Ok Girls, This is a question for all of you not getting married in the actual town where you live! I need opinions on WHERE to buy my dress! I guess I'm pretty clueless on the whole buying a dress/fittings situation- so any opinions or help you girls can give would be much appreciated!
I currently live/work in NYC but my wedding is upstate next June. Also, there is a possibility that I'm moving 1/2 way across the country prior to the wedding. Where should I buy my dress?
If I buy it upstate, I have to travel upstate for fittings but then the dress will be there all nice and non-wrinkly ready for the wedding! And what if I move - how often would I get back upstate for fittings before the actual wedding?
If I buy the dress in NYC, it will be more convenient for fittings, but then I will have getit to the wedding location and have to deal with it not being in perfect non-wrinkly condition. Also.. what if I end up moving? How would I get back to NYC for fittings?
Should I wait until I find out if I'm moving (probably 1-2months) and possibly buy the dress in the new location - more convenient for fittings? Every store I visit tells me I'm running out of time to pick a dress so I'm getting a little anxious!
I am getting married in a different part of the country than I live. I bought a dress in the city I live in so I could go to all three dress fittings. The day I fly out, I am going to the dress shop with a roll on carry-on and they are packing the dress for me (I could never squish the beautiful dress into a roll on!). Then I'm going straight to the airport. When I get to the hotel at my destination, I will immediately take the dress out and hang it. The day before the wedding, I am dropping the dress off at the bridal suite at the wedding venue and a woman is coming to press and steam the dress for me ($200 - budget for this), so when I arrive the next day, it is hanging there, beautifully pressed and waiting for me. How many months until your wedding? I purchased mine in December and it arrived in June for my August wedding if that helps your timeline.
I went through the same thing, lived in NYC, wedding in Philly, possible move to Denver in the midst - I and have a few ideas. I would suggest if you have time to wait until you know if you're moving or not and then buy the dress in your new city.
If you don't have time, I would say find your dress now in NYC. If you end up staying then it's much easier to coordinate fittings (and from my experience with my sister's wedding, even if everything is local you'll still deal with wrinkly-ness If you do end up moving after you've ordered your dress, you can have the store ship you your gown, or take the unaltered dress with you and find a good seamstress in your new home town and do fittings there.
At the very least you can wait - and if there isn't time to get it in your new city there are always sample sales that can help you turn a dress around in a shorter time frame. I've found that many stores telling us that we're running out of time are trying to push a sale. Hope that gives you some ideas! Good luck!
if you are driving from NYC to your wedding, then the dress gets the back seat of the car, and won't get wrinkly at all if it is packed well. That is what I did - bought my dress at Saks, married in the Hudson Valley.
you should start looking for dresses now, and then once you know where you will live, you can buy it there. It would be a pain to buy your dress so far away because you need at least a few fittings....
I live in South Carolina but am planning a wedding in my home state of Michigan. I actually purchased my dress in North Carolina (only an hour drive from where I live) but my bridal boutique is going to store the dress for me until our drive back home to Michigan in June 2009 (the month of the wedding). I would encourage you to purchase a dress wherever will be most convenient for you to do your fittings. For me, flying back to Michigan 3 times (in between flying home for bridal showers and regular visits) was just not in the budget and would not fit into my schedule! bgcrispin is right - your dress is bound to have some wrinkles no matter where it's purchased. I also plan to do something similar to enmoore66 and have the dress steamed once it (and I) arrive in Michigan. If I were you, I would wait until you know where/if you're moving to purchase the dress. I'm also a June 2009 bride and trust me, you have plenty of time to order your dress regardless of what the bridal boutiques are trying to tell you! Plus, if you buy "too early" (like I am thinking I might have...) you might change your mind and regret your purchase. I would wait it out for a few months and see where life is going to take you. Good luck!
Thanks for all the advice! This has been really helpful. I actually do already have a dress that I got at a sample sale... but I'm kind of not sold on it anymore. So worst case scenario I can get that altered wherever I am living at the time of the wedding. I would like to find a dress in a store though so I don't have to deal with this sample dress! I think I will keep looking and trying on here in NYC, but maybe I won't purchase a dress until I know where I'm living.
I had tried on dresses in a store in the Hudson Valley last weekend and the sales lady was rather rude about dates and locations to me.. so I guess that started me thinking that I was already late buying a dress and I didn't know where to buy it!!
I'm from New Orleans but recently moved to Denver, and we're getting married in Colorado. While I was still in NOLA, I did what I expected to be preliminary dress shopping just to see what style of dress I liked, but ended up falling in love with a dress. Before I moved, I put down my deposit and ordered the dress. The boutique i bought for does alterations for free, so it would be stupid for me to pay someone in Denver to alter the dress when I'm already getting them free in NOLA. So I'll actually be flying back to New Orleans for my fittings. Lucky for me, fiance works for an airline so I fly free. My only concern is how I'm getting the dress from there to here. . . enmoore66, I'm loving your idea about getting the dress shop to pack your gown for you - I'll be making a phone call to see if my shop will do the same for me.
Ok Girls, This is a question for all of you not getting married in the actual town where you live! I need opinions on WHERE to buy my dress! I guess I'm pretty clueless on the whole buying a dress/fittings situation- so any opinions or help you girls can give would be much appreciated!
I currently live/work in NYC but my wedding is upstate next June. Also, there is a possibility that I'm moving 1/2 way across the country prior to the wedding. Where should I buy my dress?
If I buy it upstate, I have to travel upstate for fittings but then the dress will be there all nice and non-wrinkly ready for the wedding! And what if I move - how often would I get back upstate for fittings before the actual wedding?
If I buy the dress in NYC, it will be more convenient for fittings, but then I will have getit to the wedding location and have to deal with it not being in perfect non-wrinkly condition. Also.. what if I end up moving? How would I get back to NYC for fittings?
Should I wait until I find out if I'm moving (probably 1-2months) and possibly buy the dress in the new location - more convenient for fittings? Every store I visit tells me I'm running out of time to pick a dress so I'm getting a little anxious!
Sorry this is so long!!
posted by GoobersGirl Newbee: 28 posts 4 months agoI am getting married in a different part of the country than I live. I bought a dress in the city I live in so I could go to all three dress fittings. The day I fly out, I am going to the dress shop with a roll on carry-on and they are packing the dress for me (I could never squish the beautiful dress into a roll on!). Then I'm going straight to the airport. When I get to the hotel at my destination, I will immediately take the dress out and hang it. The day before the wedding, I am dropping the dress off at the bridal suite at the wedding venue and a woman is coming to press and steam the dress for me ($200 - budget for this), so when I arrive the next day, it is hanging there, beautifully pressed and waiting for me. How many months until your wedding? I purchased mine in December and it arrived in June for my August wedding if that helps your timeline.
posted by enmoore66 Helper bee: 324 posts 4 months agoI went through the same thing, lived in NYC, wedding in Philly, possible move to Denver in the midst - I and have a few ideas. I would suggest if you have time to wait until you know if you're moving or not and then buy the dress in your new city.
If you don't have time, I would say find your dress now in NYC. If you end up staying then it's much easier to coordinate fittings (and from my experience with my sister's wedding, even if everything is local you'll still deal with wrinkly-ness
If you do end up moving after you've ordered your dress, you can have the store ship you your gown, or take the unaltered dress with you and find a good seamstress in your new home town and do fittings there.
At the very least you can wait - and if there isn't time to get it in your new city there are always sample sales that can help you turn a dress around in a shorter time frame. I've found that many stores telling us that we're running out of time are trying to push a sale. Hope that gives you some ideas! Good luck!
posted by bgcrispin Newbee: 5 posts 4 months agoif you are driving from NYC to your wedding, then the dress gets the back seat of the car, and won't get wrinkly at all if it is packed well. That is what I did - bought my dress at Saks, married in the Hudson Valley.
you should start looking for dresses now, and then once you know where you will live, you can buy it there. It would be a pain to buy your dress so far away because you need at least a few fittings....
posted by Janna19 Helper bee: 428 posts 4 months agoI live in South Carolina but am planning a wedding in my home state of Michigan. I actually purchased my dress in North Carolina (only an hour drive from where I live) but my bridal boutique is going to store the dress for me until our drive back home to Michigan in June 2009 (the month of the wedding). I would encourage you to purchase a dress wherever will be most convenient for you to do your fittings. For me, flying back to Michigan 3 times (in between flying home for bridal showers and regular visits) was just not in the budget and would not fit into my schedule! bgcrispin is right - your dress is bound to have some wrinkles no matter where it's purchased. I also plan to do something similar to enmoore66 and have the dress steamed once it (and I) arrive in Michigan. If I were you, I would wait until you know where/if you're moving to purchase the dress. I'm also a June 2009 bride and trust me, you have plenty of time to order your dress regardless of what the bridal boutiques are trying to tell you! Plus, if you buy "too early" (like I am thinking I might have...) you might change your mind and regret your purchase. I would wait it out for a few months and see where life is going to take you. Good luck!
posted by sayithot Worker bee: 79 posts 4 months agoI bought my dress in Boston where I live and am driving the 15 hours to Chicago with the dress in the backseat.
posted by Taleja Newbee: 17 posts 4 months agoThanks for all the advice! This has been really helpful. I actually do already have a dress that I got at a sample sale... but I'm kind of not sold on it anymore. So worst case scenario I can get that altered wherever I am living at the time of the wedding. I would like to find a dress in a store though so I don't have to deal with this sample dress! I think I will keep looking and trying on here in NYC, but maybe I won't purchase a dress until I know where I'm living.
I had tried on dresses in a store in the Hudson Valley last weekend and the sales lady was rather rude about dates and locations to me.. so I guess that started me thinking that I was already late buying a dress and I didn't know where to buy it!!
Thanks again!!
posted by GoobersGirl Newbee: 28 posts 4 months agoI'm from New Orleans but recently moved to Denver, and we're getting married in Colorado. While I was still in NOLA, I did what I expected to be preliminary dress shopping just to see what style of dress I liked, but ended up falling in love with a dress. Before I moved, I put down my deposit and ordered the dress. The boutique i bought for does alterations for free, so it would be stupid for me to pay someone in Denver to alter the dress when I'm already getting them free in NOLA. So I'll actually be flying back to New Orleans for my fittings. Lucky for me, fiance works for an airline so I fly free. My only concern is how I'm getting the dress from there to here. . . enmoore66, I'm loving your idea about getting the dress shop to pack your gown for you - I'll be making a phone call to see if my shop will do the same for me.
posted by loralie Worker bee: 141 posts 4 months ago