How To Plan Your Wedding Dress Shopping Experience

Your Dress Shopping Timeline: When to Start Wedding Dress Shopping

Dress shopping early is a real advantage, and for the full Made to Order experience, nine to twelve months before your wedding date is the ideal window.

That gives the dress time to be made, delivered, and worked on by an independent seamstress for alterations.

Start shopping for your wedding a little later, and there are still plenty of amazing options.

If your timeline sits closer to three months, a shorter lead time of approximately 12 weeks brings a selected range of brand-new designer gowns well within reach.

Or for brides who want to leave the boutique with their dress on the day, our Ready-to-Wear collection has designer wedding dresses to try on and take home on the same visit.

Whatever your timeline and however far in advance, or close to the big day, we have a collection to suit you.

Booking Your First Bridal Appointment

The first step is making the appointment itself.

Booking is quick and easy through the Bijoux Bridal website.

Weekday bridal appointments are free, with a small redeemable charge for weekend slots.

Your Guest List: Who to Take Wedding Dress Shopping

Bridal shops often have a preference for smaller, more intimate groups. This balances support and comfort, to allow the brides-to-be to feel at ease when making their big decision.

At Bijoux Bridal, we welcome 4 guests.

Not to worry if someone you love can’t make it on the day.

With our Made to Order or Quick Delivery collections, you will be invited back for the big dress reveal appointment.

The question worth thinking about when you decide who to bring is not just who would love to be there, but whose opinion you value and trust.

Finding your dream dress is a once in a lifetime moment! Share that occasion with people who celebrate you.

What to Wear When Trying On Wedding Dresses at Your Appointment

Undergarments

One piece of wedding dress shopping advice that comes up consistently across the bridal industry: wear the right underwear.

A strapless or backless bra gives our stylists the clearest view of how each gown sits on you, and means the dress will look as it was designed to.

If you plan to wear shapewear on your wedding day, bring it along.

Otherwise, smooth, close-fitting underwear is all you need.

Consider Your Shoes

Shoes are worth thinking about too.

If you know you’ll wear heels, bring a pair close to the height you have in mind.

The dress will look different, and you want to see how the dress will look when you’re wearing it properly.

No worries if you don’t have your chosen pair yet, or any!

We have a selection of 3.5-inch heels for you to try on with your dress as well, for a happy medium.

Clothes You Feel Confident In

Beyond that, there is no dress code when you’re shopping for your wedding dress, and no one is looking at what you arrived in.

However you feel confident coming to your appointment is exactly how you should arrive.

What to Expect From Our Stylists

Perfect Dress Consultation

Every appointment at Bijoux starts with a conversation.

Our bridal stylists will ask about your wedding, the feeling you’ve been imagining, the silhouettes and necklines you’re drawn to.

From there, they pull from across the boutique to help guide you towards your dream dress.

Your stylist is on your side every step of the way.

If something doesn’t feel right for you, we will use it to guide the direction of the next dress.

No worries if you have arrived without any idea whatsoever!

An open mind and heart is all we ask when you go wedding dress shopping.

How the Dress Fits

Unless you are selecting for our Ready-to-Wear Collection, the dress you try on is not the dress you will be wearing on your wedding day.

In Bijoux’s Made-to-Order collection, we use clipping and pinning to help show you how the dress will look. With sample dresses running from size 10 up to size 36, we accommodate a variety of body shapes.

Once you have found your dream dress, we carefully measure your bust, waist and hip measurements to help with the ordering.

Keep an Open Mind and Heart

Many brides fall in love with a dress that isn’t the style they expected.

A dress that makes you feel like yourself in a way no photograph could have predicted.

Keep an open mind and try on dresses from outside your shortlist when our stylists suggest them.

When you love the dress, you will know, and the dream dress is often the one you can’t put back on the rail.

Expert Tips for Going Dress Shopping: How to Prepare for Your Shopping Experience

These expert wedding dress shopping tips for the weeks before your appointment is to gather inspiration, but keep an open mind.

Browse Pinterest and Instagram for the styles and silhouettes that catch your eye, note what keeps coming up, and bring any inspiration with you to the boutique.

Think about your wedding venue before going dress shopping.

A beach wedding calls for something different from a formal evening ceremony, and a summer wedding has different practical considerations to a winter do.

Have a rough wedding budget in mind before your appointment.

Wedding details like a veil, jewellery, shoes, and accessories all sit alongside the dress in the overall cost, so building those in early avoids surprises.

Find Your Dream Dress at Bijoux Bridal Boutique

Find your dream wedding dress with Bijoux Bridal.

We are Scotland’s largest bridal boutique and bridal shop, with more than 1,000 five-star Google reviews and hundreds of designer wedding gowns across three incredible collections.

Every bride is celebrated here, across every style and every timeline of wedding planning.

When you’re ready to say yes to the dress and start your own wedding dress shopping experience, book an appointment with Bijoux Bridal.

Your perfect wedding dress is just around the corner.