If you are a newly engaged bride-to-be in the Pacific Northwest, you are probably wondering when you should buy your wedding dress. Once wedding planning begins, shopping for your wedding dress in the South Sound is one of the earlier tasks on the wedding to-do list. Many brides will book their wedding date and wedding venue and then turn to the bridal gowns. (Sometimes brides jump right to the wedding dress and we don’t blame them!)
We may be a little biased at Weddings With Joy, but we think shopping for a wedding dress is the most fun task of wedding planning. Who doesn’t love to play dress up with gorgeous dresses? If you are a bride in the Pacific Northwest region, including Seattle, WA, and Portland, OR, who is ready to start shopping for your wedding dress, tune in to our best bridal tips for when to buy your wedding dress.
And, of course, we hope that you’ll book an appointment here with us Weddings With Joy in Olympia, WA.
Be Ready To Buy
The short answer to when brides should begin shopping for their wedding dress in the Pacific Northwest is when they are ready to find and purchase their dress. It’s just that simple!
Falling in love with a wedding dress can happen when you least expect it! You can do all the research online, saving photos of bridal dresses you like the look of, but you never know what you will really love until you start trying on your body wedding dresses in a bridal store.
Maybe more important of loving the look of a dress, is how you feel in the dress. You should base your wedding dress decision on both how a dress looks in the mirror and how it makes you feel. You want to choose a wedding dress that makes you feel beautiful and joyful!
Since you never know when you might find “the one,” we would encourage all of our joyful brides to be prepared to buy their wedding dress anytime they go shopping or attend one of their bridal shopping appointments to try on dresses.
That means knowing your wedding budget and having the funds available to make your wedding dress purchase. If you’re not ready to buy or make the order when you find your dream wedding dress, and you wait to come back when you’re ready, you might miss out on that dress.
For more, be sure to get our advice on how to know when you’ve found your dream wedding dress.
Timeline Logistics
Now that you are in the mindset to be ready to shop for and buy your wedding dress, you are likely wondering if there is a certain time frame that is best to buy your wedding dress. With wedding planning in general, you likely have many different deadlines on your wedding planning schedule. We’re here to let you know where wedding dress shopping and buying fall within your overall wedding planning timeline.
As a general rule of thumb, if you are special ordering a wedding dress, it can take anywhere from four to seven months to be manufactured and arrive in a bridal store. (Remember, when you visit a bridal store and try on wedding dresses you’re likely trying on bridal dress samples. You will likely not be purchasing that exact dress you just tried on. Typically, the sample dress will stay in store for other brides to try on. If you find your dream dress after trying on the samples, you’ll then place an order with the dress designer or manufacturer for your own wedding dress to be made for you.)
After your dress arrives in the bridal store where you ordered it, you then want to allow two to three months for alterations. This means that brides should ideally be shopping and buying their wedding dress nine to 12 months (or one year) before their wedding day.
With this timeline, it can be helpful to have your wedding date booked before you begin shopping for your wedding dress. Shopping early for your wedding dress can save you time and stress. We want all brides to have a joyful wedding dress shopping experience!
Schedule your bridal dress shopping appointments early, if you can, so you don’t have to rush any decision-making.
Purchasing your wedding dress early will also allow some breathing room for any production or shipping delays that may occur. It’s much better to have your wedding dress arrive early and need storage space before your alterations appointments than to stress about your wedding dress not arriving in time for your wedding day.
Shorter Timelines
If you are a bride in the Pacific Northwest whose wedding date is less than nine to 12 months away, don’t worry – you still have options for finding your dream wedding dress! If you are shopping for your wedding dress on a shorter timeline, there are often rush options available for you.
Whether that be putting a rush on the wedding dress production or paying for expedited shipping, chat with your bridal stylist to see what options are available for each bridal dress designer within your specific timeline. Keep in mind that rush options will come with an added cost, so you’ll need to factor that into your wedding dress budget.
For brides on a very tight timeline that even rush production and expedited shipping options won’t work, there may be sample sale wedding dresses available or bridal gowns you can purchase directly from the bridal store.
Here at Weddings with Joy, we do sell our inventory or sample wedding dresses to brides who do not have enough time for the special ordering process.
Just remember to be upfront and clear with your bridal stylist on when your wedding day is and what your wedding timeline is so they can present you with the best available options for wedding dresses.
We hope you have found these tips helpful in preparing to shop for your wedding dress and knowing when to buy your bridal gown so that it arrives in plenty of time for your wedding day. If you’re ready, we can’t wait to see our South Sound brides book an appointment with us at Weddings With Joy!
Be sure to also check out our past tips on how to make the most of your wedding dress shopping experience and what to wear when wedding dress shopping.
About Weddings With Joy
If you’re a bride in the Pacific Northwest or planning a wedding in the South Sound, Seattle, and Portland, OR areas, come visit our amazing bridal boutique in Olympia, WA full of beautiful wedding dresses. At Weddings With Joy, we offer a truly one-of-a-kind experience for our joyful brides through our personalized attention and bridal styling support as they find their perfect wedding day look. Weddings With Joy features stunning wedding dresses in all shapes, sizes, and styles as well as the best tuxedo rentals and suits in Washington state. Request your bridal shopping appointment in the South Sound to find your dream wedding dress! We can’t wait to help you become a joyful bride!