If you are recently engaged, then you are probably starting to research wedding dress shopping. It’s likely a completely new experience to you, unless you have been married before or have been with a friend/family member while they are dress shopping! And even if that’s a case, it’s still a new experience when you are the one shopping.
One of the things that you may be wondering is, “How many bridal shops should I visit?” We are going to go over this in today’s blog post!
Spoiler alert: there is no clear cut answer to this!
How Many Bridal Shops Should I Visit?
We know this isn’t what you came here to hear… but honestly, the answer to how many bridal shops you should visit varies bride to bride. But don’t stop reading, because we’re going to fully explain why!
Some brides say “yes” to the very first dress that they try on, while others take some more time to process their decision.
How Many Appointments Should I Make in One Day?
We suggest making no more than 2 or 3 appointments in one day. Wedding dress shopping is way more exhausting than you may think… definitely more so than regular shopping! It’s an emotional process, and anything more than 2 or 3 appointments in a day will be completely overwhelming.
Also, keep in mind: if you find a wedding dress that you love at a bridal shop, but you still have other appointments during the day (or a different day)… don’t feel like you have to go to the other appointments!
Think about it this way… when you decided to spend forever with your spouse, did you pause and say “Wait a minute. I think I want to be with you but I need to go date other people before I make the commitment.” Probably not! So, why do that when you fall in love with a wedding dress? It can just lead to more questions and confusion.
Overall Tips for Shopping
When it comes down to it, you may need some overall tips for shopping for your wedding dress. Here are some of our most important tips!
Limit your entourage
We recommend trying to stick to 2-3 of your closest family members/friends when you’re thinking about who to bring with you. Having too many people with you can lead to too many opinions, often leaving you overwhelmed and confused.
Even if you end up having more than 2-3 people join you, just make sure that you stick to your closest group of people who will completely love and support you throughout the process. Think about people like your mom, future mother-in-law, sisters, best friends, cousins, etc. Heck, some people even bring brothers or their dad! It’s completely up to you and who you feel needs to be there.
Don’t try on too many dresses
Another thing that can leave a bride feeling confused and overwhelmed is when she tries on too many dresses. If you’ve seen Say Yes to the Dress, we’re sure you’ve seen the brides who come in and have tried on dozens of dresses, but can’t seem to find the right one. Well… there’s a reason for that! Trying on too many dresses leads to comparisons. Plus, when you’ve tried on your 25th dress, you tend to forget what the 1st one even looked like!
Most brides try on about 4-7 dresses, and we really don’t recommend trying on more than 10 unless you have truly hated every single one that you’ve put on! Typically, your stylist will start to narrow down what you do and don’t like, leading you to find your perfect dress.
Start shopping at the right time
Most brides are surprised to find out that you should start shopping for your dress about a year before your wedding date. When you order a dress, it can take 6-9 months to come in, plus you want to give yourself about 3 months for alterations!
On the other hand, you might not want to start shopping more than about a year and a half before the wedding day. There are constantly new collections and trends coming out in the bridal world, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re shopping in the right season! However, it really is never to early to find your dress if you fall in love with it before that.
Have a budget in mind
This is probably our most important tip… make sure that you have a budget in mind before you start wedding dress shopping. For starters, you want to make sure that the bridal shop you’re booking at has dresses within your desired price range. You also don’t want to fall in love with a dress that you end up realizing you can’t afford!
Final Thoughts
When it comes down to it, the number of bridal shops that you should visit while wedding dress shopping really varies. However, based on everything we said, we recommend booking an appointment at just 1-3 shops to start with! You can always cancel the other appointments if you find your dress early – just be sure to check with the bridal shop while booking to see if they have cancellation fees. (Here at K&B Bridals, we only charge a fee if you are a no call/no show – as long as you call us to cancel, we will not charge you!)