Did it take you long to find your dress?

It took me 1 day. Went to three shops tried on at least 20 dresses, but kept thinking about one dress. went back a couple of days later to try the dress on again, really liked it still so ordered it! I am a bit disappointed that I found it in one day cos I loved trying on all the dresses!! but darent go to anymore shops now i have found the dress!

I started looking for a dress in January this year, which was the same month that we actually booked the wedding date! I guess I was pretty lucky in that I only went to the one shop and found my dress there. I did have to have more alterations than necessary because they messed up but I've actually had my dress at mum's house for over a month and I've still got a month to go before the wedding!

My only advice would be to visit more than one shop. I think that in hindsight I should have looked around a bit more first, not because of the dress but because of the service I was given.

HTH.

I spent a good couple of months looking at about a million websites and bookmarking my favourite dresses and it didn't take long before there was one in particular I was in love with. I went through my shortlist when I saw my Mum and sister at Christmas and luckily they agreed the one I loved was the best one!

Then a couple of months aftewards I emailed loads of dress shops near me to ask if they had THE dress and only one place did, I made an appointment, went and tried it on and loved it ? I tried a couple of others afterwards to make sure but still went back to my first choice cos it was clearly the best.

It probably helped that I knew exactly what I wanted before I started, it was just a matter of finding the dress that fit my criteria (not that I'm fussy or anything ? ) although I did try a couple of different styles to make sure, as I know lots of girls have ended up with something completely different to what they expected.

I'm probably not the best person to ask as 10 days before I'm suffering from major dress wobbles - so perhaps should have taken more time!

We're only having an 8 month engagement and to keep in with the (imo mythical) 6 month rule I had 2 month. I started looking with 1 month to go and ordered a dress after 3 weeks. I tried on iro 50 dresses in that time and tbh I think I settled on a style too early and then just concentrated on the detailing on the dress rather than the overall dress too much.

I tried on all the styles but never really took much notice of them when on IYKWIM.

But your dress is gorgeous!!!

I went to two shops and would have gone to more but every dress I tried on in the second shop got the reaction 'I like it, but not as much as the other one...'

Ahh dress shopping is prooving to be a long process for me,

I did lots of research first to identify designers/ styles I liked, then I looked for shops that stocked dresses that atche dmy list. and also totally different stuff as I am aware what I like may not be what is most suitable suitable.

I have been to 6 shops now and tried on a variety of dresses I am still looking, I have seen some front runners but still feel that I need to look some more ( I must admit have probably only tried 4/5 dresses per shop). my current plan is a last bash at looking between now and the end of sep (this basically means 3 or 4 more shops as I have very limited time) and then nothing til Jan/ feb when I can see new collections and make a final decision.

My looking has included a jenny packham day where the head of sales was available to help you select suitable dresses and while some of the dresses were stunning (the fabric is amazing and they made me look tall) I still was tempted to make a commitment even with the on the day discount.

I suspect I might give shoegal a run for her money on the dress front, but I expected not to have a the one moment and have allowed for tis by planing lesiurly shopping trips (one shop for an hour some Saturdays 2 a most so I don't hate the whole experience. I am also a fan of letting the assistants in the shop make suggestions as I don't really have a clue what will suit me.

So I would allow pleanty of time just in case and if you do fin your dream dress on your first trip hold back from ordering and look a round a little more just in case, as you don't want wabbles later on.

OMG - Sarah your dress is absolutely gorgeous!!!!! You're dress has made me have SERIOUS dress wobbles to the point I was actually thinking about going to another bridal shop and trying on more dresses cos what you chose is exactly what I pictured for myself. Don't get me wrong - I absolutely ADORE my dress but yours is stunning.

Anyways, Stazzle - I got my dress in one day. I tried on about 20 and went back to the first shop and bought mine. I had to make a quick decision as it was a discontinued dress but its been hanging and my mum and dads since the end of January.

I think if you have an idea in mind of what you think you might like then thats a good start. I would say go and make an appointement in the next few weeks cos you can deal with having loads of time or being organised early but there is nothing you can do with lack of time if you leave it too late. I'm not saying you should run out and try on dresses this weekend but I would start thinking about making an appointment in the next month or so so you're not feeling rushed into buying when you're not sure.

Hope that helped?!?!?

Because we did it all so quickly, I had two days shopping and I had to find the dress in those two days. I went to three shops (had a fourth booked, but cancelled it to return to the second). I probably tried on around 20 dresses.

I've been trying to get in to WP for about an hour and it just wasn't letting me in! ?

Anyway, thank you so much for your helpful replies! Am really surprised actually how many of you found yours in one of the first shops you went in, even after trying on loads afterwards - must have been fate! ?

Gillsy - yes it did help, thank you! I'm definitely going to start within about a month as I don't want to be stressing myself out about it, plus I have my bridesmaids to sort out as well.

Sarah-Kay - echo what the others have said, your dress is beautiful and you look stunning in it, I remember from the last dress flash thread we had! You don't need to wobble at all but I know it seems to be common to get the wobbles so I think it's normal, just all part of the stress ?

Melancholie - a 2 day limit is pretty impressive! I remember your dress too as your photos are so beautiful, it had a sweetheart neckline didn't it, if I remember rightly? Who was yours by actually, if you don't mind me asking?

I think the main thing that's niggling at me is that actually I have no idea - and I mean zero - of what style I want. I have seen loads of dresses online that I think are beautiful, but they are all completely different! I've seen some princessy, some mermaid, some a-line, some with straps, etc etc - so it doesn't really narrow things down for me! I think I've just got to make a few appointments and then speak to the assistants, see what they come up with.

Really interesting and helpful to hear other experiences though!

I went to one shop, tried on 3 dresses and bought the 1st one i tried that very same day, and i still don't get dress envy! Nor have i seen a dress and thought, oh maybe i should of tried that one on...

xx

Aw thanks everyone who has commented on my dress. When I look at my dress now I just think it looks very typical, and I wasn't really going for typical. I'm having some straps made for it but when I saw the first strap last week I felt a bit dissappointed, it didn't really change the dress in the way I'd hoped/thought it would.

Sorry for crashing Stazzle! I think you should start looking soon but don't feel pressured into buying before yuo need to, that way you can still change your mind!

Oh dont talk to me about dresses - i dont think i am ever going to find 'the one'!!!

I have been into about 14 shops now and tried average of 8 dresses per shop so about 100 odd dresses - dont get me wrong, they were all OK but none of them i had a 'this is the dress' moment and none of them i liked enough to spend the amount of money they were charging on.

I am deginning to hate dress shopping now, hense the reason i havnt looked at a dress since May now and im not looking again until November.

Maybe i wont have the 'this is the one' moment, maybe it will just be a matter of 'this ticks most boxes and will have to do'.

I dont in any way mean to offend here but i just dont get how people can fork out all that money after only trying on a handfull of dresses

Hi Stazzle

I did alot of research to start off with on the internet and in magazines and i kind of kept going back to one dress in particular. Anyway i then went improptu dress shopping with my parents and went to a couple of shops tried on a few dresses. At the end i asked whether we could call past the shop who stocked the designers dress i kept being drawn to, so we called past to see it real life, it was stunning and 100 times better than i imagined it. Unfortunately i then had to make another appointment to try it on the week after and i just knew it was the dress once i tried it on, last friday i then took my best friend and tried on a few dresses by the same designer and asked her for her opinon .........she choose the same dress as me so that was that i ordered it!!!!!

All in all very quick .....wish i hadnt chosen my dress so quickly as i loved trying on all the dresses it was great fun and i darent look at any more dresses all magazines were binned on the weekend!!!

Hello,

sorry to crash your post with another question but it is related!

I am planning to start dress shopping in September and have seen a few which i really like online and in magazines, my question is whether i go and try these dresses straight away or whether i should try a few random ones on first to get used to seeing me in a big white dress! I dont want the wow factor of "the" dress to be lost cos it doesnt look like me in the mirror!

Does that make any sense? I had a similar problem when buying my engagement ring, as i dont nornally wear rings they all just looked really strange on my finger. As i now wear my ring everydasy and love it everytime i look at it, i am hoping shopping for wedding rings will be much easier!

Any advice?

Hi Dress hunters!

I don't know if this helps at all but although I 'm not buying a ready made dress I still had to chose a pattern/cut so its a similar process - for me, it was much more a process of elimination rather then a 'the one' moment (I rarely have those kind of moments anyway - I think the only time I got that was with the venue). I just tried about 10-15 dresses without booking or having anything in mind - just to see what things looked like - different cuts, different colours etc - and very quickly realised what works for me and what doesn't. after that I had an idea of what I wanted and how I wanted it to look. It didn't take long at all! all done in one day, and then chose fabric another day. Now the longest process is making it which has been left to my CBM - I'll update you on that as it comes...

hkj If you have bridal shops near by, even Monsoon or high street shops which have a bridal section there's no harm in just popping in and trying a few on just to get a feel of what you like/don't like - It could make decisions easier later on.

I went to 1 shop, picked 7 dresses to try on & mine was the 6th dress I tried on, I LOVED it instantly.

Went to 1 shop, tried on 5 dresses .....mine was the 6th and as soon as I put it on, I cried, my MOH cried and assistant cried so I ordered it and haven't tried on anymore, haven't wanted to and I still absolutely adore it!

I found mine while I was christmas shopping with a friend. We walked past a bridal shop and just popped in to have a look. My friend said try this on, so I did, loved it, paid for it, job done.

It is now ensconsed at another friends house, so I keep going round to look at it and giving it little strokes. Sad aren't I?