciated that they will be in the changing room with you helping you in and out of dresses and wore an embarrassingly crap pair of knickers - I mean I generally go for comfort over lacy sexy knickers but they were cotton briefs and I could have put a nicer pair on - at least I’d shaved my legs 🤣

Do not buy a Wedding Dress until six months before the wedding, no matter what they tell you about how this is the one
I ended up with three wedding dresses because there’s a lot of ones out there and available and they keep updating them

Don’t buy a dress just now. 2028 is years away so the fashions might have changed by then. Just seems way way too early. But hope you have fun

I 🤔 don't go with any set ideas and try on every sort of style. My daughter thought she'd like something simple for a summer do and ended up with a 🎄 wedding and a ball gown !

If you have no idea then just tell them If there is anything you really don’t like or body parts you would like to hide/emphasise, this along with maybe your size/build will enable them to have several on rails that they will try on you to narrow style down, I would suggest taking a strapless bra if you have one in case you try on a strapless as you can’t get the full look with a bra that’s not shaped correctly in the way. Good luck, remember at this stage it’s not a panic up, it’s a bit of fun, after all you have plenty of time.

I wouldn’t worry about the heels - most (if not all) shops have a little stage/platform/stool for you to stand on if needed

Well I went with my mum and dad, my dad is brilliant with clothes so I asked him to look for some for me. I tried on the first one and loved it. Tried on some more just to be sure and then went back to the first one and got it!

I found the whole experience really boring 😂 I knew kind of what style I wanted but wasn’t massively sure about details so I took my bridesmaids with me and we chose 6 dresses together with various styles. The bridal shop owner did give her honest opinion to which I found helpful. I tried them all on and ended up buying the one I saw online that I liked which was in the shop

usu they will give you a bit of time to browse the dresses, then say to the consultant you would like to try different styles as you don’t know what will work for you.

do not feel pressured or obliged to choose, at the end of the appointment ask them to write down anything you liked and do try 3 or more shops. I bought from the 3rd shop I tried as they had dresses that looked great and were more reasonable (hundreds not thousands) yet they didn’t look any different really!!!

My daughter was exactly the same!
Just looking

She ended up trying many on in her size on her first look and I ended buying one there and then as she fell in love with a specific dress!

I'm 5 foot 7 and pretty sure I'll be wearing flats on the day as I don't like my height

I'm a few inches taller than you and wear heels with joy, it's great to be tall! I didn't always like being taller but now I enjoy being taller than most when I wear heels. I stand better too!

I echo what people have said about not being pushed into a decision. I’m a really confident person and am definitely not backward in coming forward… but I tried this dress on… I was 95% certain it was the one… but the sales assistant was so pushy and basically rushed me into making a decision. I felt a bit panicky and almost embarrassed to say that I liked it.. but wanted some time to think about it. So I signed on the dotted line and felt swept along with it all 😞
If I had my time again I probably would have ended up with the same dress… but regret not trying on a few more of different styles.. just to rule them out. It still rankles over 30 years later!
And I too thought that my mum would cry with emotion at seeing me in a wedding dress. The first dress I ever tried on was a huge princess puffball sequinned number and my mum, god rot her, actually burst out laughing when she saw me! Not the reaction I had hoped for!!

Having recently bought my dress I’m going to go against some of the advice given.

Wear makeup, you’ll likely be wearing it on your wedding day and any dress and how you feel about it might be different when you see yourself in the mirror “properly”. The dress shops are experts at getting people in and out of dresses and will not bat an eyelid at makeup.

if you feel you’ll be wearing your hair up on the day, take a clip of some sort so you can get an idea of what the dress looks like with your hair up. again, it makes a difference to how you look and ultimately feel about a dress.

If you reckon you’ll be wearing heels on the day, take a pair with you if you have something in a heel size or style you like. Trying the dresses on in heels vs bare feet or flats does change how they look. If you’re wearing flats, don’t hesitate to try with different kinds (it’s ok to take a selection with you)

if you have nude underwear wear it, white if not. And be prepared that some dresses might need your bra off, they’ll advise where this needs done and are very discreet at helping you in and out of dresses.

Many dresses won’t fit properly, but they are experts in getting it to look like it does, don’t panic, whatever size or shape you are. I’m on the larger side and was so worried about this but I’ve never felt more comfortable in a trying on situation.

Finally, as a number of others (and the shop) have said, don’t go thinking you need to buy, but equally don’t fret if you find the one either, sometimes it just happens. Whatever happens, enjoy it, it’ll be a lovely day with your mum and grandma ❤️

Seems way too early to go surely?

They can’t really afford to sell 1 out of 10 dresses even if they cost £1000, they have rent, all the bills and insurances that come with a premises, staff to pay, stock to buy

I'm envisioning something like gwen Stefani's wedding dress by john galliano

https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/here-come-brides/in-a-state-of-undress

This wasn’t my experience but maybe depends where you go. I’m on a the larger side, and all the shops I went to had loads in sizes much bigger than me and the one I eventually chose needed bringing in inconsiderably. Made me feel quite good!

It might be worth giving them a ring first to see if they operate an appointment system, many do. Just tell them you don’t really know what you are looking for and they will happy to let you try on a variety of styles. You’ll soon get an idea of what you like- straps or no straps, sleeves or not, white or ivory or something else entirely, what material, lots of bling or plain and simple. If you are going to be committing to a dress this early do remember you will need to keep your weight fairly stable if you don’t want to be paying out a fortune on multiple fittings and alterations.
Make sure someone is taking photos of what you are trying on so you can look back, but there is a good chance that once you find the one you will know!
Most of all enjoy it! It’s such fun.