The Smart Way of Going Wedding Dress Shopping

Inside Kleinfeld Bridal Salon

I've been to 25 wedding dress shops and tried over 100 wedding dresses.  Right after I purchased my wedding dress, my bridal consultant asked me how many places I went to and her assistant laughed at me.  =P  I even tried one dress 3 different times without even realizing it.  I came to this realization after reviewing all the pictures of dresses I tried on right before I was about to purchase my dress.  Part of the reason why I went to so many bridal salons is due to not knowing what I wanted and secondly, I had so much fun doing it!  It is true after a while the dresses do start blending together and looking like the same.  Fortunately, I've learned a lot through my journey to find "the dress." Here are some tips on how to find a great bargain on your wedding dress...

If you're from a big city like Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco; there's probably a wide variety of bridal salons to visit.  So where should you even begin to find the dress you want for the cost you're willing to pay for?

Beginning Stages:

Kleinfeld Bridal in NYC

Before getting engaged (or even now), have you ever passed by those fancy wedding dress boutiques and wished that someday when a man asks for your hand in marriage that this will be your first stop?  Yea, that was me.  There was this fancy bridal salon in downtown that I would always pass by and hope that the traffic light would turn red so I could get 10 seconds of drooling over the dresses on display. 
 
When you begin wedding dress shopping, a lot of girls don't know exactly what they want nor do they know what the average price is without doing a little research.  If you must go into that bridal salon store that you've been dreaming to go into for years, go now!  Honestly, I would never buy a wedding dress at one of these places because their mark up is usually a lot higher than other salons will quote you for.  So if you are planning to visit those fancy bridal boutiques, go at the beginning of your wedding dress shopping.  Reason one being, it will get it out of your system and you can tell all your friends that you went into that store.  Second, there is usually more selection of dresses that are more of the current trend.  Third, service tends to be a lot better.  As you get to the final stages of your dress shopping, you'll realize that service can make a huge impact on your dress decision. 


When you find "the dress:"
HOLD your horses.  DON'T...I repeat...DON'T make a decision on getting your dress right on the spot.  I think that's the worst thing you can do.  If you do do that, you may have a lot of regrets later on.  The best thing to do is to sleep on it.  Sometimes when you're in the salon, your consultant can be effecting your decision, your emotions will be running high, and the people that you brought with you may be saying a lot of things to alter your decisions.  That's why it is important to step back into reality and rethink things through before giving your sales consultant a large chunk for the deposit. I've followed through this advice from day one and it has helped me make so many better decisions. 

How to get your wedding dress for a better price:
Ok, so you think you've gotten your dress.  Here's the tip on how to get your wedding dress for a great price.  A lot of non-American wedding stores will give you a bargain price or at least are willing to bargain with you.  Most bridal salons will charge you 40-60% more then the wholesale price that they get it for.  So if it's $600 wholesale, it may cost $1200 for the bride.  I would highly advise you to call several bridal salons in your area and get a price quote from each store.  Some stores won't tell you the price over the phone, but you can always visit the store and retry the dress on.  Just remember, every store will charge you a different price for the same dress.  Make sure to check around to see what the price range is.  Once you've done your research, you can always try to bargain down the price.  ;).  Never hurts to try right?

Also, the sales associate may also throw in some extra perks like a free wedding veil rental, free jewelery rental, or alteration costs included.  I got all of those!  Yayy!