When to Shop for Your Dress

It’s engagement season!!! And if you are reading our amazing blog, that probably means you recently got engaged yourself- so congratulations! We are so happy for you and can’t wait to help you find your dream dress! (That is a lot of exclamation marks for one opening paragraph, but we need you to know how excited we are for you!)

The Allen Farmhaus                      Under the Sun Photography

Most brides want to start dress shopping the second the ring is on their finger. Chances are they were looking at Pinterest long before the question was ever popped. But when is the ideal time to go shopping for your wedding dress?

Before you shop for dresses, you need to determine a couple of things: venue and wedding date.

Gruene Estate                                  The Crakes Photography

For some brides, the date is more important than the venue (maybe they want to get married on their grandparents wedding date) so it may take them a while to find a venue with their desired date available. For other brides, the date doesn’t matter so much, but they have their heart set on a certain venue or type of venue. In this case, their date is dependent on the venue’s availability.

The Milestone New Braunfels              Dawn Elizabeth Studios

Knowing your wedding date and venue go hand in hand. Once you book the venue, you have your wedding date. Just wanting a certain day doesn’t make it your wedding date. A wedding date isn’t set until the venue is booked.

The Chandelier of Gruene                    Dawn Elizabeth Studios

So why do we care? First of all, your wedding gown will probably be influenced by the vibe of your venue. Most brides getting married in a barn do not choose a satin ball gown. At the very least, your venue gives us an idea of your aesthetic.

Hideout on the Horseshoe                 Jess Crozier Photography

More importantly though, when you come in to try on dresses, we need to know what time frame we are looking at to order your dress. If your wedding date is in a year, we have plenty of time to order the dress (they can take up to 6 months to come in) and get you into alterations before your bridal portraits. If your wedding date is in 5 months, we may need to rush order the dress to get it here in time. If your wedding is in 2 months, we need to know so that we only show you dresses that are available for purchase directly from our collection.

Park 31                                               Snap Chic Photography

We know it sounds nitpicky, but this is one of the biggest things that could affect how we help you find a dress. How would you feel if you ordered a dress and then booked your venue afterwards only to learn the dress wouldn’t arrive in time for your wedding? We just want you to have the most amazing dress to wear down the aisle on your wedding day!

The Venue at Rafter E Ranch                        April Mae Creative

Bonus pre-shopping tip: have your decision-makers with you or ready to Facetime. You never know when you will fall in love with a dress!