Planning the stress out of your wedding.

I'm sure everyone has heard the old sayings:  "A stitch in time saves nine." -Dr. Thomas Fuller,  "A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."― Benjamin Franklin  “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”  ― Benjamin Franklin “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”  ― Abraham Lincoln

Having Forty Three years working with brides one might think that I have seen it all.  I wouldn't say that because as soon as I do I will become witness to something I never hoped to see.  I will say that I have seen a lot, have learned a lot and understand much.

This last year has been a year like no other in this industry.  We saw multiple factories and designer houses close their doors.  We saw factories lose half of their employees to higher paying jobs.  We saw orders being placed, frequently, with less than our suggested nine months before the wedding.  I hear you:  "When did the professionally suggested order time go from six to nine months?"  For us the change came nearly 20 years ago when there was an embargo and our gowns were sitting in cargo boxes out on the shores of California.  That same year U.P.S. went on strike and nothing was being delivered easily.   We were fortunate and blessed:  none of our clients were affected.

Needing to be proactive and have multiple solutions we decide that it would be in the best interests of our clients to change the recommended order time from 6 to 9 months.  That change has taught us several things.

1. That ordering 9 months before the wedding: brings the merchandise in well before it is needed with comfortably abundant time to perform alterations.  
2. That a goal of having the gowns aisle ready 30 days before the wedding is a huge stress reliever.
3. That gowns arriving within 6 weeks of the wedding almost always feels stressful.  
4. Three months in wedding time flys by quickly.
5. Ordering 9 months before the wedding seems to defy Murphy's Law.
6. Ordering 9 months before the wedding allows enough time to place a whole new order if necessary.

We understand that a lot of mainstream advice still tells you to order six months before the wedding.  We suggest that that advice is a large part of an equation that equals stress.

SAMPLE SALE OR TRUNK SHOW??

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

As 2014 is nigh upon us and with the end of the year come the gowns for next season.  Many of our brides will become engaged through out the Holiday Season.  Soon our new brides will be seeing the perfect wedding dress. Trunk shows are great as they bring choices that may not otherwise be available.  Sample Sales are fabulous for those on a tight budget.

The difference between a trunk show and a sample sale is HUGE.  Let’s look at those differences now.

SAMPLE SALES:

Sample sales are exactly as the name implies.  Gowns that are in stock and have been tried on.  Some of the gowns will have been tried a few times, some many times.  Here at Bella Sposa Bridal our ‘samples’ are treated with great care and would not be in the condition that a typical sample sale might find gowns.  Sample sales can be held right in the salon or they are sometimes in a warehouse away from the salon. 

That said you can expect to find that the gowns may need some repairs.  The deeper the discount may indicate that more work will be needed to restore the gown to perfection.  You may expect the gowns to have some soil, maybe a broken zipper, a few loose or missing beads, tulle may be torn.  The gowns are all by well known designers and all $750 or less!!  One could not expect for a perfect wedding gown to be sold at this low dollar amount.

Now bear in mind that you may have some additional expenses involved that might off set the savings.  When you purchase a gown at a Sample Sale you will need to do some things before it will be ready for your wedding day.  We advise you to carefully weigh the added expenses.

Sample sales are cash and carry events, so you should be prepared to pay in full when you find your gown.

Gown Cleaning:  From $50.00 to $350 depending upon the gown.

Alterations:  often the gown will need resizing which causes your alterations to cost slightly more than they otherwise would.  We tell our brides to budget $100-$400 for their alterations.

Restoration or repairs:  These could cost from $20.00 to $500 depending upon the gown.

When you add the actual added costs you will still find you are spending less than if you ordered brand new.

TRUNK SHOWS:

Trunk shows are held in the salon and usually last 2-3 days but could last a full week.  They are most usually over the weekend.  Normally they would be promoted by Invitation only to the bride by the bridal salon.  They will feature a specific designer.  Sometimes the designer will be present, sometimes not.  The staff would help you with the new styles, offering the time frame necessary to order, the cost of the gown and help you find your perfect accessories.  Our staff will also be able to tell you approximately what alterations you will need and how much they may be.

Trunk shows traditionally have standard sample sizes which are 8, 10 & 12.  Those are the only sizes that will be available to try on.  A trunk show will usually feature the most current, in demand and popular styles.  Occasionally the salon will offer some sort of promotional ‘deal’ during the Trunk Show. 

You would place your actual gown order at the Trunk Show.  Your gown will be ordered and when it arrives no one else will have ever tried your gown on.  Your BRAND NEW GOWN will not need to be cleaned.  You will probably need some minor alterations.  Trunk shows often occur before the product is available to the general public.

You should be prepared to pay for at least half of your gown at a trunk show.  Our normal terms are that the balance is due in 30 days.  If you are looking at a very expensive gown we can contract payment arrangements with you.

Normal gown delivery can be up to 18 weeks.  Seasons cause for the delivery to vary, so your delivery time frame will be relative to the season in which you order your gown.

If the salon has offered an incentive for the trunk show:  that intensive is NOT available once the ‘Trunk Show’ is over.