We asked our friend Kelsey, over at Magnolia Laine Bridal in Northville, MI to give us insight on the wedding dress shopping process. Enjoy these quick tips to ensure your process to finding your dream dress is stress free!

WHEN SHOULD I START SHOPPING FOR MY WEDDING DRESS?

The most commonly asked question. We recommend anywhere from a year to 15 months. If you’re thinking you’ll want to shop around a bit and try out a few bridal salons, it is recommended that you start shopping for your dress closer to the fifteen-month mark. Be sure to give yourself at least a year! The reason being that dresses take about 6-8 months to come in. When you say “yes!” and you order your dress, you’re not just getting a dress that is in a warehouse somewhere, in your size, getting shipped right away–a bridal designer is physically making the dress for you. That’s what makes it so special and also why it takes so long.

So, plan for 6-8 months for your dress to come in. Additionally, we recommend planning 10-12 weeks for alterations that may need to happen. When it comes to wedding dress shopping, we say a year just because it will give you extra time to play around, just incase anything happens, to do your research on alterations, and make it just an easy, seamless process so you’re not stressed at all along the way.

WHAT IF MY WEDDING IS THIS YEAR?

If you’re thinking to yourself “my wedding is less than a year away and I STILL don’t have my dress”, don’t panic! A lot of times, designers do have rush options. So, if you’re wedding is about 6-8 months away, there is still the possibility to find your dream dress. Some designers can get you dresses as quick as eight weeks-it really just depends on the designer. Just note-rushes on dresses will come with fees and the bridal salon will explain those to you if you’re looking to move forward. So, finding your dream dress is still a possibility and you can do it, it just might cost a little extra. $$$

WHAT IF I’M HAVING A QUICK ENGAGEMENT?

Now say you’re having a super quick wedding, and your wedding is 3 months away–there is one last option, and that is buying a dress off the rack. Almost every bridal salon will have off-the-rack options, which are a collection of dresses that you can take home that day. This is common and works wonders for many brides, and are able to find their dream dress and take it home in the same day. They are able to take it straight to alterations and have it in time for wedding day.

HOW DO ALTERATIONS WORK?

The alterations process will vary based on where you say “yes!” at. Every salon is a little different! Some salons still have in-house alterations, which means that once the dress comes in, you will go straight to alterations within that same building and same company. Whereas places like Magnolia Laine Bridal, and other salons, they will provide you with a list of recommended alteration specialist to work with. So, once your dress comes in, they will recommend the people to you who they believe will be a good fit with. But you do have the freedom to chose who you want! Then, you will take your dress to your preferred alteration specialist, have your consultation appointment, where they will give you a timeline and quote you. The whole process is easy, seamless, and there are so many great alteration specialists all around the state.

Last tip–just have fun with this process! It can seem a little stressful, but at the same time it’s so much fun! Bring your core people, celebrate, have fun with it, don’t overthink it–your gut will tell you which one is your dream dress. Just relish in this time in your life!

Those are all the tips we have for today. So, until next time.. Happy Planning!

The Collins Crew

Vendor Team

• Venue // The Collins at the Clocktower
• Photo // Jesslin Rae Photography
• Florals // University Flower Shop
• Groom + Groomsmen Attire // Men’s Wearhouse
• Day of Coordination // The Best Day Details
• Beauty // Miranda Collins + Catie Cable
• Blog Copy // Magnolia Laine Bridal