How to shop for a wedding dress online
Recently, my fiancé, Chase and I got married. I'll add in those photos at a later time. We decided on something super intimate. Just a few local friends and family members, as well as some friends who were visiting. We had a gorgeous exchange of vows that was all about 8 minutes, and some portraits done by our friend Jaryd. Seriously, I cannot wait to show you all!
Even though our wedding was not traditional in the sense where it was huge and there were lots of guests. It was still important for me personally to find a dress that I loved. Now, here is something you should know about me. I'm a pieces, whatever that means. But from my understanding, I'm super sentimental and I cry a lot. So you'd think I'd want all of the works, right? Wrong.
It's never been a dream of mine to be walked down the aisle by my dad, or to parade the reception hall with my partner while we greet and take photos with our guests. If that's your dream, there's nothing wrong with that, but something traditionally grandiose has never been mine. So it's not surprise to hear that walking into a bridal boutique with my girlfriends and mom, trying on the perfect dress and crying about it has never been a dream of mine.
However, finding a dress that I loved and could try on in the comfort of my home while I do a thousand other things was definitely my dream. Being able to shop online for a wedding dress made those dreams come true. THANK YOU, INTERNET. Now, that may surprise some of you as I'm super vocal about my disdain for online shopping. I just really hate returning things if we're honest, but the more I work with brands and receive packages, you learn to order the right sizes.
The dress that I'll be featuring in this post was gifted to me by my friends at ModCloth. Although it was not the dress that I wore on my wedding day, it is a beautiful piece that I'm obsessed with. I didn't wear it because it needed a bit of tailoring and I wasn't able to get it done in time. Had I gotten it tailored in a timely fashion, I would have had two dresses on my wedding day. Hi, I'm extra. What's your name?
Anyway, here are some tips for online wedding dress shopping.
USE A TAPE MEASURE
I cannot stress this enough. You can grab one here for just $4.99. It'll change your online shopping life. Every time I order something, whether it be for a brand partnership, or even just a personal shopping, I make sure I measure myself and look at their sizing chart. Those things are super accurate.
READ REVIEWS
There are saints of which the internet has blessed us with. People who take the time to write reviews about things that they have purchased. On behalf of all of us online shoppers, THANK YOU. I read ALL of the reviews for every dress that I looked at. Some dresses didn't have reviews, but I did read the product specs.
Oftentimes, brands will add details that include fabric type, stretch, feel and a few others. I find these incredibly helpful. Another small bonus that you may or may not feel comfortable trying is reaching out to reviewers. Sometimes these saints leave their e-mails or the brand website will allow you to contact them. Don't be afraid to take a chance and ask them direct questions. You'll find some people are incredibly friendly.
PAY FOR UPGRADED SHIPPING
It's very common for online shops to have shipping promotions when you spend a certain amount of money. While that's wonderful, it's usually basic shipping. This is your wedding dress, bb. We are playing zero games. Even when ordering this gifted dress, I still requested a quick shipping time. It was a bit more costly, but it was worth knowing that I would get my dress in a timely fashion, and that it would be a bit more secure than having it run through regular mail.
Note that this might not always be the case. By default, some brands choose to ship with larger shipping companies like UPS or FedEx. However, you'll find that they have expedited shipping options that you can take advantage of. I encourage this because the sooner you find your dress, the better. You don't want to wait 10-15 business days for a dress, only to find that it doesn't fit or you hate the way it looks on you.
ORDER MULTIPLE SIZES
Before I elaborate on this tip, I'd like to respectfully note that I understand this is an option not everyone can afford to have. If you are able to do so, I would encourage you to order multiple sizes. For the dress I did end up wearing, I ordered the last dress, last size available. I'd say it was fate. I also got it on sale for $75 bucks, but that's another post for another day.
With this gorgeous ModCloth dress, I knew that after measuring myself, the size up would have been way too large, and the size down wouldn't have fit at all. There were other dresses I looked at that would have required me to order backup sizes. Had I been in the position where I had to, I would have. Luckily, most brands will send over a pre-paid shipping label. You can pop your unused size in the package and send it right back.
If you're ordering something custom from a place like Etsy or a boutique, I can't really help because I don't have that experience. I will say that they would certainly require you to measure yourself and therefore would send over a dress that was literally made for you.
MAKE IT A THING
Ordering a wedding dress online doesn't mean you don't get to make it a thing. I chose not to. In fact, Chase helped me pick both of the dresses that I chose. He even helped me pick my dinner attire options for that night. We're different, you know? Feel free to order your options, invite your friends over and make it whatever it needs to be that is special to you and your desires.
If that means some wine, a dance party and a fashion show, why not? If it means asking your partner to help you out, also why not? Listen, I tried my dresses on like 10 times prior to our wedding. Chase saw me in them all 10 times. The look on his face when I walked down the trail towards him on our actual wedding day would have you thinking that was the first time he saw me in it.
Do whatever makes you happy!
I hope you found these tips useful. Choosing my dresses my way was incredibly special for me and I hope you find a way that is special for you. Whether that's in private, in public, or at a huge boutique that makes you feel like a magical queen, do you boo!
These gorgeous suede clogs were also gifted to me by my friends are ModCloth. You can find them HERE. I've also linked the dress a few times in the post, but you can find the dress linked HERE in case you missed. it.
OH, and here's a photo of the dress that I actually wore on my wedding day. More to come soon!
*All images taken by Chase Myrick unless otherwise stated.