5 Things I Learned Wedding Dress Shopping | Christa Rene Photography

It has been a BLAST being engaged. First off, because I absolutely can’t wait to marry Edward, and second, I’ve really enjoyed getting to be a bride after serving so many! I truly believe this will help me be a stronger help to my brides as they plan their wedding!!

I was SO excited to go wedding dress shopping soon after I got engaged! It’s such a fun, relaxed time! I went the first time with my sisters, mom and best friend, then came back later with my best friend and sister, and that has been the most fun part of wedding planning so far!!

I wanted to share a few things I’ve learned dress shopping!

Experience is EVERYTHING!!

The first place I went to was The White Magnolia Bridal in Downtown Greenville! They were very organized, got me on the schedule for just a few days out, and we had the entire studio to ourselves! Johna was helping us and asked me some basic questions about what I was hoping for before we got started. After we went through the racks of gowns (side note: it was the perfect amount of gowns. A great amount of options, but not too overwhelming), and after I tried on a few, she pulled a dress that I gasped at! It wasn’t at all what I had shown her pictures of, but it was perfect. She obviously had been attentively listening to what I loved and didn’t care for about the gowns we had originally picked, and using her professional eye knew this would be a great fit. We had totally missed it, and I still remember everyone’s face when I walked out in it. It was perfect. When we went back to the dressing area I told Johna this was the gown! I ended up purchasing it a week later!

But between me trying that gown on and purchasing it, we went to a few other shops just to be certain. I will never, ever publicly bash another business by name, but at a certain shop our experience was less than pleasant. At other stores, we had a fine experience, but we made our way back to White Magnolia where I knew it was the gown of my dreams and we had such a great experience!!

Try different styles on to be certain!

Again, this gown isn’t what I had showed Johna pictures of or had thought would be the one! It isn’t a gown I had pinned on Pinterest or had envisioned! But I’m SO glad we had a great associate who realized I didn’t actually love what I came in thinking I would walk away with, and I’m thrilled she found this dress! But I also tried on other styles even if I was pretty sure I wouldn’t love it to be certain I was making the right choice!

Sleep on it- you’ll know!!

I’m so thankful I still slept on it and went to other stores just to be certain. I didn’t want to look back in a few months and wonder if I should have looked around before making a purchase that day! But after sleeping on it several nights, and looking around again, I was 100% sure it was the dress. I actually knew it was the dress the moment I walked out in it, but it just affirmed in my mind I hadn’t rushed into anything and wouldn’t regret purchasing it!

Check on timing.

Be sure to check when it will arrive, and factor in alterations. I thankfully lucked out since our wedding is 8 months out, but if we had a shorter engagement, we’d be pushing it close with the timing of when the dress could come in along with leaving a month for alterations! Be sure to check with the consultant when the dress would be able to arrive and leave plenty of room so you aren’t stressing out about it being ready weeks before your wedding day!

Don’t bring everyone.

I’d highly recommend sticking with a smaller group. At least for me, I get overwhelmed REALLY easily, and if there are too many opinions it’s easy for me to get frustrated. But I also tend to be a people pleaser and want to make everyone happy, which makes it hard too. So I just invited my sisters, mom and one close friend. When I went again later with just 2 people, it was actually even more relaxing (and also partly had to do with I already knew what I wanted)! But it’s important to think clearly and enjoy this time instead of overwhelming yourself!

I hope this is helpful if anyone is on the hunt for a dress! PS if anyone needs someone to go dress shopping with them, I’d totally be down 😉 But really it is literally SO much fun! Wedding planning is such an exciting thing, and I literally can’t wait to wear the dress I picked!!!! Thanks again to Johna at The White Magnolia Bridal for helping me find the dress of my dreams!