Deciding which Bridal Boutiques to visit to find your Dream Dress.

How exciting, you are engaged and you’re full into planning mode and now is the time to think about your Dream Gown and where you are going to find her. You may be thinking all wedding dress boutiques are the same, think again!! Finding a boutique that fits your personality is so important. The experience of finding your Dream Gown should be one you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

You may be feeling super excited to get started but like many, you may be super nervous or more than likely a bit of both. Please do not worry. If you follow the tips below you will more than likely end up in the right place and be in your element.

1. Research- This is a great place to start. Google ‘Bridal Boutiques near me’ to get you started. Have a look at the reviews for the different boutiques. Reviews are so important as they are from other brides in the same position you are now. Do some Social Stalking!! Have a look at not only the gowns but at the boutique itself, does it give you the fuzzy feelings of somewhere you would like to be. Does the owner/team appear friendly and approachable? For you to find your gown you have to feel comfortable where you are and who you are going to be with. Have a look at websites and the designers they stock and their websites too.

2. Recommendations- So many of my lovely Brides come from recommendations from other previous Treasured Brides. By you asking your friends, family or work colleagues about where they bought their bridal gown and the boutique experiences, they had it can save you so much time. When someone you know is telling you about the good and bad experiences they had its certainly worth listening. Listen to what they say and you’ll be able to judge what is important to you. Do you want an appointment only boutique? Would you mind sharing a fitting room? Would you like to buy off the peg? Do you want to be able to park easily? Are you happy with people walking by and peeping in the window? Was the person serving friendly or a pushy salesperson? Was there a great selection of styles? Was the after care exceptional? Etc etc. Work out what elements are important to you.

3. Consider what you think you may like: After doing some research, think about the styles you are attracted too and make sure the boutiques you’re looking at carry these styles. More often than not this style will not be what you end up with but it’s important you try on what you think you may like as well as other styles and silhouettes.

4. Is the collection range diverse: Look at the boutique’s designers and gowns to ensure that they have a diverse range of dresses and styles to insure you can try on a mixture of gowns. If you consider yourself to have a different body shape to others, make sure the boutiques you choose cater for you. Many boutiques are unable to cater for everyone so its finding what suits your requirements best.

5. Budget: This is one of the most important elements when choosing where to visit to find your gown. Please do not be tempted to visit stores that hold gowns that are over your budget. Even if you don’t think you have a budget, you probably do. Ask yourself, what are you honestly happy to spend on your Dream Wedding Dress? Most boutique websites will tell you on their website but if they don’t drop them a message or give them a call. There’s nothing worse than having a budget of £2’000 for example and you go to a boutique where gowns go up to £5’000 and the one you love is £3500, do not torture yourself!!! There’s plenty of choice for everyone’s budget so be true to yourself and do not risk having a disappointing experience.

So hopefully these tips will help you to find your perfect boutique to find your dream wedding dress. Please also remember that usually the only reason people go to more than one bridal boutique is because they don’t find what they were looking for in the first place. Often people go to more than one shop purely because they didn’t get the opportunity to try on enough of a range of styles of gowns. If you absolutely fall in love with a gown in your first boutique then that’s quite normal if it’s the right place and the right gown. People always say to me, how will I know if it’s the right dress and I don’t need to keep looking? My answer is always this “When your swishing around in a gown and you really do not want to take it off even when I’m saying that my next bride is outside and you need to go” that’s when you know!!!

Good Luck xx

Zoe

Credit: Hannah Brooke Photography