Wedding Dress Shopping: Everything You Need to Know
Shopping for your wedding dress is one of the most exciting milestones in planning your wedding day. Whether you've imagined this moment since childhood or are just beginning to explore your style, finding your wedding dress should be an exciting, relaxing, and stress-free experience. With countless styles, designers, and stores to explore, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But don’t worry — our guide will walk you through everything you need to know.
We’ll cover when to start shopping, setting a budget, how to ensure The White Flower is right for you, what to expect at your appointment, and how to stay calm and focused as you move through the process.
Wedding Dress Timeline
Wedding Dress Budgeting
On average, brides allocate around 7-10% of the overall wedding budget to their dress. This number should include alterations and accessories like veils, shoes, and jewelry. However, if the wedding dress holds special importance and you’d like to spend more on it, you can do so by reducing the budget for other vendors.
At The White Flower, our made-to-order dresses range from $2,800 to $6,000, while off-the-rack sample gowns range between $1,800 and $3,500. Brides should budget around $1,000 to $1,500 for alterations, which are a crucial part of ensuring your gown fits flawlessly. For veils, we recommend a budget of at least $400.
Does our style match yours?
Taking just 5-10 minutes to browse a bridal boutique's website can save you time and frustration by ensuring the store offers styles you love and that fit within your budget.
Before booking an appointment, peek at Our Dresses page to see if we carry designs that match your vision and confirm that our price range aligns with what you're prepared to spend.
This small effort will prevent you from spending time at a boutique where you aren’t excited about trying on any gowns. Additionally, browsing our Instagram can give you a feel for our vibe and help you decide if we're the right fit for your style.
Your Experience
When you arrive at our boutique, you and up to four guests will be welcomed into a private suite for an intimate 90-minute appointment. Longer VIP appointments for additional guests are available.
During your appointment, you'll have the opportunity to try on anywhere from 5 to 12 dresses, depending on how quickly you provide feedback. Some brides find "the one" early on, while others prefer to explore more styles before making their decision.
Our goal is to create a relaxed, personalized experience that helps you discover the perfect dress, all in the comfort of your own private space.
VIP Appointments
VIP Bridal Appointments are offered Friday-Sunday at 10am or 3pm. They are 2 hours long, giving you an extra 30 minutes to shop and celebrate with up to 6 guests.
We provide your group with snacks and additional beverages to enjoy.
VIP appointments are $300, nonrefundable.
FAQ
Is it normal for brides to say yes at their first appointment?
Absolutely. Even if a bride comes in knowing nothing about her desired style, she can leave having said yes in 90 minutes!
Our stylists are experts at guiding brides through the process of selecting their preferred details and eliminating unwanted elements. This helps brides narrow down dresses quickly without them feeling like they're missing out on other stores.
What kind of feedback should I give?
During the appointment, we want our brides to share what they're liking, loving, and not liking about any element of each dress they try.
The more preferences our stylists are aware of, the easier it is for them to bring a bride styles that more closely align with her vision.
It won't hurt our feelings to know that you don't like a square neck or 3D flowers! All brides have different preferences and we want to know yours!
Will random see me while I'm trying on dresses?
We ask brides and their guests to stay within their private suite as much as possible. This ensures all brides have privacy at all times. You'll never feel on display at The White Flower.
What should my group know about the appointment?
We appreciate when guests stay within their private suite so they remain focused on the bride and her experience.
Should a guest want to suggest a dress for the bride, we ask they point it out to us and we will carry it into the suite. It's best to let our stylists handle dresses and veils for safety and proper care of the item.
We encourage the bride to share her opinion before the group's. This allows our stylists to hear the bride's feedback first and also ensures the bride feels heard and her voice isn't lost among the group.
Should I pre-shop alone then come back with my group?
We don't recommend this for many reasons. It's best to have a seamless experience. If you want a group with you for that special "yes" moment, do all of your shopping with them because you never know when you might find the one.
Finding your dress alone then coming back with a group may make the 2nd time feel less special and you might wish you'd had them with you in that beautiful moment of realization that you found your dress.