Tips for Saying "Yes to the Dress"
One of the top wedding planning tasks every bride looks forward too is saying “yes to the dress.” I spend hours upon hours as a kid watching Say Yes to the Dress on TLC watching in awe and excitement as women found their dream gowns and wondered what that day would look like for me. Unfortunately, an appointment at Kleinfeld was not in the question due to COVID (and my budget lol!), but that didn’t stop the experience from being magical.
I had such a blast at my bridal appointment at Ashley Grace Bridal in Lynchburg. A few of my close friends got their gowns from this bridal salon earlier this year, and I loved the dresses they ended up saying yes to. Lynchburg is a little under two hours from my parent’s house in Charlottesville, so it didn’t seemed like too long of a trek to check out their selection.
On Saturday morning, my mom, sister, grandma, and one of our closest family friends traveled down to Lynchburg for the appointment. My appointment was from 11am-1pm, but I only ended up needed an hour of that time slot. Honestly, time kind of stood still while I was trying on dresses and I had no idea how long we had been there. The amazing stylists at Ashley Grace Bridal made me feel like an MVP, listened to my dress likes and dislikes and were the absolute sweetest. I didn’t feel rushed at all and felt confident at the end of my appointment that I had found my dress.
After trying on wedding dresses last weekend, I’ve rounded up some of my top tips for saying “yes to the dress.”
Try on everything that catches your eye (within reason)
Once you get to the bridal boutique to try on gowns, you’re there, so you might as well try on everything that catches your eye. The worst is leaving the boutique and wondering what if! Plus, trying on gorgeous gowns is so much fun and a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’m incredibly picky and had a pretty good idea prior to the appointment what I wouldn’t like. Sometimes that’s a great place to start; figure out what gowns you aren’t interested in and use that to narrow down on a style/design that you do like.
My appointment was two hours but I only ended up needing one to find my dress. I tried on around 6 dresses but only truly loved two dresses that I tried on. The other dresses were gorgeous, but I knew almost instantly they weren’t for me.
Stick To Your Budget
Remember that just because a dress is more expensive doesn’t mean it’s better. There was a gown that caught my eye online that I knew was over my budget, but I wanted to try it on and see how I felt about the style. I ended up hating it (haha), but at least I didn’t leave wondering what the dress would look like. I know this is a dangerous game to play, but there are so many dresses out there for every budget. I knew if I tried on a gown that I loved but was super out of my budget, I would be able to find a very similar dress in my price point.
I knew my dress was going to be something I wouldn’t compromise on, so I made sure to be realistic when Matthew and I set our budget for the wedding. Because we’re going the DIY route with decorations, I gave myself a little wiggle room in the dress budget.
Ask all the questions
While we were pulling dresses to try on, I asked if dresses we pulled were over budget so I knew before trying them on. If you’re scared that you’ll get caught up in the moment while dress shopping, give your family, bridesmaids or whoever comes with you a list of questions you don’t want to forget to ask. Part of the fun is getting caught up in the moment and excitement, but you also want to make sure you aren’t making decisions you’ll wish you had thought twice about.