When did you start looking at dresses? When did you buy yours?

My wedding is August 2015 and I thought I was looking too soon!!! Lol

I started looking september last year, had bought my dress by october, i get married october this year xx

I started looking October 2013 and bought it in December 2013 and I marry in August 2014 x

Between 12 & 18 months is normally plenty of time.

I ordered mine August 2013, get married June 2014.

You have plenty of time, never too early to get an idea of what styles you like etc though

I put a deposit down to have mine custom made 12 months before the wedding and have just been to be measured ready for the dressmaker to start sewing this weekend [2 months before the big day] ;-)

Hi Sarah,

I am getting married Aug 2015 and I purchased my dress November 2013. By purchased I mean we have put a deposit down but I wont even go back for my measurements to be taken until Jan 2015. So to answer your question you won't need to worry about it being in storage as you wouldn't pick it up until nearer the time. However I personally wouldnt purchase yours that far in advance- i even think i did mine too soon and now worry that i won't like it/fashion would have changed by the time i go back.. x

Our wedding isn't until summer 2016, but that hasn't stopped me looking. I have had one shop appointment but didn't find anything I liked so I'm going to take a break for a while and just look online when I feel up to it.

I still haven't bought mine yet, although I've done plenty of browsing online and pinning. But I'm not having a 'wedding' dress, so I'm just gonna order one off the rack and get it altered if necessary. I do really want to buy it now, but I'm trying to lose some weight so I thought it was best to wait a bit longer!

I ordered my dress in Sep for an April wedding. It all depends on the designer and their turn around time. For example, Justin Alexander is 3 months & Benjamin Roberts is about 6 months. Luckily, the BR I ordered was a 'rush order' and it was in end of Dec!!

Ideally I'd say between 12-18 months. I wouldn't commit to a dress too soon for a 2017 wedding as there will be half a dozen new collections out between now and then, you may end up seeing something else! No harm in trying a few on though!

I ordered my dress last month and get married in November, which is 7 months, however it can take up to 6 months to arrive so I will need to get the alterations done quickly, they told me 8 months before is ideal

I'd defo wait until 12 months before your wedding if you want something designer that's made for you - you never know how your body will change, styles will change etc ... OR if you're hoping to get a bargain, start looking around outlets early - their stock changes all the time so if you have lots of extra time start early so you get plenty to choose from.

You can buy a preservative box which protects and maintains the fabrics of your dress so you could keep it in your loft forever and it would never discolour - I don't know much about them but a designer was telling me about them at the weekend.

I started looking just over a year in advance and actually ordered it about 9 months in advance.

I personally wouldn't start looking too early, I'd say around the year mark is about normal. However, if you do buy early, make sure you don't look at any others. I've known of so many people who buy early and then have loads of wobbles.

I started looking at dresses the day after my engagement... and I am still scouring the internet. I think I have found a custom dress maker (there is one from Indonesia and one from the USA), just need to pick. I am not committing to a dress being made yet though, until we have booked the venue and set a date, want to get over that hurdle first as that is the biggest pain in the arse so far!

I've not started to look yet and have just under 6 months, i have lost 4 stone since last june and plan on losing more so I dont want to get the wrong size ! I plan on looking end of June for one so will have about 3 month left but will buy off peg at an outlet or preloved x

We booked the wedding about 18 months in advance. We're getting married on 1st June 2014 (8 weeks left)

I 'started looking' at dresses about a year ago. BUT I am very much the exception to the rule, I couldn't bear the thought of buying a dress months/a year in advance as i'd probably go off it by the time the wedding got here.

I properly started looking last Wednesday ? Arranged appointments in 4 bridal shops, tried on dresses they had available to take, so mainly ex display (there were a LOT more available to 'just take' than bridal shops generally have you believe). Didn't find anything I loved.

Had another appointment on Sat just gone, tried on 2 dresses and found 'THE dress'. Perfect, in my size. I'm about an inch shy of being able to do the zip up, so am on a strict diet from today but the bridal shop owner said it shouldn't be any problem and a few pounds off will do it.

It's ex-sample, so has been tried on a handful of times, but is pristine, you would never know. It's an Augusta Jones dress and would have cost around £2k to order in, had I done it a year in advance. As it's ex-sample, it was available to buy for £875 in the shop. I managed to haggle her down to £700 for cash.

IF your nerves can stand it, and you're a pretty standard size/shape (i'm a 12...I found most of the dresses on offer on the rack seemed to be size 12's) then you can get some amazing bargains by buying one available in a bridal store.

Thankyou all very much for your feedback; I'm definitely going to wait now

One thing I forgot to mention about looking early, it's amazing what you learn from an appointment in a proper dress shop. I've only had the one appointment (as I say, still have more than 2 years to go!) and already it has completely changed the styles I am now looking at online. Thought I would want/suit princess style, turns out I look pretty ridiculous and looked surprisingly better in more fitted/fishtaily ones. Wouldn't have looked twice at fishtail before I tried them on.

I started shopping in April last year. At the time my wedding date was May 2014.

I bought mine in May 2013 and we are marrying in 13 days (eek!)

I got engaged Christmas 2012 and started looking online straight away. I think I first went to a bridal shop in about March/April 2013 so about 14 or 15 months before the wedding. After a bit of a pause in the middle, I ordered mine in about September/October last year, so about 9 or 10 months before the wedding.

Engaged Christmas 2012 and started looking straight away really. I bought my dress April 2013.

Have a peep at our blog post.

When Should I Order My Wedding Dress?

Hope this helps.