I just thought I would post this question considering I need to find my dress by the end of this month at the lastest I am just wondering how much time should I actually give myself? How long did it take you to find your dream wedding dress? Do you have any advise?

Thank you,

I couldn't fine a wedding that I liked and that fit me........ My mother had to make mine for me......... Good luck finding one

I went to 3 shops before I found the one I loved and got. . .

DIL's did much better. DIL #1 found her dress at he first shop, first dress ( although she tried on a few others to make sure she loved the first one as much as she thought). DIL #2 got her online at a great bargain ($199 vs same dress at David's Bridal for $700+)

She got the one online at http://www.bridalexpressonline6.com/

Start looking now so you have the time to try on dresses that have aspects of what you are looking for (collars, sleeves, waistlines, necklines, fitted, bustles, etc.). Once you get an idea of what you look good in it will be easier to find something. Sometimes you will try on something that you don't like on the hanger but OMG! what a dress!

Good luck.

I'm afraid I don't have much advice for you. I had my dress made by a mother of an acquaintance of ours and only paid $50 for everything. Good luck on finding a dress and post pics if you can when you find one. :)


--Michelle

I am getting married in May and I was not able to find a dress I fell in love with. I went two times, got frusterated (sp?) and went back and picked out a dress I liked. I am happy with the dress, but I wish I would have been able to find one I truly liked.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/thatsmrskellynow/Moreweddingpics672.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v717/thatsmrskellynow/Moreweddingpics724.jpg
it was the second and LAST dress I tried on
frugal-ish
it was off the dummy
no alterations at all I ADORED it
still do

i think i went to 2 stores to get the one i loved. and since it was the previous years design, it was on major mark down. it was at a bridal outlet store, so there were hundreds to choose from.

Three days...and it didn't even need to be altered.

lol, about an hour, i went to a trift store and paid 3.00 for it.

I was so excited to start the process and was looking forward to going to different stores and try on all the beautiful dresses. First shop, 3rd dress I tried on....that was the one!

My best friend had a brand new Davids Bridal dress she did not get married in....so she sent it to me. I was beautiful and my friend here altered it for me as a wedding gift.

Now if I had had the funds to buy my "dream dress", it would have taken me alot longer.

Only went to a few stores - you always know as soon as you put it on that it is "the one" :D

I could not afford a traditional wedding dress off the racks and besides, I had an idea in my head of what I wanted my dress to look like. So a friend and I made it, the train, and the veil. She didn't charge for her time, and the material did not cost much. So how long? A couple of weeks.

We went to 1 wedding dress shop and it was the very first dress I tried on. I didn't know it when I put it on and tried on many many others but I ended up going back to that very first dress!! It was the perfect dress for me!:)

I think I found it at the 1st shop I looked in. Of course money was an issue so I had to stay within budget. I look at it now and it is not my dream dress, but it was appropriate for the early 90's.

I didn't realize how much fun wedding dress shopping was going to be, I went last Saturday to get ideas I found some amazing dresses that we wrote down and remain in my file if I decide to go back to that particular bridal shop.

My next experience is tonight, I am going to try on as much as possible the girl I am going with has no idea that I am going to ask her to be a bridesmaid, I plan to ask her tonight I am really excited. I figure I will have my dress by the end of this month considering I am getting married November 29th, 2008 I am ecstatic.

And I have heard some horror stories of wedding dress shopping so I was a little afraid in the beginning.

I was limited as to where I could buy a dress from (I was 420 pounds at the time -- not many places even carried dresses that big) I tried on a dress, I hated it, they tried to tell me how good I looked in it... I looked like a white whale :lol: I looked at a few more and I had decided to have it made when I went back to the shop to get measured, I wanted to get accurate measurements but I didn't want to tell them I wasn't going to buy a dress from them... so they handed me an ivory dress. I tried it on and fell in love with it. Wouldn't you know it was the same dress I hated, only in ivory??? :lol:

the one I bought was actually the first one I tried on. :lol:

I however did a month or so of tryouts....

I hate to shop...seriously...hate to shop. Clothes shopping? The worst. So, searching for a wedding dress nearly killed me. I knew it had to be quick. I went to one store and tried on 7 dresses. Hated them all. Went to the second store, tried on one and it was the dress. I had an early October wedding and had been looking at dresses with sleeves. This was a halter dress that came up around my neck with an open back and no sleeves (obviously) and when I put it on, I suddenly felt like a princess. Since I'm not a girly-girl, I knew this was the dress I needed to have. So, the answer is, a full day.

Honsetly, like fate, it was in the first place I looked. I went to a consignment store. There it was tags and all for just $125. Well, I whipped out my checkbook about 10 seconds after I tried it on!

Good luck!

I'm getting married in 3 weeks...and I LOVE LOVE LOVE my dress. I knew when I started looking exactly what I wanted, but I couldn't find it...I have to say, I probably tried on 50 dressesat 4 different stores. I am plus sized, with red hair and freckles, and I looked terrible in white, and not much better in Ivory...and I wanted lace. But when I walked in the last store, and saw the exact dress I wanted on the mannequen, I knew it was worth it ;) Do your hair nice, put on some makeup and wear good underwear (since eeryone sees it LOL) and grab some girlfriends and make a day of it. It's a fun mission. Oh yes, and take a pair of heels!!

Best of luck!!!I had to pay extra to get my dress here in time, but that's ok..I LOVE LOVE LOVE my gold dress :D

PS...don't be put off by the dress sizes....bridal gowns run small!!

Good luck to you!!!!!!!!!!

21 dresses in two outings, so far it's been a lot of fun. At the same time you realize some of the dresses I loved online I probably won't be able to wear due to the fact that I am petite 5'4" and 125lbs, and I would litterally drowned in it but, you know what I have found quite a few that I loved. I made an appointment to go next week again same time same place to try on more I am sure I will have it real soon. I knew about the dress sizes being smaller and the sales associate told me to not worry about it.....I am going back to see her again she was great. I must admit my outing last night was much more invigorating due to the fact that I had assistance which is a really exceptional thing when trying to find one that will work for your body type.

I went to David's Bridal once just to try on dresses and see what features I liked or looked good on my frame, and ended up buying a dress on eBay after countless hours of online searching (but it didn't feel like overkill because I couldn't look at what I was buying in person or try it on first). The dress I chose was identical in cut to the one I liked best at David's Bridal, but (unlike the DB dress) didn't cost $950!

I wish Ebay had existed when I got married :laugh:

My wedding gown was the 4th dress I tried on, and I just knew it was for me.

I bought the first one I tried on. It was so not me, but it felt perfect - princessy with an uber long train, everything I was trying to avoid, felt like Cinderella and I am not the slightest bit girly. I was actually embarrassed that I liked it so much and tried a bunch more on, but went back to it at the end of the day.

I made my dress. I had an idea in my head of what I wanted it to look like, so searched for a pattern that came close. I had such a '70s wedding: the bridesmaids wore dresses of avocado, wheat and poppy, with aprons. I wore dotted swiss and satin. I wanted us all to go barefoot, but that didn't happen. And I wanted homemade bread and butter and apple pie for the reception. That didn't happen, either....... But at least we all carried long stemmed shasta daisies. And yes, I still have the dress!

Edited: Whoops! Didn't see that I posted on this last year. Senior Moment.......

Like Happimomma it was the third dress in the first shop. I was 2 months pregnant and had no idea how long the marriage paperwork would take, so the dress had to be able to accommodate a bump of any size. In the end, we got married when I was 8 months pregnant. The cut of the dress was terrific: you cannot tell from the pictures that I was pregnant!

I was really lucky in that when I had a look around the shops there was absolutely nothing I liked. And then the first time I looked on eBay, there it was. :) THAT made my day :)

10 minutes. I went to a resale shop and bought a designer sample for $175.00. I t was the first dress I tried on. My friend mde me try on 2 more or it would have been 2 minutes. No alterations required. Sorry.

I found my dress the first day I looked. It was the last store of the day and the 1st dress I tried on in that store. I knew the instant I saw it that I loved it, and knew it was the dress for me when I tried it on. I had tried on some that I liked, but nothing compared to the one I got. I usually hate shopping and trying on clothes, but I liked wedding dress shopping. It was nice having people dote on me! I probably wouldn't have liked it if it took much longer to find the dress, though!

I bought mine at a second hand store and I'm sure it cost the original owner thousands but I was able to get it for $300. I didn't even need to have it altered because it fit perfect. I got so many compliments on it and I smiled at each one knowing how cheap I got it.
We had the money to buy a new expensive dress but I wanted to save the money that I would have spent on a new dress and put it towards our new life together.
We did however buy the exact rings we wanted new from the store because we plan to wear those for the rest of our lives and a little splurge there was worth it to us ;)

I wouldn't have been able to afford my dream dress.

I made mine. White velvet. Wintertime.

I knew the dress I would wear before I knew my husband *hiding* The only difference between the dress I wore, and the dress I first fell in love with is that the dress I first saw has sleeves and the one I got was sleeveless.

I looked online for about 2 months before I went to a store. My best friend and I were going shopping for me cause I just got my new job. We popped into this bra and bridal store and I for fun decided to try on a couple of dresses. I think it was the third dress I tried on, and I absolutely love it. It's not tradition at al! :D

I knew pretty much what I wanted and went to a bridal and formal shop where the owner custom-made dresses. I drew my idea, she drew in her ideas, and between us we had just what I wanted. The fabric was Italian silk, lustrous but not satin-shiny. The design was simple, no laces or sequins. Details were part of the dress itself. Cost (in 1955) was $60. That was about a week and a half's pay for me.

I don't know if you are interested, but my dil bought a bridesmaid dress that looked like a brides dress for a fraction of the cost.