Wedding Dress Shopping Timeline

Why is a wedding dress shopping timeline important?

Planning a wedding means more decisions on top of your everyday decisions. Many of our brides are planning a wedding while shopping for a house and working full-time.  You’ll easily find a long list of wedding checklists to follow, but it’s hard to know what to tackle first. 

 At The Bridal Finery, we are here to support you throughout your wedding planning journey. One of the most common questions we receive is, “When should I start trying on wedding dresses?”. Knowing when to start trying on and when to order will help you with your overall wedding planning. Many factors should be considered when deciding to go wedding dress shopping. 

What comes first, the venue or the wedding dress?

The first decision is typically the venue or the wedding dress. Shopping for a wedding dress is one of the highlights of the engagement! We believe in shopping for your wedding dress before shopping for your venue. When you shop for your wedding venue you may be asked questions regarding guest count, food choices, ceremony length, and time.  There are far more things to consider when shopping for a venue. This could be overwhelming if you just got engaged a few weeks ago. 

We believe to kick off the engagement, try on wedding dresses first! You won’t be overwhelmed by the list of questions to answer. It will simply be about finding the wedding dress you feel the most beautiful in. Besides your closest friends and family members are dying to see your wedding dresses so why not get started! Also, keep in mind a wedding dress has to be made for you and a wedding venue is already built.

When should you order your wedding dress?

The ideal wedding dress shopping timeline is to get started a year before your wedding; however, we do accommodate clients with off the rack purchases within a shorter time frame. Once you find the dress, go ahead and get it ordered. Standard wedding dress production time and delivery are 6-8 months. 

The sooner you place your order, the sooner the fabric is ordered. The fabric arrives at the design team to begin the pattern making. The team of dressmakers works together to construct your dress using a sewing machine and hand sewing techniques. The dress is pressed and then inspected. 

For our brides who purchase off the rack, it’s always on a first come first serve basis. This is another reason why you should consider dress shopping before shopping for your venue. Once the dress arrives at The Bridal Finery, a team member will inform you of the exciting news of its arrival. From there we coordinate your alteration fittings.  

Why you should buy your wedding dress before you book your venue?

In the Orlando area alone, there are over 350 wedding venues. You could shop for days! Nowadays it is not uncommon to host a wedding on a Friday or Sunday. It is rare to find a venue completely booked for a whole season. With Covid-19 policies in place, many rules are based on guest count and if the venue has food or not. These questions and answers are ever-changing during the pandemic.  

With wedding dresses, the process is very much the same as pre-covid time. The only difference is the mask. We provide a private bridal styling experience and work with you to find the perfect dress. Once you are in the dress you love, we exit the room so you may drop your mask if you would like.

Your wedding venue shouldn't pick your wedding style.

There is a misconception out there that couples should find their wedding dress before they find their wedding venue. The wedding venue should speak to you as a couple, but it won’t ever be as personal as your wedding dress. Don’t let your venue dictate the most important garment you will ever wear in your lifetime.

It’s easy to let the venue influence your wedding dress decision. The perk of finding your wedding dress before your venue is so it doesn’t influence such an important wedding decision. Many people are concerned with tying the look together with space. When you know which wedding dress is yours you can make better decisions on linens and florals to play up the formality of the venue space or downplay it. Just remember you can never be overdressed for your wedding!