Biggest Wedding Dress Regrets

I saw a link to an article on The Knot with this title.  Although I have see or heard these comment hundreds of times, some brides just don't want to believe them.  So to emphasize the point here are the quotes from real brides one more time!

From the three-dress bride to the bride who accidentally texted the dress photo to her fiance -- check out these dress shopping mistakes from brides on our Attire and Accessories board so that you don’t make the same ones!

"My sister-in-law couldn't make it to my first shopping trip, so I texted her a pic of my favorite. I didn't realize that I’d sent it to the wrong person (MY FIANCE!). It's hard to be sneaky."katiethecutie

"Biggest mistake: expecting my dress shopping experience to go exactly like a 22-minute episode of Say Yes to the Dress complete with crying friends and family and that OMGOMGOMG feeling." Leslie&Ralph

"To save money I ordered my dress online, which gave me a better price than the bridal store in town. Big mistake! The dress came in and it's huge. Now I have to pay a ridiculous price for alterations that are making the gown cost more than it would have in the bridal store." jnic0319

"I have champagne taste on a beer budget. I tried on a Vera Wang for fun and I shouldn’t have. You can imagine that I fell in love with that beauty. Don’t try on wedding dresses that you cannot afford." verbride

"I now have three dresses and only one that I’ll wear. Do not shop almost two years out, do not let fantasy get in the way of reality, and do not buy a dress before you have concrete wedding plans." dizzinea

"I should’ve brought a bathrobe to the bridal salon. Having a robe makes it easy to spend time with your friends and family during the downtime while the attendant brings in gowns. It also helps you avoid hiding in the dressing room in your underwear." Robyn5298

"Don’t try on dresses after a trip to a spray tanner. What I thought would make me look like a glowing bride later rubbed off on the bridal salon’s sample dresses." mobridetobe

"Don't wear a black thong!" barbbhoww

"I wish I'd waited until 10 to 14 months out to try on dresses for the first time. I ended up trying on over 100 gowns and it was completely overwhelming." polichik

Remember that a full service bridal store can help you avoid any of these problems.  A great bridal store is only as good as the advice they give.  Sometimes knowing you are helping someone is better than making the sale!!

3 Signs You Bought the Wrong Wedding Dress

I found this article on the Huffington Post Wedding Guide.  I will give you a chance to read it first, and then tell you if I agree.

3 Signs You (Oops!) Bought the Wrong Wedding Dress -- Plus, What You Can Do to Fix It

Posted: 08/26/2013 5:41 pm

This gown could cause remorse!!

 

It's totally normal to have doubts after you THINK you've found your dream wedding dress -- and (dun dun dun dun) handed over your plastic. What if you hate it when it arrives? What if you find something better?
Nine and half times out of 10, I've found the bride is still thrilled when her dress arrives. But here are three signs you might not be.

1) You're not quite comfortable with the cut. Maybe your mom encouraged you to go strapless, or a salesgirl convinced you that you HAD to have an open back. But any tugging and adjusting you're doing in the shop are going to be multiplied by 100 on your wedding day. If you feel awkward and uncomfortable in your gown, that's exactly how you're going to look walking down the aisle.

2) It has ZERO wiggle room. It's easy to be tempted by a marked-way-down sample or a deeply discounted showroom gown, but if you can't breathe in your dress, you're going to spend hundreds having it fixed -- or seriously suffer on your wedding day. (Good to know: In general, wedding dresses are made with alterations in mind, but samples and showroom dresses don't always have the extra fabric allowances.) When in doubt, size up. And if the fit of a sample-size dress is questionable, don't risk it.

3) It costs three times more than you should have spent. With so many well-priced options out there, it's just not worth it to blow your rent on your wedding dress. I can pretty much guarantee you won't look back on your wedding day and wish, If ONLY I had spent more on my dress. Plus, thinking about your wedding dress should make you feel starry-eyed, not panicked and stressed.


So what do you think?  I don't really agree with any of these statements.  
Starting with #1.  All brides need to remember what is stated in #2.  That alterations of some kind are needed for almost every wedding gown.  They are not your everyday clothing items that stretch and bend.  So if you are not totally satisfied with the cut when you first try it on, meet with an alteration specialists.  See what can be done with the gown.  Many of your awkward and uncomfortable feelings can be calmed and make you a beautiful, confident bride going down the aisle.  

#2  It is true that we always recommend buying something a little too big than too small.  All gowns can be made smaller but going bigger is much more difficult.  That being said, again, consult the alteration specialists.  I have had many brides who have gained weight while waiting for the wedding.  Sometimes letting out the side seams for an extra inch or two was plenty.  Other times an extra panel of fabric needed to be added for closure.

#3  Well, I completely disagree with this one.  As numerous brides have visited my store with family and friends, I have heard stories from previous brides.  Many state they hated their wedding gown because their budget only allowed them to go to JC Penney outlet or wear someone's hand me down.  I distinctly recall one bride who tried to compromise with a lower priced gown.  We searched every catalog in the store finding a gown as close to THE gown as possible.  When the gown arrived, she was so disappointed.  It did not live up to THE gown.  So what did we do?  We ordered THE gown.  Now she had paid for 2 gowns instead of 1.  
     I understand that everyone has a budget and that wedding gowns can be very expensive.  This is why it is so important to find the right boutique to work with. I have ordered gowns for brides with no money down, brought in sample gowns for brides to try on and even given store credit for gowns that brides did not like.  All of these are unheard of at the large stores!  

So as keeping an open mind is important while shopping, it is also important when first trying on your gown.