Every bride imagines her wedding day similar to something along the lines of a pearly white, sparkling, Cinderella, horse drawn carriage something or other. This idea of a ‘storybook character’ is basically what every girl hopes to experience throughout this
stressful…I mean exciting time in her life. When the man proposes a woman’s bodies morph’s into an unstoppable bride zombie. They're fixated on achieving that ‘storybook character’ seen on the wedding shows like; David Tutera’s: My Fair Wedding, Bridezilla, and Say Yes to the Dress.
Since customer service in the Bridal industry can vary from one extreme to another. It's vital that a bridal gown consultant isn't judgmental or too aggressive. Consultants can be rude, obnoxious, pushy, pressuring OR they can be nice, helpful, excited and willing to make any bride happy. It takes a certain person who loves this industry to work in it.
Since I help brides on a daily, they love to pour their hearts out telling me what their dreams and hopes are for their wedding day. Even though many people might find that too much information, I personally love to find out all the juicy details because it will allow me to help them find a dress that they may not have ordinarily tried on.
(Photo by Planning Elegance)
All brides start looking for gowns online, whether it’s goggling different things like “wedding dresses under $____”, or “popular affordable dresses 2010” etc. If their not spending hours online weeding out what they hate and what they love, they’re immediately asking fellow family members or girlfriends what designers they looked at and where to go look for dresses. We have woman come from all over the state and even out of state. They usually hear about us off of the designer’s websites, Google, or word of mouth.
After narrowing it down to a few different designers’, brides try to find stores in their area that may either carry a particular dress or a designer they liked. Many girls are in “LOVE” with a dress they find online. But in my experience MOST if not all girls end up hating the dress they found online and love the dress that we help find for them. Now that’s not saying The Bridal House consultants are fairy wedding dress god mothers, but…we know the necessary questions that we need to formulate an idea for a dress. I can usually find a gown for a girl based on her answers to those simple questions. Many brides haven’t tried on dresses before so the experience is a whirlwind of emotions varying from stressful, upsetting, happy and even sometimes mad. We try to make your experience enjoyable. My belief is that any bride that comes through our doors should be treated like they are the most important bride…not to put prejudgments on their budget, time frame, style or insecurities. It’s crucial for the consultant to be a good listener because if not; a bride usually feels pressured or that they might not be happy with the dresses being chosen and not only is that a waste of the brides time but the lackluster consultants as well.
I always ask my brides a few simple questions....
- What type of wedding dress do you see yourself wearing?
- What don’t you like about wedding dresses? (ie; tulle, lace, strapless, beads, etc.)
- Where is the wedding being held? (ie; church, temple, outside, ballroom, etc.)
- What things do you think your fiancé’s will like about your dress?
- Where else have you shopped for a dress?
(Photo by Charlotte Wedding Photographer; Tim Hines)
After the initial consultation brides can often become overwhelmed with those simple questions. But the thing I keep in mind is make them feel important, find out as many details about their wedding, life and fiancé as possible, and be honest. A consultant could very well tell you that every dress on you is amazing or they could be honest and narrow down your “LIST” of must-have’s and see if they compare to the dress. To me and my co-workers it’s more than just the sale of the dress it’s making sure the bride, mother of the bride, bridesmaid or whoever else is getting the dress is confident that they love their gown.
In summary, The Bridal House strives to repeat outstanding customer service while making your wedding dress shopping experience enjoyable. If you want your time here to be productive, we suggest making an appointment in advance. Often enough we are pretty busy on Saturday’s and many brides and their families walk-in and have to wait awhile which in turn could make them not want one of our gowns. So making an appointment is essential to a good bridal visit.
Always remember that your budget for your bridal gown should not be something that is discouraging to you. If you can only spend $300 or under there are many options for you to chose whether it's a dress off the rack, discontinued dress or even and upscale bridesmaid dress. You have many different options. Now on the other hand if you budget is $1000 and your dream dress is $1200, move your budget around. See if you could invite one less person, or have one less table or maybe even not get as many flowers. All this stress is completely un-needed!!!! This is why a wedding planner is such a great idea. SJB Weddings & Events is a division of The Bridal House and has many different planning packages that could work with a 'Bride on a Budget'.
