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What are your best words of wisdom for brides looking for their wedding dresses? What were you surprised/disappointed/excited to find out in your gown shopping adventures?
What I learned that if you budget is only 1000 or 2000 dollars, do not go try on a vera wang..it will ruin you =)
i was surprised at how exhausting it could be. lifting those heavy gowns. my arms were noodles at the end of the day.
I know everyone says this, but try on gowns you don’t THINK you like! The gown I ended up buying had a feature I really disliked so I told the woman I didn’t want to try it on. She made me anyway, telling me they could alter it away easily, and I ended up falling in love! So even if you have set rules in your head for what you think you want, just try on a little bit of everything anyway just in case!
Know your budget and shop at places that HAVE your budget. If you can only spend no more than 1500, then don’t go to a top name designer store… Unless it’s a sample sale! 
I was pissed when the bridal shop pressured me to do alteration at their shop. Alteration should be part of the budget.
Don’t compromise on quality, but also remember you are wearing it for 6 hours, so fine quality and workmanship CAN be delicate, as it’s not a garmet that needs to be durable for regular wear.
If you’re not superstitious, consider wearing a borrowed or used dress to really save.
it really helped that there are places like pearl’s place (www.pearlsplace.com) and http://www.netbride.com. i got my exact wedding gown in pristine condition for almost half the price from the dress shop!
and ditto the exhausting part as well as the try things on that you don’t think you’re going for. i totally ended up with a ball skirt that i thought i was trying to stay away from.
This may seem silly, but bring proper undergarments! At all but one salon that I went to, they follow you in the dressing room and you want to be prepared! Bring a strapless bra and wear light colored underwear that won’t show underneath the dress…
Wear a strapless bra and boy shorts if you’re modest about being naked in front of people. Most shops have a consultant get you in and out of each dress, and not all have bras/slips for you to wear.
I echo Miss Peppermint and LAGirl23.
Like a car - do your research, don’t buy right away, test as many times as you want.
I agree w/ Sarah.
I might even add that it’s also OK to *secretly* shop alone, then go back, or not. Why get everyone else all in your business and opinionated and emotionally involved prematurely? Wait til you rule some styles/designers/prices out and then — if you must — bring the gaggle of ladies to ooh and aah over the dress.
going shopping alone initially worked great for me. once i narrowed it down to my top 3 dresses, i brought in others for their opinion.
don’t forget to compare prices with different salons. i ended up getting a great deal that way!
Shop earlier than you think you need to. You’d be surprised how long it takes to get your order placed, get it made, get it shipped to you, do alterations (which includes several fittings), do a bridal portrait, and get it pressed and cleaned before the big day. Even if you have to wait on the alterations until closer to your date, at least order the dress and have it in your possession for added peace of mind.
I’m mostly just speaking to the plus sized brides-to-be, like myself… Call ahead to salons and see if they carry larger sized samples. See how they react when you ask, and keep in mind how nice or helpful they seem. It was so hard for me at the first couple shops I went to that, in tears, I gave up all together. I’m now having my dress made for me. However, I found out later that there are lots of shops that will (and WANT) to help ladies like us. Just my two cents.
Stand your ground with regard to your budget, salespeople can be very pushy trying to get you to spend more than you’re comfortable with by getting you to try on jewelry, shoes, veils etc and then have you become emotionally attached to the look. If you can’t afford something, don’t try it on and don’t let them talk you into it.
Also, personally I just won’t stand for having a woman follow me into the changeroom or waltz in while I’m half naked unannounced. Tell them you’re not comfortable with that if you’re not, put the dress on by yourself and then open the door for them to zip you up. Having said that, they will still see your undergarments if they’re zipping you up, so wear something you wouldn’t be embarassed for others to see.
Think long term–will I need alterations? How much will that add on to the cost of the dress? Do I need a petty coat? All these things add up. For me, a corset-style dress fixed the alteration cost–as I only need a bussel.
Have fun!
if you’re ethnic, don’t feel pressured into having a white gown just because of all the magazines. especially, if you’re chinese, your mom will con you into getting a cheong-sam/qipao and then you’ll figure out it’s much prettier and costs much less than an actual white dress…or you can do what i did and have both kinds of dresses 
but that ends up costing more $$$.
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