How many dresses before you found "the one?"

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Hi Ladies,

I've started looking for my wedding dress, and I found a really great one last night. My question to you all is - how many did you try on and/or how many bridal shops did you visit before you settled on a dress?

I've done lots of looking online and in magazines, but have only been to 2 bridal shops so far. I'm not ready to settle on this gown yet, even though it is gorgeous and flatters my figure amazingly. I want to keep looking (it is fun after all!), but don't want to end up trying on 200 gowns either. So, where did you finally draw the line?

Thanks for your input!

 

[sillyberry]

Hmmm...let me think.

I first looked in Chicago - went to Macy's where I probably tried on 10 dresses, then House of Brides, where I tried another 10 (a few duplicates). Then in Texas I went to Stardust, where I tried on another 10 (including the one I chose), then Lulu's (10) and Bliss (10, some of which I had already tried). This past weekend I was in DC where I went to Ann's Boutique (probably 10 with several duplicates) and Hannalore's (10, all new).

I probably could have stopped after Stardust, but I wanted to compare two dresses found at different stores (which is why I went to Bliss). I only went shopping in DC because my friends would have hurt me if I didn't do the whole dress shopping thing with them, but in the end it turned into merely confirming what I already thought.

So all together...maybe 50 dresses? Of those I probably only seriously considered around 6 or 7 throughout the whole process.

 

[violet3]

A TON! i went many many times, but i bought a sample dress i had tried on in my very first trip. I was glad it was still available But then, I really enjoyed dress shopping, and often went alone on my way to or from work if i was passing by. FYI, i never had that "this is the one!" moment while shopping. There were quite a few dresses i liked, but it ultimately came down to budget versus how "much" i liked the dress. It was a pretty practical decision for me, versus emotional.

 

[vc10um]

Hmmm...let me think.

I first looked in Chicago - went to Macy's where I probably tried on 10 dresses, then House of Brides, where I tried another 10 (a few duplicates). Then in Texas I went to Stardust, where I tried on another 10 (including the one I chose), then Lulu's (10) and Bliss (10, some of which I had already tried). This past weekend I was in DC where I went to Ann's Boutique (probably 10 with several duplicates) and Hannalore's (10, all new).

I probably could have stopped after Stardust, but I wanted to compare two dresses found at different stores (which is why I went to Bliss). I only went shopping in DC because my friends would have hurt me if I didn't do the whole dress shopping thing with them, but in the end it turned into merely confirming what I already thought.

So all together...maybe 50 dresses? Of those I probably only seriously considered around 6 or 7 throughout the whole process.

SB...You went shopping in Old Town Alexandria...**sniff**sniff**...without me??? DRESS SHOPPING, no less?!?!

Future Mrs. S: The dress I ended up realizing was "the one" was the second one I tried on at my first store. But I didn't buy it then. You see, I was just there to try on dresses of all shapes and styles (14 total) because I was going to the Running of the Brides and wanted to know what kind of dresses to grab. Then there was ROTB (5 or 6 dresses), second salon (8 dresses), back to the first salon (10 dresses, 3 repeats, including "the" dress), third salon (6 dresses), and fourth salon (another 6 dresses). Sooooo...around 40 dresses, a few more than once, all to end up purchasing the second dress I tried on.

Best of luck to you on your search!!!

 

[slg47]

1st dress I tried on. I went to some other bridal stores after and couldn't find anything (but Mom wanted to see me try on dresses...so I did.) I just knew.

 

[elrohwen]

Technically zero - MIL bought me a bridal magazine with runway pics (right after we were engaged) and I saw my dress and knew that was it. I assumed I couldn't afford it though, and my mom said it looked like a ballerina dress so I tried on probably 10-15 other dresses trying to find something I liked. I never came close, so I finally just went to Priscilla of Boston to try on that original dress and loved it as much as I thought. It was $1500 and I had wanted to stay under $1000, but I decided it was worth the extra.

 

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Keep the stories coming!

 

[stephbolt]

Technically zero - MIL bought me a bridal magazine with runway pics (right after we were engaged) and I saw my dress and knew that was it. I assumed I couldn't afford it though, and my mom said it looked like a ballerina dress so I tried on probably 10-15 other dresses trying to find something I liked. I never came close, so I finally just went to Priscilla of Boston to try on that original dress and loved it as much as I thought. It was $1500 and I had wanted to stay under $1000, but I decided it was worth the extra.

My story is similar to Elrohwen's - I saw a picture on a wedding blog that I loved, but most of the stores I went to didn't have it in stock. I probably tried on 40 or 50 dresses on 7 or 8 shopping trips, and had a few I liked, but none I loved. I finally found a salon that had the dress, and when I tried it on I loved it!

 

[hoofbeats95]

I tried on WAY too many! I fell in love with one and didn't get it. I went back but I just couldn't commit. I have posts on here about it. I even drove to Arkansas (from the St Louis MO area) to go to Low's. The 3rd largest bridal store in the country. It came to the point where I was overwhelmed and confused. I also got cranky and the experience wasn't any fun. I did get a dress. Unfortunately the sample was a size or two too big. So all I have is memories of me looking like a bag of potatoes. It should be in at the end of Dec and I HOPE that I love it once it's really my size.

 

[zoebartlett]

I didn't have the typical shopping experience. See, I was never one of those girls who had pictures/planned her wedding day from when she was a little girl. I used to think about my wedding when I was younger, and my mind would literally go blank. I'm not a super girly-girl, so the thought of a traditional wedding (and dress) were foreign to me. At first, I was adamant that I wasn't even going to wear a wedding dress, but everything else just looked wrong. Then I caved and decided to go the traditional route.

I went to 2 shops and one of them wasn't a fun experience at all. I loved the second shop I visited, and I tried on maybe 3-5 dresses. That's not many, I know, but there weren't that many dresses that I was drawn toward. I'm a short plus-size bride, so yeah, nothing fit right at all and it was hard to get a sense of what the dresses would look like once they were made to my measurements. In the end, I was really happy with the one I chose.

 

[Clairitek]

About 100 total but I think found "the one" at around 85. I just wanted to exhaust my options before taking the plunge.

I liked a lot of them and even loved a couple but the one I bought was the only one I knew I didn't want to change anything about. I got it altered to fit and that was it. No sash, no neckline change, no straps added or removed. Loved it just as it was.

 

[YSQueen]

I tried on probably 100 dresses at about 9 different stores.

Technically, I found the one at the 3rd store, after trying on about 25 - 30 dresses. I'm very particular and wanted to make sure it was the one. Even though I chose the dress that I found at the 3rd store, I still made adjustments to it when I ordered it.

If it makes you feel any better, I looked at about 2500 dresses online.

 

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Well, since I found my dress, I guess I should respond to my own thread.

I went to 3 bridal shops - David's Bridal first, just to get an idea of what silhouettes looked good on me; A local bridal shop in a suburb of my city, which I visited 3 times; A bridal shop in a Chicago suburb that carried what I thought was my dream dress.

So, 5 total visits. How many dresses does that make? I tried on at least 12 dresses at each visit, except for the last one, which was when I tried on MY DRESS for my mom who paid for it. The dress I was in love with in the magazine didn't look nearly as flattering on me as I thought it would. I looked at a bajillion dresses in magazines. I guess I probably tried on about 50 dresses total.

 

[KittyGolightly]

I went to one store and tried on about a dozen dresses. This was back in April. We weren't officially engaged yet (we were still shopping for the ring), but because FI's grandmother had a health scare, we were going to try for a September wedding. Fortunately, she is doing much better now, and we were able to push the wedding back to June 2011.

But since I was in a bit of a rush, I went to a local store that had lots and lots of positive reviews. I probably spent about 2 hour trying on dresses (you never think it's going to take as long as it does). I narrowed it down to 3 I liked, and asked for opinions here.

My sister bought the first dress that she tried on. She had fallen in love with a Judd Waddell gown she saw in a magazine. When she tried it on, we both knew it was The One. I cried. Then I made her try on 6 other dresses just for fun. But sometimes, you just know.

 

[violet3]

bout 35 probably. bought the second one i tried on.

 

[KittyGolightly]

Well, since I found my dress, I guess I should respond to my own thread.

I went to 3 bridal shops - David's Bridal first, just to get an idea of what silhouettes looked good on me; A local bridal shop in a suburb of my city, which I visited 3 times; A bridal shop in a Chicago suburb that carried what I thought was my dream dress.

So, 5 total visits. How many dresses does that make? I tried on at least 12 dresses at each visit, except for the last one, which was when I tried on MY DRESS for my mom who paid for it. The dress I was in love with in the magazine didn't look nearly as flattering on me as I thought it would. I looked at a bajillion dresses in magazines. I guess I probably tried on about 50 dresses total.

Silly me - I didn't realize this was an update.

Congrats on buying your dress! Do you have a picture?

 

[violet3]

Ha! i answered this thread twice, since i didn't realize it was an update - so glad you found a dress!

 

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Sure do. Photos are here:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bought-my-wedding-dress-yesterday.151926/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/bought-my-wedding-dress-yesterday.151926/[/URL]

 

[Future Mrs. Sterling]

Ha! i answered this thread twice, since i didn't realize it was an update - so glad you found a dress!

No worries, and thanks!

 

[KittyGolightly]

It's beautiful! Congrats on finding the perfect dress.