Well, the holidays are behind us and the 2104 bridal season is in full swing. There have been several bridal shows already this year. Today we are going to talk about timing for your wedding.
We have seen embargos: where the merchandise was held 'captive' in shipping containers on barges on the coast of California. It was very stressful knowing that our client's gowns were on that ship, that their weddings were ensuing and that we had absolutely no idea of when they might be released. We have seen strikes at U.P.S. and again, had no idea of when the end would be in site. In 2011 a large number of factories closed due to profitability. Did you know that each gown must receive it's own visa to be allowed to enter the country? Veil's too. Who would have thought? Last year China found it's self with a labor shortage and record orders. This backed production up and many of our orders were up to a full month past anticipated delivery. We even had a couple of orders that were unable to be completed before the wear date. This was hugely stressful. Many customers were very upset with us for things we had absolutely no control over. We even had a factory close and tell us that they would not be filling the balance of any of our orders. One of those was for 7 bridesmaids and the wedding was only a few weeks away. This became the perfect recipe for S-T-R-E-S-S.
We ended up custom making the seven bridesmaid gowns at no additional cost to our client. I assure you it cost us a lot of time and much more to fill the order than was originally planned. Our bride was ecstatic and her maids were all happy, but the time and effort and added stress to make 7 bridesmaids in a few weeks was huge for us.
For the last two decades we have changed our opinion and recommendation on when you should order your gown. We strongly suggest to our brides that they should have all of their orders placed nine full months before the wedding. This assures plenty of time to resolve any problems and issues and have that gown aisle ready a full month before the wedding: Our optimal goal.
The mother of the wedding has a tendency to believe that they are going to just go out and pick up a dress. Believe me when I tell you that it is rare when that actually is how it happens. Most mothers have a very difficult time finding that perfect dress. As the wedding comes closer the stress levels rise and it only serves to make everyone's life a little more difficult. We strongly encourage the mother of the wedding to start shopping as soon as she knows when and where the wedding will be.
When ordering a gown the least it would normally take is 14 weeks. That is 12 weeks for production and two weeks for shipping. Keep in mind that on the standard six months order time frame, if everything goes perfectly, your gown will be arriving only six weeks before your wedding! You can order on a rush, but that does cost more due to the changes in production that the factory will have to make. Additionally, some rushes are simply 'air fare' for the gown, which provides that the gown will be flown in rather then sent on the 'slow boat' from China. Those boats take approximately 4 weeks to transport from China to the US.
Of course, we have a huge selection of gowns and every single one of them is available, for sale, off the rack. Sometimes that is the easiest and best way to go as you know everything about your gown right now!
At Bella Sposa Bridal & Prom we like to get started on altering the gowns as soon as is possible. In the event that you would be losing weight we can always hold off on the side seams until close to the wedding.
Normally you would have 2-4 fittings on a bridal gown and 2-3 on a all other types of gowns. The first fitting will simply be to pin and determine what needs to be done and how much all of that will cost.
The second fitting is to determine if everything is exactly as we want it. The third fitting is to assure that we have achieved perfection. Perfection can be a difficult and challenging task. It takes time! Lots of time.
Normally we will schedule your fittings approximately two weeks apart, but this is dependant upon how much time there is to that 30 days before the wedding mark we set our sights on.
It is always our goal to have all of our gowns aisle ready, exactly one month before the wedding. I know stores that do not start their fittings until then: but we can't recommend that. It would feel like a recipe for stress and difficulty. Please know that the last three weeks before your wedding will be extremely busy. You will find yourself with so many things that can not be done sooner. The last thing you need to be worrying about is if your gown is perfect and ready.
The final time you come in it will be to pick your gown up. We suggest that all trying on have been done in advance of this as it will be aisle ready at that time. Once your gown is pressed you will need to have a great place to hang your gown out so that it is not cramped or crushed. In the event that you do not have such a place, we suggest leaving it here, at the salon, as long as possible. We have designated areas to hang gowns once they are pressed. The majority of our brides pick their gowns up on the Thursday before their wedding. Of course, as with all things, there are variables that we will work through, together, to your satisfaction.
So, the long and short of our advice here is: be a prepared bride and order all of your merchandise at least 9 months before the wedding. Anything less becomes an increasing recipe for stress....the longer you might wait. It is our goal to eliminate as many problems and as much stress as is possible for our clients.
