When buying a gown from a shop VS online, let’s get into it!
Buying From a Bridal Boutique is not only a once in a lifetime experience, but also the security you receive in knowing you are getting what you paid for. It doesn’t just end there either; the bridal boutique will help you until the very end.
One of the pros of getting alterations done by a recommended seamstress when buying your gown from a bridal shop is the communication between the seamstress and shop. We communicate effectively and proactively, coming up with ideas together to help solve any issues that may occur. I know that is scary as bride; things are not always perfect, but they will be with a team! Sometimes it is a matter of getting a few pieces of extra fabric, boom done! A bridal boutique can do that easily with one call! You changed your mind and now want a bolero or sleeves, done!
Buying a dress online can be a great thing but it can also be scary. You don’t fully know the product you are ordering, you have not tried it on, felt the material, etc. I will let you in on a secret, even as a bridal boutique owner that purchases the gowns for our boutique, I can’t tell if I want a gown from a photo the designer sends us. I have to physically see it, so to do that, I fly out to the market where the designer showcases their gowns and make my decisions there. It has happened one too many times where I have seen a gown in a photo and loved it, but when I want to double check and fly out, I realize it is not what I had thought.
Now buying online also comes with some cons when it comes to alterations. One of the biggest is that you don’t have a boutique there to help because chances are the boutiques around do not carry the same fabrics. Altering a gown, you buy online, especially one that is being sold second hand is what we want to bring attention to because lately we’ve had brides coming in to find a replacement gown. Buying a secondhand gown can be complicated because it has already been altered to the previous bride. Wedding gowns are not meant to be altered more than once, the reasoning is because the seams of a gown are not made to be opened, closed, opened, closed. They should really only be taken in once as more then that can alter the structural support and integrity of the gown overall. The other very important tip if you are ordering a secondhand wedding gown online is to be 100% sure that the previous bride is your exact same height or taller, and lastly is the same measurements as you or larger.
Everyone needs alterations! The point of a wedding dress is that you feel like Kim K and get sewn into your gown. Well not literally but I hope you get my point; we want the gown to fit like a glove!