The benefits of choosing to shop local for your wedding dress are so amazing! While it can be enticing to shop through an online retailer or nationwide chain, there can also be some disadvantages to shopping through them. Although we may be a little biased, we truly believe that shopping through a local, independent wedding retailer is the way to go not just for your wedding dress, but for all of your wedding needs!
10 REASONS TO SHOP LOCAL FOR YOUR WEDDING DRESS
Choosing to shop local doesn’t have to end with the pizza place around the corner or your neighborhood’s farmer’s market. It can extend to all areas of your life including wedding planning! Here are 10 reasons to shop local for your wedding dress.
1. Support a family or independently-owned business
When you visit a local bridal boutique, you’re most likely supporting a family or independent person who lives locally. Did you know that K&B Bridals is owned by a husband and wife duo, Bridget and Chris? By supporting K&B, you’re supporting their family and all of the families who have employees working at the shop!
2. Convenient location
It may be enticing to visit a wedding dress retailer who has dozens of locations throughout the country. It may sound exciting to take a weekend trip to visit a big-name wedding dress shop. There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to do either of those things. But, think about how convenient it will be to visit a local bridal shop that’s just a short drive away! If you don’t find your dress during your first visit, but fell in love with the shop itself, you’ll be able to easily make a visit again once they get some new dresses in. Once your dress is ready to be picked up, it will be easy for you to make an appointment to come in and try it on with some veils. If you need last-minute alterations or a steaming right before your wedding day… no problem! These things aren’t always so easy to do with a shop that’s more than a few hours away, or from a national retailer who may be dealing with a lot of other customers.
3. Have years of wedding industry experience
When you shop locally, the owners and employees likely have tons of wedding industry experience under their belts! Even if you are working with a stylist who is new to the shop, they have learned from the experts, worked elsewhere in the bridal industry, or went through extensive training. A bridal shop is more than your typical retail store there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in the bridal industry, which is constantly evolving! Knowing that you are being taken care of by a local shop who has extensive bridal knowledge can be a huge relief.
4. Help boost your local economy
Of course, shopping locally will help to boost your local economy. Although shopping online or from a nationwide retailer also helps boost the economy overall, there’s just something about shopping locally that makes you feel good. What can be better than giving back to your local community? Especially after so many small businesses have had to adapt throughout the COVID-19 pandemic!
5. Shopping online may make you susceptible to counterfeit dresses
If you choose to shop online for a wedding dress, it’s crucial to be careful! Read reviews. Only purchase from a retailer that you trust. Unfortunately, purchasing online has made people susceptible to buying counterfeit dresses. We’ve seen this happen to far too many people. Some websites will use images directly from a designer’s website, but when you receive the dress, it looks nothing like the picture that you fell in love with. One thing to keep in mind if the price seems too good to be true for an online dress, then it probably is. If you see a dress online that’s $100, but is exactly the same as a dress you saw in-store for $1,000+… then it’s probably not going to be the same dress that you’ll receive. Search for real reviews from people who bought the dress, research the company, and make sure that they have good policies in place for returns and customer service.
6. Receive a personal approach
One thing that you will receive when you shop local for your wedding dress is a completely personal approach. You certainly won’t receive that when you shop online, and likely won’t receive the same personal care if you shop at a larger retailer! Imagine walking into a dress shop to be greeted by name, be asked how your family is doing, and have a conversation about the new restaurant that opened down the street. You’ll feel more like family at a local bridal shop than you would anywhere else!
7. Gain access to one-of-a-kind wedding gowns
Online and major retailers tend to have a large selection of wedding dresses. However, those exact same dresses are being worn by so many people around the world. A major benefit of shopping at a local bridal boutique is getting access to unique wedding gowns. Local bridal boutiques have dresses that are hand-selected and the designers that they carry have been vetted by the owners. Some small bridal shops even carry their own dress line like our Main Street Bridal collection! These are dresses that you literally will not be able to find anywhere else.
8. Get more customization options
Along with being able to find one-of-a-kind wedding dresses when you shop local, you will also get a lot of options to customize your dress. For example, did you fall in love with a dress, but want it to have sleeves? A lot of times, your dress can be ordered with sleeves. Maybe you fell in love with a wedding dress, but it’s a little too simple for your taste? A local bridal shop will have a wide assortment of sparkly belts for you to try on with it!
9. Can be your one-stop shop for wedding fashion
Another major benefit of shopping locally for your wedding dress is that it can be a one-stop shop for all of your wedding fashion needs. For example: K&B has pretty much everything that you’ll need for your wedding fashion. We offer a huge assortment of veils and belts. We also have a custom jewelry and accessories business located in the building Faye Daniel Designs. Plus, we will also be able to accommodate your wedding party’s outfits including the groom, fathers and mothers, bridesmaids, and flower girls!
10. Avoid the hassle of online shopping
Let’s face it online shopping can be a huge lifesaver in most cases, but is it something that you really want to trust when it comes to your wedding dress? A wedding dress is the most important fashion decision that you’ll make in your entire life. When you shop online, you don’t get the experience of trying on dresses and figuring out what you like on yourself. Many of our brides come into the shop with a specific vision for their wedding dress. After trying on various dresses, a lot of them end up with a dress that is the complete opposite of what they thought they wanted. Wedding dresses are intricate and complex you never know what you’re going to like until you try it on! If you’re interested in shopping with us to support a local business, click here to schedule an appointment! We can’t wait to see you!