Dress shopping is often considered the most exciting part of wedding planning for the bride. TV shows like Say Yes to the Dress and even sitcoms or movies make the experience out to be this wonderful, being treated like a princess event. And sometimes it is. But other times it’s a nightmare, or even just kind of a meh experience.
There are so. many. different ways you can get a wedding dress. Salons/Boutique, of course. Having a dress custom made/sewing your own really appeals to some people. There’s also the option to order online.
Now, I know David’s Bridal has a bad rep. They’re known for inconsistent service and lower quality dresses/materials. But I still decided to start with them. I’m the kind of person who likes to know what I’m getting and having a dress made would stress me out. There’s a lot of gray area around ordering online, because a lot of the retailers are based out of China, or at least source their material/labor from there. A lot of people seem to have good luck with it, so it really depends on what’s important to you.
My reason for starting at David’s and not a different salon is this – It’s one of the few dress retailers I found who actually list their prices on their website. I knew what I was getting with them, and I knew that I could afford their dresses. I did some research online about the location I was going to, and they seemed to have mostly neutral reviews, so I felt fairly comfortable going there. While I definitely didn’t want a low-quality dress, I decided I wanted to judge that for myself.
Beforehand, I thought a lot about what I’d be comfortable spending. It’s obviously a really personal decision based on what you can afford, and taking in account that I’ll (probably) only wear this dress once for about twelve hours. I came up with a number that I’d like to stay around and also a max I’d be willing to spend.
Once I had that number, I stalked browsed David’s website to find styles I liked. This basically boiled down to “oooh, that’s pretty!”, because I had no idea what styles would look good on me. I mostly steered away from ballgowns because I knew they’d overwhelm my 5 foot frame. But otherwise I had no clue.
I also took Matt’s preference in to account. Being as he is one of the least demanding people ever when it comes to what I wear, I wanted to accommodate his request that it show of my back a little bit.
Meanwhile, I also searched for other places I could go locally, in case I didn’t find anything at David’s. I mostly found them through WeddingWire and local bridal magazines (one of the only useful things I’ve found in bridal magazines is their local vendor listings). I researched the designers they carried and discovered there was one I really, really liked. I talked to a few people about where they bought their dresses, and picked one out that had good word of mouth. Fantastic! Backup plan set!
Coming up next…. The appointment!
Love at the Dog Park 
My experience was very similar. For what it’s worth, I had a great experience at David’s and even though I looked other places, I ended up getting my dress from there (but had it tailored somewhere else). Then, after the wedding, I — *gasp* — sold the dress. I figured I could have it take up room in my closet on the off-chance I might have a daughter one day on whom I’d want to place all kinds of pressure to a) get married, b) be my size, and c) wear a 30-year-old dress, or I could let it dance another day during its prime and earn a little money back in the process. (Actually my mom earned the money back since she bought the dress.) It made me happy, and it made the other bride happy — win-win!