How long does it take to get your dress??

[Almost engaged]

I''m getting married next July -- there is NO way I''m trying on dresses until I lose a few lbs. I want to wait unitl December - so I can do it with my girls on the East Coast - over the holidays. (I live in LA)

BUT... will that be cutting it close to get all the alterations etc. done?

 

[MelissaSue]

I''d say that is cutting it fairly close, but you will probably still be okay. It has been four months since I ordered my dress, and no sign of it yet. They told me it would be around the beginning of July.. its almost August.. Alts don''t take that long.. so probably even if your dress took 6 months to come in.. you''ll be okay..

 

[AndyRosse]

My dress is estimated to take six months to come in.

I would talk to different local stores and see what they recommend.

 

[teebee]

My friend that works at a bridal salon said that 4 months is standard (her salon carries Lazaro & Melissa Sweet among others) but you also need to add some time to that 4 months to allow for alterations. I would definitely call a few places to ask what they suggest. Also, if worse comes to worse, you can pay more for a rush order...

 

[JCJD]

You said you''re in LA, so I''d assume you could easily find a sample sale.... if you could find your dress and buy it off the rack (or get it on ebay or from a Knottie), you wouldn''t have anything to worry about. It all depends on finding one available for sale in your size or one that could be altered to your size.

 

[LollyBear]

It definitely depends where you go and what type of dress you want. I'm in LA too and I went to David's Bridal (only good experiences for me). I was told my dress could take up to 14wks to arrive, but it came in after 4. I went for my fitting on Saturday and will have it back in 2 wks (all I needed was the bustling though).
If you have an idea of what you like, you should start calling vendors to see what type of timeframe you have to work with.
Good luck!

ETA: Don't forget to post pics when you start shopping.

 

[rms]

I bought a Maggie Sottero gown. I was told it would take 12 weeks to come in....and it took 12 weeks!!! Not bad considering some of the other lead times folks are mentioning....6 months would be soooooo loooooong to wait for me.

 

[JessesGrl]

It took 6 months for my dress to come in...alterations should be done last minute, you have 3 fittings. My first one is this week and I am getting married in 2 months...but December for a July wedding is cutting it close

 

[gingerBcookie]

Ditto on above. The higher end designers also seem to take longer so depending on who you are shopping for, it could take up to 6 months to come in! Alt, aren''t supposed to take long, but do give yourself some breathing room, and don''t forget bridal portraits if you''re taking them you''ll neeed the alts done in time for those!

 

[njc]

My dress took 3 months to ship and 3 weeks to get to the store. Apparently its really slow getting through customs. Experienced the same problem with the BM dresses. My alterations took 2 weeks. Agree with the above... call around to some stores and see how long designers you like usually take and i would add about 4 weeks for good measure.

Ginger mentioned bridal portraits - I took mine before i did the alterations. It worked for me b/c i didnt need a hem, just a little taken in at the bust, which was fixed by a large clip for the pics.

Good luck!

 

[Rube]

My dress was a simple one from David''s Bridal, but it only took about 6 weeks to get in the mail. Of course, that''s probably the time it takes for a pre-made dress to get here from a warehouse!

 

[codex57]

Fiancee''s dress took about 6 months to arrive. Alterations can be rushed and done in a week if necessary. I wouldn''t recommend it though. You can always order a rush put on the order, but it''ll cost you.

How much weight can you really lose? You''ve got a ton of time waiting for your dress to come in. You can always order a size down and use that wait time to get your weight down so that you can fit into that size. You won''t be able to slack off cuz you know you''re not gonna fit into your expensive dress unless you lose those pounds.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I also got my dress from David''s Bridal (good experiences also) but maybe it is different in WI because you take the dress right then and there. The told me to come back in June for alterations (wedding is in Aug). All I need is hem and bustle. Good luck. Trying on dresses was really fun.

 

[OldBride]

Mine took about ten minutes. I got it off the rack at Discount Bridal Mart. It was perfect and only needed to be hemmed.

 

[ame]

I ordered my dress in I believe Sept and it was in by Christmas. A girl who ordered a very similar gown from the same maker and same place about 2 weeks later than I ordered didn''t get hers till April. The order flow goes boom apparently in Oct.

I say order it now and have it taken in. I swore Id lose weight before my wedding and I didn''t, if anything I gained.