30 years ago, buying a wedding dress was simple: you’d make an appointment at your local boutique, find a dress, and that was that! With the boom of the Internet and social media, wedding dress shopping has changed entirely—you can find dresses online, connect with brands directly on Instagram, and we often find brides come to their appointments with a much clearer picture of the types of dresses they want to try on. The Internet has done great things for the bridal industry, but we find a few of the changes aren’t quite what’s best for brides—which is exactly why we encourage all brides-to-be to shop locally.
A More Personalized Experience
When you shop for your wedding dress at a small business, the staff of that boutique personalize your experience entirely. You’ll get one-on-one styling advice from expert staff with an abundance of knowledge about the bridal industry and impeccable service for both you and your guests. While you can find a lot of the same designer names at big box stores or online, you won’t receive that same personalized experience. Online, you don’t have a stylist suggesting styles you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise, whereas in a boutique your stylist will take note of styles you like and suggest more she thinks you’ll love.
A Better Image of What You’ll Look Like on Your Wedding Day
One of the worst things about shopping online is that you won’t be able to see yourself in the dress until it’s already arrived. There’s something to be said for putting the dress on your body and knowing how you look and feel in it—often, brides come in the store dead set on buying a certain silhouette, only to try it on and change their minds. You’ll also want to feel the fit of the gown on your body so you know if you’ll be comfortable on your wedding day!
Guaranteed Quality
Another pitfall of shopping online? You never know if you’re going to be scammed, or what the quality of your dress will be like in real life. Often, scam websites will claim to sell certain designers, only to send you a cheap knockoff that looks nothing like the dress you wanted. Or, even worse, some may never send you the dress at all. When you shop in person, at a small boutique, you already know what your dress will look like when it arrives, so there’s no worry of the wedding arriving and you having a dress you’re disappointed in.
Want an intimate, personalized experience with a trained bridal stylist? Book an appointment at the Bridal Boutique of North Carolina, and find your dream wedding dress at our gorgeous boutique.