How Far in Advance Should You Buy Your Wedding Dress?

The short answer: 8 months before your wedding day. But when should you buy your wedding dress has a lot more nuance and it’s not a cookie cutter answer for most brides! BUT, knowing 8 months is the general time frame between when you say yes to your dress and get it ordered to walking down the aisle. Another thing to keep in mind is 8 months before your wedding is when you should buy your wedding dress – not when you should start shopping for your wedding dress!

When Should You Start Shopping For Your Wedding Dress?

This is where every bride is different and there is no right or wrong answer. We have brides where we are their 5 shop and the say yes to their dress and we have brides where we are their 1st shop and they find their dress. Wedding dress shopping is such a singular and unique experience and you do want to leave yourself time to experience it without stress or concern.

We ALWAYS recommend to research the bridal shops in your area before making your appointment. Doing research ahead of time gives you the feeling of the boutique, what style of dresses they have, if their stylists are going to vibe with you, if their price point fits with where you want to be, etc. Doing a little bit of internet sleuthing will really make your shopping experience that much more enjoyable.

You don’t need a Pinterest board full of wedding dresses before you book your appointment. In fact, one of the best parts of working with one of our bridal consultants is discovering what you love once you start trying dresses on.

So, when should you actually BUY your wedding dress?

When you get engaged
Start researching boutiques

8-10 months out
Shop for your wedding dress!

8 months out
Order your wedding dress!

6 months out
If you haven’t ordered your dress, you’ll be looking at rush options or off the rack options.

Less than 3 months out
Off the rack bridal gowns are probably going to be your safest bet but we do have access to dresses from our designers that ship out within a month so there are still options!

The most important thing to note is regardless of when your wedding date is, your consultant knows that ahead of your appointment and we’re only going to show you dresses that we can get in time without any stress or pressure. We’ll talk you through all your options so you’re also clear on what to expect! Transparency all around

If you want a much more detailed blog post of ship times, rush options, in stock delivery or off the rack dress, visit our blog post all about this!

Why do you need to buy your wedding dress so far in advance?

The overall timeline looks a little something like this:
Finding the dress → ordering the dress → dress is constructed → dress arrives → alterations are completed → wedding day

Wedding dresses are considered special order garments. That means they are specially made once an order has been placed. They are unlike typical retail stores where you walk in, try a shirt on, buy it and walk out with that same shirt. Because wedding dresses are a much more complicated construction process with many more layers, interior construction, beading, lace placement, etc it takes time for them to be constructed.

Want to know when to order your dress?

Use our calculator below! This is based off our standard 8 month time frame between buying your dress and walking down the aisle. This calculator doesn’t take into consideration any time you may need to actually find your wedding dress so keep that in mind!

What if I don’t find my dress right away?

Some brides find their dress on their visit and some brides need some time to think about it and potentially look at another store. Every bride’s journey is different and it’s our honor to be able to help guide you through this process – we’re basically your hype squad who truly want you to say yes to the dress that feels like you!

With that thought, we always recommend giving yourself the time if you have it. If you’re not getting married for 2 years but want to find your wedding dress now? Do it! We store our bride’s wedding dresses here (for free) so we can take that stress off your plate. If you’re 14 months out from your wedding but are ready to start shopping now? Do it! Just because the standard timeline is 8 months doesn’t mean you have to follow it. It’s more of a guideline than a hard and fast rule.

What if I’m getting married sooner than 8 months?

We love a bride with a shorter timeline! There are still so many options: rush options, in stock options and off the rack options. We’ve had several brides say yes to their dress for their wedding that was happening in 2 weeks. There’s not much we can’t make happen 🙂

We have a blog post going into much more detail about the rush, in stock and off the rack options here

It all keeps coming back to: every bride’s wedding dress shopping experience is individual to them and there, truly, is no right or wrong answer to how you buy your wedding dress.

Does the wedding dress shopping timeline change for different types of dresses?

The only time the timeline changes is if you are doing a gown with customizations. This includes both customizations done with the designer and customizations done with a seamstress. Customizations include things like changing the neckline, lengthening or shortening the train, and custom hems.

When doing custom work you want to add about another month onto the timeline. So instead of 8 months, plan on 9-10 months!

You don’t have to know everything. You don’t have to know your silhouette. You don’t have to have your whole bridal look figured out. And you don’t have to panic if your timeline isn’t perfect. We are here to help!

Here are some other helpful articles to look at before wedding dress shopping:
Wedding Dress Ship Times
Fabrics for the Bride Seeking Comfort
What to Expect Wedding Dress Shopping in Fort Wayne