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The most important apparel purchase you'll ever make involves
more than just finding the perfect dress. Once you have
it, there are alterations to make, a veil and shoes to match,
a trousseau to consider... So whatever you do, don't wait
until the last minute. Taking care of your wedding dress
should be one of your first priorities.
Pad Your Dates
One of the best pieces of advice we can give is to give
yourself plenty of time. More time than you think you need.
Many brides make the mistake of waiting until the last minute
to purchase and/or alter their dress hoping to shed a final
few pounds and shimmy into the smallest size possible. The
extra quarter-inch you could conceivably have taken in isn't
worth the risk of something running late. Better to have
the perfect dress a month early than lay awake the night
before your wedding wondering if you'll have anything to
walk down the aisle in.
When you begin to seriously shop, one of the first questions
you will be asked is when your wedding is. Have a fake date
one full month earlier than your actual date in mind before
you step foot in any store. Memorize it. Getting married
June 6? Tell everyone and anyone within a ten-mile radius
that your wedding is May 6.
This is not to assume the salon will botch your order.
Quite the contrary. The vast majority of bridal salons,
especially here in Southern California, will provide excellent
customer service and wonderful, timely delivery. But what
if the manufacturer has a problem? And you still have to
get alterations, etc. Padding your dates protects you. Period.
Take More than a Memory Home
After trying on 87 dresses, you finally found your dream
gown. Deliriously happy, you float to the counter, pay for
your dress and dance all the way home. Three days later,
shopping for shoes, you are shocked to realize you can't
quite remember exactly what your dress looks like. Did the
lace go all over the bodice, or just around the neckline?
How low was the back? How long was the train?
Before you leave the salon, make sure you have a concrete
picture of the dress in hand. While most salons disallow
photography in their stores, it can't hurt to take a camera
along with you, should you happen to stumble upon a shop
that does. As they say, a picture (especially one of you
in your dream dress) is worth a thousand words.
As an alternative, the salon should be able to provide
you with a catalog photograph of the dress. If they don't
have one on hand, ask them to get one from the manufacturer
for you.
If you can, try and also get a small swatch of the dress
material. If the salon doesn't have some on hand, they can
help you procure it from the manufacturer. Be persistent.
The smallest swatch can be a lifesaver later when you're
shopping for shoes and a veil. There is a real discernable
difference between white, ivory, eggshell, cream and candlelight
that you won't see until they are laid next to each other.
Pay By Credit Card
As with all major purchases, it's best to pay with a credit
card, even if you have the cash in hand. Don't have a card?
Have a relative put it on their card and pay them immediately.
Credit card purchasing protects the consumer in many ways.
Should something happen to the order or the salon, you have
options. Credit card transactions can be challenged weeks
after the fact, which is to say you can stop payment. Once
a check is cashed, your money is gone instantly. A bank
won't help you get your money back from a raw deal. In most
cases, a credit card company, however, will. Many credit
cards also offer a form of insurance against loss, damage
and theft. Better to be safe than sorry.
Check on your Order
Once you have placed the order for your dress, don't simply
wait for it to show up on your doorstep. Keep tabs on your
order. Check in with the salon periodically to ensure the
status of your dress. Some retailers don't order dresses
until closer to the actual wedding date (another reason
to pad your date). Should a manufacturer discontinue a dress
(and they do discontinue a few every year) before your order
is placed, you'll need time to explore your alternatives.
The more you know about your order, the more control you'll
have over its fate.
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