to buy a wedding dress before I have set a date for the wedding?

[DjangoTheDisSilent]

Looking at booking the wedding in 2 years time (need to save up first as we want a big wedding but we will still be on a slight budget)

Anyway there is a wedding dress sale happening in my area in 2 weeks time, the dresses are at most £300 each.

My friend advised me not to buy one before the wedding as she said in the two years I might change my mind and have to store it properly for those two years and there will be another sale.

Aibu to still buy one if I love it, as they might not have a good sale like this on again in my area.

If you have the money and a fiance, no trouble with buying one now if you're in love with it. You might change your mind, or you might not buy it and then never see one that quite matches up to the benchmark set by it.

I don't find that strange.

It's not like you're buying the dress before you've even met the man or anything (it happens!).

£300 is a bargain for your dream dress. Go for it :)

I agree with your friend. If you aren't even looking to book the wedding for another two years, there will be other sales.

If you had just happened to have come across the perfect dress by chance, then I'd say go for it. But to actively go out looking seems a bit daft to me, sorry! Presumably there are reasons why you are waiting, so save the money and wait until you are actually ready to get married.

Oh, I misunderstood. I thought you'd found the dream dress & it was reduced.

If it's a case of going looking just because there's a sale on, then I agree with your friend & Broken. There will be other sales between now and then. Plus your tastes/plans could massively change at some point.

I did the same to get a sample dress in the sale.
I then had to be aware that the style of gown did not sit right in every type of venue.
All of a sudden everything else was done and I was glad it was a big tick on the to do list.
I did however after the wedding miss spending time -I did not have- trying on dresses with champers and the girls. I had longer to focus on slimming down to fit in it though!

My only advice is if you do buy one early you need to stop looking at them. My friend bought hers early on, then (while flicking through a wedding mag) saw another she loved even more! She still looked stunning, but she said she had "lost the love" for her dress, which was a shame. There will be more sales before your big day, and many boutiques have their own sales - I managed to get £260 off my wedding dress and £90 off my veil at our local bridal shop, and still had the fun of trying on and being made a big fuss of in the shop, (which is one of the best bits!) .

Unless you know exactly what sort of wedding you are having, and when there is every possibility that the dress you choose now won't be "right" eg a wintery dress for a summer wedding (or vice versa). So unless you happen to stumble across your dream dress, or there is a genuine, not young to happen again sale (eg a closing down sale) I would leave it until nearer the time.

I will say I had a summer dress for a winter wedding and it was okay because I put long gloves and a (fake) fur jacket with it but a winter dress wouldn't have worked in summer.

If I'd known it was going to be a winter wedding - pulled forwards cos DH got deployed, thank you thank wedding insurance - then I probably would have chosen something different IYSWIM.

It depends how much of a price reduction £300 is, and what your budget is. If the dress would normally be c£1500 then I'd go for it, but if it is usually £500/£600 then maybe leave it - unless you totally love it.

I would not even consider doing this for many reasons but then I am not the big wedding type !

Dress shapes are changing. The cheap dresses will not be the newest ones. Unless you find exactly the right dress that you will definitely not go off, don't do it.

Also, trying to be delicate, are you sure you'll be the same shape and size in two years' time? Wedding stress caused weight loss in my case. On the other hand, buying a size eight with the intention of fitting it by then isn't a great idea either!

£300 isn't a lot for a big designer dress, but it's a lot to chuck down the pan if you're left with a dress you won't wear.

I would go, try everything on, make notes about what features you like, and if you see something you absolutely LOVE then go for it. But you might change your mind.

You also need to think about your venue - the sort of dress you could wear at the registry office won't necessarily one you'd want to have on in a church. Think about Carrie's vintage no label suit in SATC.

I bought mine a long time before wedding but we did have it booked, mine was from a sale shop in Cardiff, there are sale shops everywhere so I would be a little cautious of thinking that this event is your only opportunity to get a steal.

My advice would be to go and try on before the event, so you have a type in mind that suits you, then if you find a dress that you don't want to take off and the very thought of leaving it behind leaves you feeling bereft then get it, take it home and never try on another dress! If however nothing quite takes your breath away have some fun times with your friends looking around.

There are national wedding shows on this month in London, Manchester and Birmingham.

As for storage I kept mine in my cupboard in a zipped up bag for nearly two years and it wasn't a problem, you will be advised how to store yours based on fabric.

Btw this sale shop reduced my dress from £1500 to £450. As it was a sale you have to take it home but if you need alterations find a friendly local wedding dress alteration lady.

I'd go & enjoy the show - try a load on, get ideas about shapes & styles, but personally I wouldn't purchase yet for all the reasons above.
There will be other sample sales once you've got a date & venue.
Have fun!

£300 for a dress? Bonkers.