The #1 Reason You Can't Say "Yes" to Your Dress Too Early
Every bride’s journey to her perfect dress is a unique experience. Some make it an entire weekend event with a small entourage and coordinating outfits, while others have simply one helper and a glass of champagne on a quiet weekday — there’s no wrong way to do it! But the one thing that is consistent for every bride are the realities of the bridal industry timeline.
We’re always doing our best to educate brides on this topic, but here’s a refresh for anyone who hasn’t heard it before: the average bridal gown takes 4-6 months to be delivered upon ordering. This elongated timeline is due to the fact that bridal gowns are not mass-produced: they are made-to-order for each individual bride to help offset the immense cost to produce a gown, and minimize industry waste. Add to that an additional 2 - 3 months for alterations and tailoring, and the reality remains that ideally, a bride will say ‘yes’ to her dress at least a year prior to her big day.
It’s for these reasons (plus one more that I’m about to get to) that whenever a bride asks us “Am I shopping for my gown too early?” Our answer is a resounding “No”.
So what is the number one reason you can’t say “yes” to your gown to early? It’s that when you give yourself a generous timeline for your gown, you have ZERO limiting factors in your gown search. The closer you get to your wedding date, the more limiting factors begin to encroach on your gown options. When you have 12 months or more to select your gown, the options are quite literally endless. But as the weeks go by and your wedding day approaches, various limiting factors begin to disqualify certain gowns from your grasp. What are some of these limiting factors, you ask? Here’s a few:
Production availability. Every designer’s production timeline is different, and every designer has different rush availability. Nothing breaks our hearts more than when a bride falls in love with a particular gown, but the designer’s timeline just isn’t compatible with the wedding date.
Customization availability. Our brides love to customize their gowns. Our designers offer a spectacular array of customizations so that our brides can create the perfectly unique gown of her dreams. However, as a timeline grows smaller, so do our options for customizations. Customizing a gown - whether it’s adding a sleeve, changing a neckline, adding extra length for a tall bride, ordering a split-size gown - adds production time to the gown order. If we’re down to the wire with ordering a gown, unfortunately we often lose the opportunity to utilize these customizations.
Wedding details. It’s often assumed that by knowing the majority of the wedding details, selecting a gown will become easier. In our 12 years of experience, we can assure you this is not the case. Instead we find brides who, rather listening to their feelings about each gown they try on, they’re overwhelmed with questions like “does this clash with the bridesmaid dresses we ordered?” or “I love this but it doesn’t really work with the vibe of the wedding?” Instead of planning your entire wedding and then finding a gown that fits within those plans, it’s far easier to select a gown that you love, and then base all your wedding design decisions around the look/vibe of your gown. Often the type of gown you love will dictate the type of wedding you truly want. If you’re drawn to easy-breezy ethereal gowns, then that’s probably the type of wedding you want! If dramatic, elegant, regal styles send your heart aflutter, then that’s probably the wedding your heart truly desires. Selecting your venue and date often happen first, but don’t get too carried away with any of the details until you know what YOU are wearing first.
Wedding planning can be an overwhelming time, and we’re here to do all we can to minimize your stress, and maximize your joy. While sometimes timelines simply can’t be helped, if you find yourself considering waiting until the last-minute to order your gown simply to give yourself more time to process, we encourage you to move forward, say ‘yes’, and cross this off your mental list. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have about ordering your wedding gown - and happy shopping!
House of White is an intimate bridal experience in the heart of Historic Newburgh, Indiana, just outside Evansville. For eleven years House of White has been a designer bridal shopping destination for brides from Indianapolis, Bloomington, Louisville, Bowling Green, Owensboro, St. Louis, Nashville, Cincinnati, and everywhere in between :)