When to start wedding dress shopping. A guide.

When to start shopping for your wedding dress.

You said ‘YES’ to marrying your love, found and booked the most perfect wedding venue and you’ve now got a wedding date. What’s next?
While your wedding date still seems too far away, one of the important things to think about is when to start shopping for your wedding dress.
A common mistake that brides make is leaving shopping for their wedding gowns to the last minute. We get it. As a first time bride, how would you even know that most wedding gowns take at least 5 months to be made.

To help you with your wedding dress shopping journey, we’ve put together a timeline below to ensure you have plenty of time to shop, stress-free.

12 months before the wedding
Start your wedding dress shopping now. Do your research before visiting a bridal boutique. This will help your stylist get a feel for what you’re after and this will also make your first visit less overwhelming.

If you found your dress before the 12th month mark, congratulations to you! We love an organised bride!

9 – 10 months before the wedding
Now is the time to say YES to your dress. You would have been advised that wedding dresses are made to order and depending on the designer, dresses could take up 6-8 months to be made. Locking in your gown early (ish) gives you time to think about the finishing touches without feeling rushed. This will also give you time to plan for alterations when your dress arrives.

6 months before the wedding
If you haven’t started your wedding dress shopping yet, get on to it now!
It’s definitely time to make that decision now if you don’t want to pay for rush fees.

If you are a bride who has had to change her wedding plans, are simply wanting a short engagement, or didn’t know that wedding gowns could take up to 9 months to be made and delivered — do not fret. Our boutiques hold samples that we’re selling off the rack at discounted prices, ready for you to take home. These gowns are listed on our sample sale page.

We also have designers that have stock on hand, and that can accommodate rush orders.
Some options may just require paying for rush fees.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with one of our boutiques. Our team are always happy to help!