We know it’s the most important dress you’ll ever wear, and you want to make sure it’s absolutely perfect. But having 10 different opinions makes it much harder to come to a consensus—and it can bring you farther away from what you actually want. “I have always been a believer that the most a bride should bring when dress shopping is two people,” said Cristina DeMarco, of Bridal Reflections in New York, NY.

Most brides do best with just someone like their mom and maybe a sister or best friend, said Debra Lash, of The Wedding Tree in La Crosse, WI. “They generally have the bride’s best interest at heart, not what THEY want her to wear.” (if your mom is not that person for you, it’s okay to just bring your besties, fun aunt, or whoever that supportive person is for you)

…Bring who you think will be on your side, not everyone you know needs to see your dress before you walk down the aisle.

This is YOUR day. This is YOUR dress. Listen to YOURSELF! We guarantee that if you let other people tell you what to wear on your wedding day, you’ll look back at your photos and wish you got the dress YOU loved.

We’re all human, we all have individual style & we know what feels like US when putting on an outfit…that feeling should also translate to your wedding dress. When we’re excited & comfortable in what we’re wearing, we naturally glow with confidence… and don’t you want to naturally glow with confidence on your wedding day?! Go with whatever dress you never want to take off.

Shopping for your wedding dress is an exciting & memorable experience that should be nothing but fun & celebration! However, booking yourself more than 2 or 3 bridal appointments will make your shopping experience begin to feel like a chore, rather than a fun special time. Who wants to go shopping when it’s not fun..? No one. Especially when it comes to shopping for your wedding dress.

The more shops you go to, and the more dresses you try on, the more confused and frustrated you make yourself & the loved ones you bring along. Trust yourself, & when you find the one… and allow yourself to buy it!

Trust us… just don’t do it.

Unless you have no other options than to buy an ivory formal gown online because of budgetary needs, don’t trust these online “custom wedding boutiques”. We’ve seen it time and time again brides come in to do “research” on what style they like and then buy a “custom dress” online for half the price… well guess what happens 9 times out of 10? They come back to shop to find a real dress in the store because the one they ordered online came in and was falling apart, or cheaply made, or not the right size… you name it. On top of all that, now that bride only has 4-5 months, sometimes less, until her wedding & this limits her options on what she can even try on and buy.

Please, if you take anything away from this blog, take this…. DO NOT buy a wedding dress online. PERIODT. 

We get it… you’re not the only one trying to save money while planning a wedding, and honestly, that’s a smart goal! However, if you are choosing to set a low budget for yourself while shopping, don’t expect something expensive to not be costly…

For example, if you don’t want to spend over $1,000 on your wedding dress, then you need to compromise and lower your style expectations to something more simple… don’t show your stylist an extravagant beaded long sleeve gown with a 10 foot train because something with a lot of drama will cost a lot of money.

…We don’t say this to make you feel bad or make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want. We say this so you don’t get let down during the funnest time of the wedding planning process! We don’t like letting brides down, so please be realistic with your dress goals & budget.

*Also…realistically… wedding dresses are only getting more expensive with material shortages & shipping delays so in all honesty… you won't be able to find a wedding dress for under $1,000 much longer…that’s just the hard facts.*

Wedding dresses take a long time to make & ship, not to mention you also need to give yourself enough time to get the gown altered, as wedding gowns are made specifically to be ALTERED TO YOU! We can’t stress this enough. Please start shopping no earlier than 1 year before your wedding date. This will ensure that you will have enough time for everything you need to do. Less stress for you = less stress for us & your seamstress.

If you have no other option but to shop 6 months before your wedding or less, then, like those with lower budgets, lower your expectations. By shopping late, you will be limiting yourself to what you are able to even look at and try on. Most likely you’ll have to take a gown off the rack, which means, buying a dress that has been tried on many times before, has damage to it, or was worn and altered once before.

If we can’t get a dress for you in time for your wedding, we won't let you try it on… even just for fun…why? …because if you fall in love with it & you can’t have it… we look like the bad guys (& that’s the last thing we want to do to a bride).

Just…why do it? Why do that to yourself? It’ll cost you mentally, emotionally, & financially if you buy a dress and then change your mind.

Once you say yes to a dress…STOP SHOPPING…even on Pinterest! Stop looking at other dresses, stop showing people your dress & just enjoy the moment. Buying a wedding dress is final. If you change your mind, there is nothing that shops can do for you other than start the process all over again & take more of your money.

…Did you second guess your fiancé  after getting engaged? …odds are no. So why do that to the dress you just spent thousands of dollars on?

Be confident in your decision & make the decision for YOURSELF! Don’t buy a dress just because someone else likes it better… you know yourself the best, so buy the dress that YOU love & allow yourself to get it!

So many brides and friends or family of brides do this and we will never understand why. It’s literally your stylists job to take care of you and help you to find the dress of your dreams, even if that dress is at a different store!

Stylists know their inventory, they know the trends for the market & 9 times out of 10 they know what dress you’ll love before you even start trying them on (at least L&L’s stylists do) so trust them to take care of you!

We’ve heard horror stories from different people about different stores, so we know it can be hard to trust a stylist if the store you just came from made you leave crying or told you something wasn’t possible for you…however, here at L&L we want what is best for YOU.

We are team bride, and we always will be.