Dos and Don'ts of the Wedding Dress Shopping Process
Preparing yourself for your bridal gown shopping experience can be confusing. Just like so many other pieces of wedding planning, you’re going to have a lot of options and a plethora of information available, so it can be hard to know how to sort through everything! Here are some of our stylists’ expert tips on what’s important to have figured out ahead of time and what will work itself out along the way to help you get started.
the DO's:
Make your appointment for a time when all of your special people can join!
Having the crew you want to celebrate with when you find your dress is SO important because you never know when your moment is going to happen! If there’s someone you need there to see you in your gown, don’t try dresses on without them! Trust us, you'd hate to find your dress and then have to sort through logistics instead of celebrating the special moment.
We also get a lot of questions about how many people to bring with you—this truly looks different for everyone. As a helpful starting point, think about whose opinion is going to be most important to you! If you just want to shop with one person and celebrate with them, that’s normal. And if you need your 10 closest people there, that’s normal too! Check out our different bridal experiences to see which one is best for you.
Know your comfortable budget
We know that brides sometimes find these conversations uncomfortable to have with their partner or their family, but they are too important to avoid! Knowing your accurate budget is going to allow your stylist to pull the RIGHT gowns that best fit what you’re looking for. If your budget is $3000, don't tell your stylist $2000 because youre hoping to spend less because you might be missing out on the right dress... Just communicate that your budget is $3000 but you'd love to spend less if possible!
Please know that there are beautiful, high-quality gowns at all price points, and you do not need to feel limited if your comfortable budget is on the lower end of our price range. If you see something you love that’s outside of your budget, you just need to show your stylist. They know the inventory like the back of their hand and can pull something with a similar feeling at a price you’re comfortable with!
the DON’TS:
Get too focused on one style too early
Having some inspiration is a great starting point—it can give your stylist the overall feel you’re going for. However, sometimes we see brides become super attached to one of their inspiration photos. Then, when their stylist puts them in the dress, they feel nervous or upset if they don’t love it as much as they thought they would. It’s truly going to be less about the specific design details and all about how you feel in the dress. Surprises along the way are SO common, so be sure to keep an open mind and let your intuition (and your stylist!) guide you to your perfect gown.
Overbook yourself
Don’t get us wrong—wedding dress shopping is very fun. But, just like anything, it can become less fun with time if you overdo it.
Take your experience one appointment at a time so that you can feel open to saying yes and enjoying your moment when it comes naturally! We’ve seen many brides come in after a long day or weekend of appointments, and they’re exhausted after trying on so many things.
Wedding dress shopping should be easy and stress-free, don’t take the magic out of it for yourself and your crew by continuing to shop when you’ve already found your dream gown!
Hide things from your stylist
Your stylist is there to help you! We literally cannot do our job if we don't know what's going on! Trust us, the team here at Miss Ruby are in this because we care and each and every one of our stylists are passionate about HELPING brides feel confident and empowered.
Have a favorite gown elsewhere? No worries, show us so that we can figure out what you liked and what you were hesitating about!
Have more appointments? You aren't alone, so do 90% of other brides. Please just be honest with us! If you find your dress earlier than you expect, then we can actually help you work through the feelings of cancelling other appointments if need be. And if you don't find anything you love, we can give you helpful information on what to look for moving forward.
Having trouble with a group member? We are team bride, let us know how we can support you!
Basically, just do YOU!
At the end of the day, you just have to follow your gut. Everyone is going to have advice for you; but you know youself best. Communicate and be true to who your are and how you are feeling and everything will work out!
Still have questions or need support? Give us a call, one of our stylists would love to chat you through it - (414)755-2900.