Why Buying a Dress Online Won't Save You Money

Many brides today opt to buy their dress online after visiting numerous bridal stores. Since you may be considering this, here are several things you should consider that will likely cost you more money than originally anticipated and cause the savings you thought you were getting to completely vanish. We could tell you that you are making a mistake by choosing to buy online, but we won't. You'll realize it as soon as you open the box.

Here's what you'll notice:

• The dress will have wrinkles all over it which you will have to pay extra to have pressed out. Many bridal salons offer a free service to have this done with the purchase of a wedding gown. You may pay $60 to $80 or more to have this same service done at a dry cleaner or bridal salon.
• There may be loose beading or missing beading as a result of shipping which you will have to pay to have fixed (most shipping companies aren't as kind to your box as you would like to think they are).
• There may be spots or stains on the dress that you likely won't be able to properly remove without damaging the delicate fabric and beadwork on the dress.
• The dress may come in the wrong size (and you may not be able to alter it to fit your figure).
• And lastly, you may order the dress and even if you get it, it may look completely different than the picture you saw online. Many brides have experienced this much to their shock and horror and then come to us in tears hoping we can fix the problem. Many times repairs can be made, but often at a great expense.

We recently had a bride come into our store who had purchased a wedding dress online. She was in tears because the dress she received looked completely different than the picture she saw online. The lace was different, the seams were loose and crooked, there was no boning or support, and the dress bulged in certain areas. The company she purchased the dress from wouldn't refund her money and she was left to either fix what she had (which didn't give her a lot of options) or buy a new dress. She ended up buying a new dress at our store and wished she had done that in the first place.

When you buy a dress from a full service bridal salon, you'll notice that:

• Your dress will be perfectly altered to your figure and pressed so that it is wrinkle-free and looks absolutely stunning on your wedding day.
• Any beads that may have come loose during shipping or the alterations process will be tightened at no charge.
• You can be assured that there won't be any spots or stains on your dress when you pick it up.
• Your dress will be perfectly altered to fit your figure and you'll know that it will come in the right size.
  
• Lastly, your dress will look like the sample you ordered it from and you won't have to worry about any of the details.

With all that you have to worry about with planning the wedding of your dreams, you really don't need the extra stress and hassle of worrying that your dress may not come in correctly or be perfect for your wedding day. Why take the risk? When you order your gown from a full service bridal salon, you can be assured that we'll take care of all of the details. You'll be glad you did because you won't have to stress about the mess that could have happened with your dress.

Jim and Heather Butler