Finding your wedding dress is a day all girls have dreamed about for years and we are here to make it as special as you have imagined.
Here at Osh Gosh Gowns we pride ourself in offing the best service and ensuring you have the best experience when coming to purchase your incredible gown for the big day.
Here are a few handy hints and tips to help you when finding your perfect gown!
1. Start looking about 9-12 months before your wedding date and book an appointment at least 2 to 3 weeks ahead (many boutiques get fully booked – especially at weekends). Only book when you feel you are ready to commit to finding your dream dress. We don’t want you to fall in love with a gown and not be in a position to purchase it. Dresses get discontinued all the time so only start looking when you are ready to place that all-important first payment on your dress.
2. Don’t book too many appointments at different boutiques. From experience, we see that brides who find dress shopping stressful have felt the need to ‘shop around.’ Most boutiques don’t allow photos so reduce your confusion by keeping focused on what you are looking for. Keep an open mind and experiment with styles - you might prefer something different to what you had in mind – don’t be disappointed with this as wedding dress shopping isn’t something that you do every day so you need to experiment and your bridal consultant will advise and guide you.
3. Set a budget and perhaps allow an amount that you will consider as your absolute maximum. Payments can be staggered so don’t think that you have to pay the full amount in one go. Most boutiques offer payment plans but the initial payment will usually be anything from 25-50% of the cost of your chosen dress (100% on sale/off the peg dresses). Be prepared for this. You will be expected to part with your initial payment as a minimum. Stick to your budget… you don’t want to fall in love with a dress you can’t afford. If it’s not in the budget, don’t try it on (even if your group is trying to talk you into it!)
4.While discussing budget … allow for the cost of alterations to your dress – you want it to fit you perfectly on your special day. Seamstresses are highly skilled workers so expect to pay upwards of £100 for any required changes. Allow time for this too – alterations usually start about 2 months before your wedding date to ensure that there is enough time to allow some flexibility with diaries.
5. Do your research… look at pictures on social media/ in magazines and see what styles catch your eye. Be aware of your own shape, attitude, and personality as these are big contributors to your choice of dress. Take a peek on the Osh Gosh Gowns website (www.oshgoshgowns.co.uk) to get a feel of exactly who and what we are all about. Our website provides you with a good idea of price, colour, and sizes of some of the gowns we already have in stock. Enquire if we don’t have exactly what you are looking for as we can often loan sample dresses from our designers at a low price or perhaps it’s a dress that we already have on order for our own stock.
6. Keep your entourage small, you may not want to leave anyone out, but conflicting opinions can get quite stressful for any bride to be (2 to 3 people is perfect). We want your experience to be special and memorable so advise limiting the number of guests you bring.
7. Don’t try on too many dresses, 4 to 7 is about right. Any more will just end up with you feeling super confused and deflated. Your trusted bridal consultant will be listening very carefully to the comments you make per dress and will advise you accordingly to help you find the perfect dress. Better to try on the right dresses based on your preferences than too many of the wrong dresses that will slow down/obstruct your excitement of finding The One!
8. Ignore the size label… remember bridal sizes come up small (your dress will be at least a size bigger than high-street sizes). If you look amazing, who cares what the label says. Don’t wait until you are your perfect size to choose your dress – discuss this with your consultant but don’t set unrealistic goals – there’s a limit to how much a dress can be taken in or let out.
9. Keep practical - it’s OK looking fantastic stood upright on a podium in the boutique, but remember that you will be in your dress all day. Can you sit down, get you’re your transport, eat, dance, use the loo! All this needs to be thought of and your seamstress will advise – all you have to do is ask and be clear what your day will consist of i.e. have you rehearsed a first dance that means your train will get in the way?
10. Take your time - even if the 1st dress you try on is “your dress” try a couple more on and then go back to the 1st one – there’s nothing wrong with this as your consultant will have chosen dresses for you based on your wants & needs. If the first dress is right perfect your consultant has just got it right for you – it happens more often than you think!