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Buying your dress
Choosing your wedding dress is one of the most exciting parts of wedding planning! However, finding the perfect dress—and ensuring it’s perfectly tailored—requires careful planning. Here’s a helpful timeline to guide you from the initial search to your final fitting, ensuring your dress is ready for your walk down the aisle.
Start the search
While it might feel early, starting the wedding dress search a year (or more) before your wedding gives you time to find exactly what you love. Bridal boutiques and designers typically have lead times of up to 6-9 months for dress production. Begin by exploring different styles and silhouettes that catch your eye. Schedule appointments at bridal salons where you can try on various designs. If you’re ordering a custom gown or one from a designer with a longer lead time, starting even earlier is ideal.
Make your purchase
Once you’ve found “the one,” it’s time to place your order. Wedding dresses are often custom-made, so ordering far in advance allows time for the dress to be made, shipped, and adjusted as needed. We would recommend that if you’re buying a made to measure gown you should buy this around 9 months before the wedding. If you’re buying a ready to go dress, there’s a bit more flexibility.
To help with fittings, consider purchasing your bridal undergarments and shoes now as well, as these will be important during future alterations.
Alterations
First fitting
Your first fitting will usually take place about six months before the wedding once your dress has arrived from the designer. During this fitting, you’ll try on the dress as is, allowing you to see the dress you’ve ordered and make sure everything is as you expected. You can say here if there’s anything in particular about the dress you’d like to change, but alterations probably won’t begin until closer to the time.
Second fitting
At your second fitting, which will be closer to the wedding (around 10-8 weeks before), your seamstress will start looking at where sizing adjustments need to be made. During this fitting, you’ll try on the dress as is, allowing your tailor to get a sense of how it fits and to mark areas for adjustment. Whether your dress needs hemming, alterations to the bust or waist, or adjustments to the train, this fitting establishes the base for your alterations plan.
Third fitting
By the time you’re a month out, your dress should be almost perfect, requiring only small tweaks. This is often the final fitting for most brides, during which any minor last-minute adjustments can be made. If you’re adding any final details, such as additional embellishments or accessories like a sash, veil, or detachable sleeves, now’s the time to test these elements with the dress.
Final fitting
This last fitting, about two weeks before the wedding, is an exciting step as it’s when you’ll see your dress in its final, ready-to-wear form. This fitting is especially important if you’ve had any weight fluctuations or made any last-minute additions. Try on your entire wedding-day look, from accessories to shoes, to ensure everything flows together seamlessly.
