When Should You Shop for Your Wedding Gown?
The number one question we get asked is this: When should I shop for my wedding gown?
Start shopping after you’ve booked your venue, but before you make any major design decisions.
Here’s why:
Booking your venue first sets the foundation for your entire wedding. It tells you the time of year, the setting, the overall mood and atmosphere, whether you’ll be indoors, outdoors, etc. It also gives us a clear timeline for ordering your gown, which is incredibly important.
You’ll want to hold off on making design decisions until after you’ve chosen your dress. This includes florals, rentals, linens, and especially bridesmaid dresses. Your gown should lead the direction of your wedding design, not the other way around.
Because whether you realize it or not, you will be the most photographed element of your entire day.
More importantly, you don’t want to limit yourself. If you’ve already planned every detail, you may find yourself trying to fit into a very specific vision, rather than choosing the gown you truly love. Instead of simply falling in love with a dress, you’re trying to find one that checks a long list of boxes.
It should be the opposite.
Choose the gown first, and let everything else be inspired by that decision.
And one final reminder, because it truly cannot be said enough:
give yourself about a year. Plan to say yes to your dress and commit to it roughly 12 months before your wedding day.
It makes the entire process smoother, less stressful, and far more enjoyable.
With love,
the House of White Team
House of White is an intimate bridal experience in the heart of Historic Newburgh, Indiana, just outside Evansville. For thirteen 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 :)