Appointment Process
Guess what? A year before your wedding is the best time to start shopping for your gown! It takes about 6-9 months for a wedding gown to arrive once ordered, plus you need to allow ample time for alterations! Make an appointment with A Formal Affair in advance so that we can reserve the Bridal Room just for you and offer you as much personal assistance as possible!
When you arrive to your first bridal gown shopping appointment, be open-minded and don't be afraid to try on different styles! If you feel overwhelmed by your choices, ask for help in selecting a variety of styles. This will help you to limit your choices (for example, you may discover that a ball gown makes you feel like a princess or a sheath dress makes you feel glamorous). Once you decide upon a dress style that fits your personality, it will be easier to select other dresses to try on.
Here are some other great tips for communicating with your bridal consultant during your appointment! These tips are taken from a fabulous blog written by our store manager, Jill.
To all those brides searching for their dresses here’s a few things they should keep in mind while a sales consultant is helping them find the perfect dress!
1. Be specific when telling your sales consultant what you are looking for or how you want to look on your special day. If you’re a bride just starting out, don’t be afraid to try on dresses your sales consultant recommends. Sales consultants are dedicated to helping you find the perfect look for you so keep in mind that they’re not mind readers!
2. Open up to your sales consultant and let them know how you feel about each dress. Once again, consultants are not mind readers! It can be overwhelming the first few times a bride tries on gowns. If you feel uncomfortable in any way, tell your consultant! If a bride continually tries on dresses that she hates, crucial time is being wasted.
3. Make sure you tell your consultant about details of your wedding. Details of a wedding day can make or break a dress decision, so make sure you give details about time of year, wedding location, and what type of statement you want to make as a bride.
4. Sales consultants are very good at resolving conflicts between brides and other members of the family. While it is best to shop with only one or two people (that will give honest feedback) at first, sometimes it is inevitable that a bride brings their whole wedding party with them. If this happens, use your sales consultant to help you sway the crowd if there are differing opinions. Sales consultants are also good at limiting dress choices and helping the bride voice their opinions when many others may not agree with choices the bride makes. A sales consultant is a bride’s biggest advocate so use the consultant to your advantage! Ask the consultant to help you!
5. When a bride is ready to purchase the dress of her dreams, but still has concerns, tell the consultant. If there are issues of how a dress will look or fit, chances are the consultant knows from experience what can be done to alleviate any problems that may arise. Brides need to make sure they are making the right choice and consultants are there to help them!
