Wedding Dress Shopping, The Perfect App

Buzz Guide

The perfect wedding dress shopping appointment

She owns and runs one of the UK’s most successful bridal boutiques, so we thought who better to ask about what makes the perfect wedding dress shopping appointment than Amy Mann of Dress Me Pretty in Leicestershire.

Amy: “What makes the perfect wedding dress shopping appointment? When I am asked this question, my response is always: “When it’s perfect for the bride.” It is our job to make it the experience that the bride has always imagined and always dreamed of. We aim for every bride visiting us to have the most memorable experience and finds her dream dress easily. At Dress Me Pretty, we make this exciting journey easy and love to make it fun with no pressure any step of the way.

Not only do we make this exciting journey easy, we love to make it fun and with no pressure. If a bride loves a dress and follows her heart, it’s an easy decision when she finds her ONE!”

Perfect timing

Brides that DON’T tend to have ‘the perfect appointment’ are the ones who are shopping too early and not ready to enjoy their moment (not ready to commit or not in the right mindset).

When I say too early, I don’t necessarily mean the number of months or time until their wedding, I mean they are out to get an idea of styles or to have a day out trying on loads of dresses. We all know that the more dresses you try on, the more likely your bridal journey gets ruined can often ruin your bridal journey, cause confusion and lead to bridal overwhelm! Bridal overwhelm really is a thing and not advised. Many brides have come to us after being in tears because of major confusion from previous appointments. It becomes a fog with not remembering the dresses, being brainwashed by other people’s favourites and not the dresses that they remember and loved.

It’s all about you!

Then there are the brides who shop for other people rather than for themselves. This is something we often see and can be heart breaking to witness. A bride can fall head over heels in love with a dress behind the curtain but then be completely crushed when their mum/friend/sister/aunt says something negative or they don’t like it.

To give you your perfect appointment, we advise raising the subject before your appointment and making them aware of what you love and are looking for. Manage their expectations – to them, what they see as the perfect dress will probably be very different to your perfect dress. This means your appointment gets off to a great start and everyone is on the same page. Remember, this is your day.

Know your budget

Another part of ‘the perfect bridal appointment’ is when a bride is in the right boutique that matches her dress budget. Deciding what you are comfortable spending on your dress is highly advised before you even make an appointment, and you should only visit boutiques that have dresses within your budget. Whatever your budget, there will be something out there that makes you feel special, just don’t set your sights try on the designer dresses at the most exclusive boutiques if it’s going to cripple you financially.

We often have brides come to us at Dress My Pretty after they have fallen in love with a dress elsewhere that is way over their budget… We simply don’t understand why anyone would put themselves through this. The only way I can explain this and point out the difference is that of test driving a Ferrari when you only have the budget for a Fiesta. There’s obviously a huge difference. Yes it has wheels, yes it gets you from A to B, but my goodness the difference is significant. Getting in that Fiesta may seem a bit underwhelming but if you hadn’t driven the Ferrari, the Fiesta would have been fabulous!

At Dress Me Pretty, our dresses range from £1,200 to £3,000 and we occasionally get brides with budgets of under £1,000 book an appointment, fall in love with a dress and then never find anything that looks and feels like a designer dress or that comes close. Our dresses are designed and made by award-winning designers and are some of the best in the world and we are confident that if your budget sits in that range, you will find your dream dress with us.