Truthfully, until today I've never been wedding dress shopping. I am an only child, all my childhood friends bought their dresses alone, and my aunt made my wedding dress. The moment never came up that I was able to experience the whole dress buying experience. I've been to bridal boutiques for work, but never to actually watch someone try on a dress and the experience was way different.
Today was my first, "for reals," dress shopping experience and here is what I learned first hand.
We made an appointment and arrived promptly at 12:30 pm. When we entered the store it was simply us and the two employees in the store. Basically, the entire store was ours for about an hour or so. Most smaller bridal boutiques require you to make an appointment for a few reasons.
1. All the inventory will be available for you to try on
2. Trying on a dress is a lot of work, and getting in and out of them can be a small workout. Having someone assist you in and out of the dress is key.
3. Unless it is a large bridal store like Klienfields there is typically only one place for the bride to stand and show off her gown.
4. It's your day and you deserve the spotlight.
Going in my sister-in-law did not have photos of dresses she liked, had not even pinned that many dresses and basically wasn't tied to any particular dress. That being said she was automatically drawn to certain styles. Those being the ones that she wore in her daily wardrobe. Halter tank top style with a fitted bodice and an A-line cut.
You do not really have to have an idea of what you want. In fact. I felt like going in without a plan really worked out well for us.
We were first given a tour of the store and were told to place the gowns hanging outright, so she knew which ones to grab.