When shopping for a bridal gown, the experience can be overwhelming and stressful. That's where the bridal professionals come in. We have some helpful hints to make your bridal gown shopping just a little easier.
Firstly, you don't "have to" know what your looking for when you come in for an appointment. With all honesty we see brides come in with part of an idea, or even a exact idea of what their wanting for the big day, and a large quantity of those brides don't actually buy the gown they intend on coming in for.
Coming in with an open mind with "ideas" is great, but if you don't have any clue what you want, that's cool with us too. That's the main reason we assign a seasoned professional with every bride to help you find your gown.
Can you get "lost" in the bridal gown process? Very much so, we see it constant. A bride finds the gown she loves, but isn't sure if there's " Better" . Take it from us , trust your gut! It's never is a great idea going to 5-6-7-8 bridal shops and trying 75+ gowns. You will get lost, and stressed. If you start looking and not finding what your wanting, take a break and focus on other wedding goals and tasks. You can always come back to bridal shopping. It's not worth getting " lost" in the bridal gown shopping process.

Now we get this question a lot! "Who do you bring for your bridal appointment"? We don't have an exact answer to this, it honestly depends on who you ask. We've heard from other bridal professionals say " If you wouldn't have them in the delivery room with you when your giving birth, then they shouldn't be with you for your bridal appointment" Now there are parts of that we strongly agree with. When you work in bridal, for us finding a bridal gown is just as important as a birth. It's emotional, it's stressful, and brides can be very vulnerable too about their emotions, and their bodies. We though always suggest shopping in smaller groups of those who will be supportive not discouraging. An entourage of loving and honest but not critical.
Now we always suggest "buying" in a small group, but at Evers Bridal Boutique we offer "reveal appointments". That's when you bring the 5-6-7-8 guests with you to reveal your gown at a special appointment to include everyone, but leave the buying process to the very near and dear group.

Another great tip, when visiting the bridal shop of your choice is, to do your research! Do they need an appointment? Are they walk in only? How many guests do they allow? What are some store policy's? Do they charge for appointments, or is there a cancellation fee? What price ranges or designers do they offer?
These are questions you should always consider when booking or shopping at bridal shops.
We also suggest checking out the stylist that each store has, if you can request a stylist then you should see who you want to work with. The best ways of doing that is; social media, reviews, and website information.
Another wonderful tip we see in our bridal world is , trust your bridal stylist! A lot of bridal stylists have been in the bridal game for a long time and sometimes can find the gown for a bride before she even realizes it. We as bridal professionals only strive to please the bride and helping her for her big day. So if we pull a "wild card" it's simply because our bridal intuition is kicking in majorly. Trust your stylist and let them help you during your appointment.

Here's another great tip we love. If you aren't sure, try it on! A lot, we mean a lot of bridal gowns look 100% better on a human body than on the hanger. There's a lot to consider when choosing gowns, but if you aren't too sure of a style, or neckline of a gown simply try it on.. When a stylist shows a gown and swears " it's better on" , it's usually true. We bridal stylists see these gowns on brides daily, we know if a gown is cut odd, or stunning on, if a gown is cut smaller than usual or larger.
That leads us into the next part of this , bridal sizing is terrible. No one wants to go up 2-3 sizes to fit into a gown, nor do us as bridal stylists want to tell brides you have to. Sadly we have no control over sizing or size charts of gowns and designers. The best way to deal with it, is just accept it and keep moving.

When shopping, have a budget with wiggle room. We hear it all the time " a bridal gown you only wear for one day" . That is true, but you have to consider that 90% of your wedding photos are you in our bridal gown. Photos that can cost anywhere from $500-10k depending on your location, packages, and the product. If you have wiggle room in the wedding budget then it needs to be in the dress. Now we aren't saying go crazy or don't have a budget. Not at all, realistically everyone has a budget, and you should have one in mind... We aren't saying if your budget is $1,000 you should spend $2,000 or plan on that. But if you find a dream gown for your dream day, a $100 or $200 shouldn't make you say no. Also always ask what's the "best they can do" sometimes buying a new sample off the floor is cheaper than ordering the same gown. Or bridal shops can see if the designer is having any incentives at the moment.
Last but not least, the most helpful tip we can give is, when bridal gown shopping , come prepared to buy. Or at least be prepared to put a deposit for a layaway or gown order. Most stores require at least 50% to order. When you bridal gown shop but can't purchase it can cause problems, either you keep looking and get confused or shipping gets delayed, sometimes A LOT. Or even at certain point a gown can get discontinued without notice for the bridal shops. We as bridal shops hate, absolutely hate telling a bridal that was in 2-3 weeks earlier who found her gown that she can't order a gown anymore. It makes it devastating for you and for us as well. So always come prepared.
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