10 Tips for a Successful Appointment From a Bridal Consultant Who Has Seen it ALL.

By Lacey
Bridal Consultant, Blogger, and Sass Queen Extraordinaire.

Every little girl dreams of THE day. THE day when she marries THE One, in THE dress. You know the perfect, stunning, graceful, elegant dress. A dress so perfect that when HE sees you in it for the first time as you walk down that aisle, you take his breath away. A dress so perfect that the entire crowd gently gasps, as eyes well with happy tears as they take in every slow step down the aisle. The dress has everything: the perfect amount of details, the perfect amount of swish, the perfect color, the perfect shape, everything, and everything about it is just perfect. Getting to THE perfect moment in THE perfect Dress on THE day, however, starts with THE shopping day. To make your dress buying experience go smoothly, take some advice from someone who has seen it All….

1) Careful with the Champaign
Shopping=Fun! Shopping for a big white poufy dress that you have dreamed about since you were 4= Super fun! Shopping for a big, white, poufy dress that you have dreamed about since you were 4 WITH a big glass of Champaign and your closest girlfriend = BEST THING EVER!!!!! But head my warning ladies: PACE YOURSELVES! Better yet, save the celebrating for after you have signed the credit card receipt. Drunk shopping doesn’t turn out well… remember that episode of New Girl when Cece buys her wedding dress?? Yeah, don’t let that be you!

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2) Underwear- Please wear it!
Yes, to answer that question burning in your mind, yes women have showed up to their bridal appointments going completely commando. Now you do get used to a certain amount of nudity doing this job (Many brides chose to try on dresses without a bra so they are not distracted by straps or additional bulk in the wrong places.) I will respectfully avert my eyes to respect your modesty as I help you try on dresses, BUT THERE IS A LINE LADIES, IT’S THE PANTYLINE!!!! I WANT TO SEE PANTY LINES! This is the ONE time it is acceptable! So for the love of goodness please, please, PLEASE wear underwear to your appointment- and while we are at it may I please request your nice underwear? Ya know, they kind you wear on a date? The pretty lacey pair you own for special occasions. Not your old, stretched out granny panties that you save for when you need to do laundry? Thanks!

3) Play Dress Up
So ladies if your soon-to-be doesn’t love you as much barefaced and in sweats as he does in your LBD, with a professional blowout and your make up on point for a night on the town then you have bigger problems than picking the right dress… but that’s another blog for another time. While I am positive he loves you no matter what condition your hair and makeup is in or the clothes you wear, things are a little different in the bridal gown world. It’s helpful when shopping for a bridal gown if you have your hair and makeup done. Now, don’t get me wrong- we are NOT going to judge a book by its cover. This advice is for your own good, and comes from a place of genuine desire to help you find the perfect dress! SO stick with me ok? Come to the store with your hair and makeup done. It doesn’t have to be a full bridal updo and a full set of false eyelashes, and a face caked in full makeup. Come looking nice so when you look in the mirror in these beautiful dresses, you can picture the final look as you walk down the aisle! Coming to the store hung over, with half smeared makeup from the night before, with your dirty hair in a messy bun (Yes this has happened too) won’t help you imagine THE look! Unless that’s the look you are going for- in that case, more power to ya!

4) Leave the Jealous Sorority Sisters at Home!
When people find out I work in a Bridal Salon they ALWAYS want to hear stories about Bridezillas. But let me tell you I have very few bridezilla stories. The real troublemakers at bridal appointments are “The Team.” Everyone has people on her team. Some women choose to shop alone (Which after some of The Teams I have met- I actually don’t shun the idea!). Some women bring their mom, best friend, future mother in Law and sister. Other Women bring just their mom and grandma. Some women bring parents, their fiancée and their best friend. And then some women bring their mother, their future mother in law, their 13 bridesmaids, their flower girls, their 8 aunts, their next-door neighbor, their poor (BORED!) father, their best friends, the minister and a nice lady they met on the street on the way in. Seriously. NO joke, I once had a bride come in with a good 10 people in tow. While Shopping for your dress is a really fun, special moment and it’s hard to tell people they CAN’T come, take it from someone who has seen bridal appointments go from amazing to horrific disasters because the Bride found a beautiful dress she loves but her Team only cares about what they want to see her in. Keep the group small; the fewer opinions about the numerous dresses you are going to try on will help keep the head spinning to a minimum. And Be PICKY- Ask people who know what YOU want. People who want to help YOU pick YOUR perfect dress. People who will have fun and enjoy the moment but aren’t there to make score cards, force you (and me) to put on horrible dresses, or dresses WAY out of your budget or who only want to see you in a rhinestone encrusted satin ball gown with 15 foot long cathedral train, poof sleeves and high collar, when all you want is an elegant A-line strapless lace dress. You are going to do a lot of celebrating with a lot of people over the next several months: bridal showers, lingerie showers, engagement parties, bachelorette parties, rehearsal dinners etc. You will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate in special ways with your friends. Keep this celebration small.

5) I’ve Done This Before… a few times…- You Haven’t, So Please Let me help!!!
Most women shop for a wedding dress once in their lifetime (well hopefully!) and to make matters more complex shopping for a wedding dress is a completely different type of shopping experience. The sizes are different; there are fabrics, cuts, fits and alterations that are all not typical in the world of day-to-day clothes shopping. It’s Very common for a bride to come in with Pinterest boards full of dresses they think look pretty. This isn’t a bad idea, but it’s also not a really good one… Pinterest is fun! I have a Pinterest board, my mom has one, my sister has one heck even my boyfriend has one! But they can be detrimental to the bridal shopping experience. (Crazy statement I know but you will just have to wait for my blog post about the Problem with Pinterest to get the full scoop!) What is pretty on the page, is often insanely expensive, airbrushed, heavy, uncomfortable (Example: cathedral length veils when getting married outside = bad idea. If the smallest amount of wind kicks up prepared for you, your wedding party and the first three rows to be attacked by netting to only then get tangled in a tree…. Trust me. It’s happened) or honestly not all that flattering on your body type! (Please Note: Most brides discover this on their own, trusting me up front about the types of dresses that work for your body type will save us a good 15 min of trying on unflattering dresses.) What I am trying to say is this: Trust the Experts. At Say Yes For Less we have a cumulative experience of over 50 years in the bridal industry. Let us help you navigate the crazy world of wedding dress shopping, to find you THE dress. Trust me we are on your side! We want to make sure you look and feel beautiful and confident on your special day. SO take our advice, trust us and let us HELP!!

Stay Tuned for Part Two!

May Your Happily Ever After Come True,
Lacey
Bridal Consultant, Blogger, and Sass Queen Extraordinaire.