If you have been considering purchasing your wedding dress online, or maybe you have been searching but have not found your perfect dress or don’t even know where to start, then this post is for you!
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How I Ended Up Looking for a Wedding Dress Online
Like many women, I had always dreamed of going to a bridal shop with my close friends and family to pick out my wedding dress and accessories. I think it is one of the most prominent engagement rituals a lot of women look forward to.
Growing up, I watched shows like ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ and ‘Four Weddings’ where I would watch brides select their perfect gown from what seemed like hundreds of dresses. I always pictured myself trying on at least a few options in the store and having to decide what aspects I liked and didn’t like. I am sure many of you have pictured that as well.
That all changed when I found myself in the middle of a pandemic, unable to travel, and with very few options I liked close to my home. I had to do what had always seemed like the impossible in my mind, find and purchase a wedding dress online.
How my Online Wedding Dress Search Began
I searched all the commonly known online wedding dress stores but didn’t really fall in love with anything. I also looked on Pinterest and other search engines, but I couldn’t seem to find a lot of the same options that I saw there in stores. Another issue was that many of the dresses I saw weren’t currently available or were extremely costly.
My goal was to stick to my wedding budget, and in the beginning of my online wedding dress search that seemed very bleak. For more on establishing a wedding budgeting, check out this post.
Another issue that I had with online wedding dress shopping was that many of the sites didn’t have good pictures, or had very few. This made it difficult to picture the dress on me. I do a lot of online shopping, but shopping for a wedding dress felt so different. I needed help!
Seeking Help while Looking for My Wedding Dress Online
The next step I took was to look to others who had purchased online for some guidance. I searched for online reviews and blog posts, but many of these talked about the process of purchasing online and what to look out for when choosing a dress, but didn’t actually direct me to where I could find nice affordable options.
A lot of the online stores people recommended were either no longer available or I could not find up-to-date reviews on how reputable they were, so I didn’t want to purchase online without at least hearing from someone who had a good online wedding dress shopping experience.
Jumping in and Just Doing It
At some point in my wedding planning process, when I realized my wedding date was getting closer and closer and I still had no dress, I had to tell myself to get serious and find some viable options.
If you’ve already created your wedding timeline, you have likely figured out that you have to choose a dress fairly early. Most in-person wedding shops recommend at least 6-9 months prior to leave enough time for shipping, alterations and final fittings.
If you’re online shopping I would recommend at least 6 months before the wedding as a lot of the website will allow you to purchase a custom size dress if you desire. That can help to reduce some of the time it would take to do an initial alteration of the dress.
If you’re still working on your timeline, check out this post for guidance on how to create one.
I started scouring search engines and review sites, and finally after much digging I found some decent sites with a few dresses that I loved! I figured that I had to just bite the bullet and choose something or I would end up with no dress at all.
After looking around on my top two sites, I actually found it hard to pick just one wedding dress. They had several views of the dress, allowed you to ask the seller questions and offered a range of fabric colours.
For some of the dresses you could even choose between different fabrics for certain layers of the dress. I loved the flexibility of options and the fact that there were several reviews available for me to read through.
Choosing my Wedding Dress Online
Earlier I mentioned that I was finding it hard to pick just one dress, so I actually picked two lol. I went with the two different colour dresses (ivory and light champagne) so that I could have the option of choosing between them once they arrived, and narrowed down my top two styles.
I used the online size guide to give me an idea of what would fit, and actually purchased one size bigger, so that if there was any issue with size I could get the dress altered to fit well, rather than it be to small.
Figuring that since I was purchasing my wedding dress online and there was still some risk as to what I would be receiving, purchasing two dresses rather than one seemed like the safest option. My thought process was that I would just sell the one that I didn’t like.
Receiving the Wedding Dresses that I Bought Online
When my package arrived, I was really impressed! I was still somewhat skeptical up until that point about what I may receive, but tried to keep an open mind and told myself I would work with whatever I received.
What surprised me is that I noticed very little that needed to be done. Even straight out of the package I could have worn either option.
Of course I brought both dresses to a seamstress to check out and she told me that she was pleasantly surprised at the fabric and quality. We agreed on some very minor alterations to have the one I chose fit me just as I wanted, but compared to what I had originally thought might be needed, these alterations were minimal.
I picked my favourite of the two dresses, although I could have gone with either option. After the alterations you would never know that I didn’t visit the store in person to get everything perfectly sized and fitted.
I felt really great about my online wedding dress shopping experience, so much so that I feel comfortable sharing more about it with you.
Why I Didn’t Wear Either of The Wedding Dresses I Initially Bought Online
Now, I absolutely loved how my wedding dress choice looked on me, but actually didn’t end up wearing either of the dresses I first chose (lol), which may surprise you!
Shortly before my wedding I found out I was pregnant! It was a very nice surprise, but definitely altered my dress plans.
I ended up making a very impromptu last minute change for a much roomier and more comfortable dress. Because we wanted to announce our pregnancy to family and friends at the wedding, my original VERY form fitting mermaid gown would not have hidden the surprise very well. I also could barely squeeze into it anymore by the time my wedding day came around.
With only a short time to spare before the wedding, I returned online to purchase a new wedding dress. Thankfully I was able to find my actual wedding dress online within days as I already knew where to look.
Even with it being a very last minute purchase, the final dress I chose turned out to be a much better option than I could have ever anticipated for such a last minute buy.
I was happy that the website offered an express shipping option, which left me with just enough time to get it to the seamstress for a quick touch up before my wedding weekend began.
The Take Away from Purchasing My Wedding Dress(es) Online
Even though I ended up purchasing three wedding dresses online, I wouldn’t have wished for any other experience!
Overall my wedding dress shopping journey was pleasant, quick and within budget! I actually ended up getting all three dresses for just under what I had originally budgeted for buying a wedding dress in store.
The lessons that I learned while planning my wedding definitely helped to keep me grounded during my shopping experience. To read more about how those lessons can help you during your planning and shopping process, check out this post.
How My Online Wedding Dress Shopping Experience Can Help You
In this post I will share the online sites I found to purchase my wedding dresses, as well as a few other reputable sites that I found during my search.
I will also share some of my top tips for selecting and buying your wedding dress online, in hopes of helping you to have a smooth wedding dress shopping experience.
Some of these offer the option to custom make a wedding dress if you don’t see something that you like on their site. This is a great option for those of you who may want something unique!
No matter what style, budget or colour wedding dress you’re looking for, these online wedding dress sites will have an option for you.
Whatever your reason for searching for a wedding dress online, I wish you the best during your search and I hope that you have the great online purchasing experience I did!
Online Websites to Buy Your Wedding Dress Online
- June Bridals (www.junebridals.com) Where I found one of my first wedding dress options. June Bridals offers pre-made and custom dresses at affordable prices.)
- Demebridal (www.demebridal.cn) Where I found my second wedding dress option. They also offer both pre-made and custom dresses.
- David’s Bridal (www.davidsbridal.com) David’s Bridal is one of the more popular options for online dress searches. Although I didn’t find a dress I liked, I did find my reception shoes on this site.
- Etsy (www.etsy.com) If you’re looking for a custom dress option, this may be the place for you to look. I found some very unique options, and many of the amazing creators were open to customizing designs to your liking.
- Allagown (www.allagown.com) This site offer both ready made and custom options as well.
- Amazon (www.amazon.com) If you need a super quick option, Amazon is a great option.
One of the great things about many of these sites is that you can also look for bridal party and mother-of-the-bride options while you’re shopping for your wedding dress!
These sites should give you a good place to start looking, but how do you ensure that you make good choices once you get there? Here are a few tips that helped me to select and buy my wedding dresses online successfully.
Tips for Buying Your Wedding Dress Online
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Follow the sizing guide but when in doubt opt for a bigger rather than smaller size.
In general, I found the online size guides to be fairly accurate. When it comes to a wedding dress, it is important to study these guides to a tee.
Wedding dresses tend to fit differently than other clothing, and even during in store shopping, you are advised to take a size larger than you would normally buy. Particularly if the fabric that you are choosing does not have any stretch you are going to want to make sure that you have enough room for all areas of your body.
That is why purchasing a larger size is a safer bet. This will allow you to take the gown to a seamstress for it to be altered and fit to you body in a way that will make it look like it was made for you.
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Read as many reviews as you can before buying your wedding dress online
Websites that are selling a wedding dress will always rave about how great they fit and how wonderful the quality is (even if this isn’t exactly the case). This is why reading (or watching) as many online reviews and testimonials as possible will help you to make a sound decision and learn from the experiences of others.
Good reviews might advise you about certain features or steer you away from a particular look. They might also help you decide that a particular dress is the right option for you after seeing how it fits a particular bride in their personal pictures.
Hearing from others is always a great way to answer questions and put your mind at ease that you’re making a good purchase.
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Order fabric swatches
If you’re trying to decide between certain colours or fabrics, take advantage of the fact that you can order material swatches from many of these sites (usually for free). This will help you to see and feel the fabric before settling on your final option and making a purchase.
Particularly when you’re trying to choose between close colours or match to other elements in you wedding (like bridal party apparel), these swatches can be very helpful.
Trust me, choosing between light champagne, champagne, ivory, light ivory and toasted almond may seem like an easy task until you actually have to do it!
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Take the shipping insurance
When you’re making a pricey purchase (even if it is cheaper than other options you’ve considered) you want to ensure that it will get to you safely.
Spending a few extra dollars for travel insurance can help to protect your investment if the package gets lost, damaged or encounters any other issues on its way to you.
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Read up on different silhouettes before you make a final choice
Even though you may have dreamt about a certain style of wedding dress it may not be the right fit for you. Because wedding dress shopping online doesn’t permit you to try on dresses and see this for yourself, the next best thing to do is to research the various styles before you may your purchase.
A ballgown or mermaid dress will look completely different on two different body types. You want to feel beautiful on your wedding day and have a style of dress that flatters your body. There are some things that even alterations cannot fix.
So do some online research on various silhouettes to learn the pros and cons of each style and how they may look on you. -
Pay attention to the fabrics and detailing in the descriptions
For example, I really wanted lace and beading on my dress so looked out for these keywords in the title and descriptions.
Wedding Dress with lace and beading. -
Look into the return policy
Because online wedding dress shopping is not risk free, consider the site’s return policy, so that you know what your options are if you decide it is not the dress for you. You could also do what I did and sell the wedding dress that you didn’t love or didn’t fit well, and then purchase another.
The important thing is to know what options are available prior to purchasing so that you feel comfortable just in case.
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Find a Great Seamstress to Work With
Even a great dress will need some alterations to make it your own. Finding a good seamstress is just as important as find a good dress.
It is a good idea to consult your seamstress even before you purchase, so that they can offer you advice on style, fabric and other relevant details.
Final thoughts
Buying online is always a risk no matter what you’re purchasing. However, a wedding dress is a very important purchase. Using these tips to help you during your search to find and purchase a wedding dress online will help you to have a better online shopping experience.
To review, be sure to read the fine print, consult reviews, go over shipping information and return policies, and consult any other pertinent information regarding fabric, colours and detailing before you hit the purchase button.
The websites that I have shared above are great places to find your wedding dress online. Once you’ve found your dress, consult a seamstress and then just go for it!
I wish you the best of luck during your wedding planning process and all the best for your wedding! It will likely be one of the most memorable days of your life (and you’ll end up with many pictures to prove it), so make sure that you find a dress that you’re comfortable with and feel good in.
For more about planning your wedding, be sure to check out this post on how to plan your wedding, and this second read about the lessons I learned while wedding planning. In these posts I share some great tips to save you time, money and stress!
Connect with Me!
Feel free to reach out to me or to leave a comment below if you have any other great tips to share with brides-to-be about their online wedding dress search.
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