Working at a wedding dress shop is one of the most enjoyable jobs you can do. I know because I was lucky enough to manage a beautiful boutique for over three years. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a bride find the dress of her dreams, for one of the most important days of her life, but there are some things that annoy bridal boutiques!
Courtesy of Crystal and Giampaolo’s Californian Real Wedding
As much as planning a wedding is exciting, it can be an emotional and stressful experience with the pressure of it being perfect. This pressure is felt by all involved in the wedding planning, including bridal boutique consultants.
Courtesy of Joanna and Tom’s Sunny Surrey Real Wedding by Douglas Fry Photography
1. No shows
Most bridal boutiques require you to book an appointment if you want to try on dresses. This is to ensure that you have the time you need, an assistant’s full attention and the space to yourself so that your shopping experience is unintrusive, relaxed and enjoyable!
It is completely understandable that occasionally a bride may be unable to attend her appointment for whatever reason. When she calls up to cancel it, it is appreciated that she has taken the time to do so, as it enables the boutique to offer the appointment to another bride. As you can imagine if someone doesn’t call in advance to say they aren’t coming, it is frustrating as it is generally too late to offer the appointment to someone who may have needed it.
Courtesy of Morgan and James Destination Wedding in Tuscany
2. An over opinionated entourage
Bringing close friends or family to your appointment is expected. It’s great to get a second opinion from someone who knows you well. However it’s best to be selective about whom you choose and how many people to invite. A large entourage with conflicting opinions can be confusing for the bride.
3. A closed mind
First appointment brides generally fall into one of two categories: the ones who have no idea what they want and the ones who know exactly what they want. It’s enjoyable helping either type of bride, but it gets frustrating when a bride is not open to trying something different when her initial idea isn’t working. Don’t get me wrong, a bridal assistant’s suggestion isn’t always right, but you would be surprised at how different a dress can look once it’s on. Not being open minded may sometimes restrict a bride from potentially finding the dress of her dreams. You would not believe the number of times brides choose dresses the complete opposite to their initial idea!
4. Trying on dresses that are too expensive
A bride should never be denied the opportunity to try on whatever she wants, but when she’s tried on something that they cannot afford and fall in love with it, this can sometimes cause problems. I frequently had brides who had previously visited more expensive shops and tried on dresses way out of their budget. When it came to trying on what they could afford, they were disappointed because they didn’t live up to their expectations. This makes bridal dress shopping unnecessarily stressful.
Courtesy of Laura and Kenneth’s Real Fairytale at Peckforton Castle
5. Unrealistic Haggling
Everyone knows a wedding isn’t cheap and many people are after a bargain. For this reason many bridal boutiques implement offers. This may be a discount when they purchase at their first appointment or a discount if they purchase multiple bridesmaid dresses. Most bridal shops also have a sale rail, offering considerable discounts on ex sample gowns, giving brides who are on a budget plenty of options. So when a bride tries to haggle the price of a brand new dress worth £1500 to £400, this can be annoying. Bridal gowns are fairly priced to reflect their quality and worth. If bridal shops were to make discounts like these, they’d never make a living!
6. Fake Designer Wedding Dresses
There’s nothing that annoys bridal boutiques more than fake designer wedding dresses! Not because they are offering a cheaper alternative, but because of the disappointment and heartache that it causes brides. These dresses rarely resemble the dress in the photograph online and they are usually made so badly that they are incredibly unflattering. This leaves bridal boutiques to pick up the pieces when a bride is frantically trying to find a replacement. It is not uncommon that brides are unable to get a refund on the fake dress, which means they are forced to fork out even more money (when they probably chose it to save money) to replace it. This just isn’t fair on the bride!
7. Suppliers letting you down
Thankfully this happens very rarely, but when it does happen it is very frustrating. Whether an order is running late or the supplier sent the wrong item, it is every bridal assistant’s worst nightmare to have to inform the bride. Whilst there is usually always a solution to the problem, having to temporarily put a bride through stress or worry is a horrible thing to have to do. Bridal boutiques want you to have an enjoyable, hassle free experience with them, so when this is compromised through situations out of their control, it’s genuinely upsetting.
So brides, when you are bridal shopping remember to keep you entourage selective, your mind open, your budget realistic and that most bridal boutiques are trying their very best to give you the dream. Find a bridal boutique near you!
