Wedding Tips
Online Wedding Dress Shopping: Pros & Cons
Oct
Modern-day brides are lucky because they now get to have hundreds of wedding dresses to choose from and there are many ways to go shopping for that perfect white (or coloured!) bridal dress. When it comes to searching for the one, what are the pros and cons of online wedding dress shopping? Why are more and more 21st century brides opting for online shopping rather than going to brick-and-mortar bridal shops? Together, let’s find out!
A few decades ago, wedding dress shopping would mean either you’d have to find a seamstress who can make one for the bride or you’d have to go to different bridal salons to take a chance at what is available at your shape, your preferred style, and your budget. With the advent of e-commerce and the internet, wedding dress shopping now includes going online and searching the net for wedding dresses at your ideal shape, size, and price range.
Wedding Dress Online Shopping
With dozens of online shops and digital stores dedicated to hopeful brides-to-be, wedding dress shopping has now taken on a new way of looking for that one perfect dress. What makes online wedding dress shopping advantageous and what makes it different from getting your bridal dress the old-fashion way?
If you are one of those 21st-century brides and you think online wedding dress shopping is for you, here are a couple of things you might have to consider before adding dresses to your cart and checking out.
Have a vision and know your body type.
Assess what style might be a good fit for your body and what cut will be perfect for the wedding theme and the wedding venue. You’ll be overwhelmed once you have no idea what you are looking for so better do some research before hitting the stores and catalogues.
Get measurements and try on a couple of dresses.
Even while avoiding physical stores and long, exhausting hours of shopping inside malls or between shops, get to fit dresses on to have a better idea of what flatters your body type and what doesn’t work on you. Get measured professionally as well so you’d have something to base on when picking dresses online.
Don’t skip on the details.
Since you are shopping online, do not take for granted the details describing the dress: materials and fabrics used, stylish cuts and special features like pockets and lining, measurements, etc. Be meticulous in reading the details and practise being a responsible online shopper.
Know your rights.
Be mindful of the store’s policy when it comes to shipping, returns, exchange, and cancellations before you make your purchase. Wedding dresses aren’t cheap and making the mistake of buying one that you cannot use might cost you so much more than wasted time online.
Be on the lookout for online scams.
As one of the cons of online wedding dress shopping, online scams are quite frequent so be wary when browsing through online shopping sites and even third-party selling sites such as eBay and Gumtree as scams are all over the internet nowadays. Only trust sellers and shops which have verified customer reviews and offer dependable customer support. Hear out recommendations from your friends, officemates, family, and even from reputable experts in the industry when it comes to sourcing your wedding dress or even the bridesmaids’ dresses online to avoid sketchy websites and fraudulent stores.
Allot a reasonable amount of time.
Don’t go rushing into picking your wedding dress online and always allocate enough time for shipping delays, alteration, and other possible scenarios which may come. The worst thing that could happen is you dropping by the post to check if the parcel has arrived right before walking down the aisle – you would not want to be in that sticky situation. When in doubt, opt to have a plan B or a second dress just in case something goes wrong with your first choice. If in the end you get to have two dresses, you can change into the simpler one right after the reception formalities and party the night away in your second dress.
