When to Buy Your Wedding Dress, According to Experts

While your wedding date may seem like it’s ages away, one essential detail to start thinking about is when to buy your wedding dress. As it turns out, it’s earlier than you’d think: Our experts agree that you need to purchase a wedding dress no later than nine months before your wedding, but a year out is ideal. That means shopping should start even sooner: It may take you some time to find the one, and then you’ll need to perfectly time your three (yes, three) fittings, allowing for custom alterations, and any last-minute design add-ons. Additionally, most made-to-order wedding gowns take about six to nine months to create, so it’s important that you head to a bridal salon sooner rather than later to get the process started.

That being said, thanks to the modern, evolving wedding industry and quicker engagements, there are ways to find your dream gown on a very tight timeline. According to Vatana Watters and Sydney Dunbar, the mother-daughter duo behind Watters, wedding dress designers and retailers are now able to speed up their process to accommodate more brides at the last minute. “The piece of the pie that’s grown is the option of when to buy your dress—there are so many options to get your dress much faster,” Watters shares.

Still, it’s best to begin shopping as early as possible to avoid any last-minute hiccups and fees—plus, you’ll want to give yourself time to look for a gown as special as your wedding dress. Ahead, with the help of Watters and Dunbar, we’re sharing the ultimate wedding dress shopping timeline to follow as you look for your dream gown. Plus, we share advice on finding a dress when you have less time and our top shopping tips.

The Ultimate Wedding Dress Shopping and Fitting Timeline

As with most wedding-related tasks, choosing your wedding dress is an involved process. In general, you’ll want to start wedding dress shopping as soon as you pick a wedding venue and date, and you should aim to make your purchase with no fewer than 9 months until the wedding. Here, we break everything down, from when to purchase to when to have your look fitted.

12 to 18 Months Before the Wedding

Are you newly-engaged? It’s time to start thinking about wedding venues and prospective wedding dates. Once you’ve figured these out, you can start shopping for a wedding dress. The 12 to 18 months before the wedding are perfect times to start browsing—you can (and should!) try on a variety of different looks to determine what style you connect with. Give yourself a little time to see the options—but not too many options—before committing to a bridal gown.

Now is a good time to consider making the purchase. You’re close enough to the big day that you’re not missing out on too many new styles that might become available to you, but you’re also giving yourself a good buffer for the dress to be made, shipped, and altered.

9 Months Before the Wedding

Though you can purchase your wedding dress before this point, the nine-month mark is your deadline for selecting your dream gown. Any later and it might be too late to get it on time for the big day (at least without incurring major rush fees, that is). At this time, you should also pinpoint any desired customizations and pay a dress deposit of 50 to 60 percent.

Why, exactly, do you need to solidify these details so early? The answer is simple: Your perfect dress will be produced according to your measurements, and some components may be sourced from across the globe. “We have laces from France, we have fabrics from Spain, we have beading from India or Asia or Japan,” Watters explains. She even adds that some gowns “take two weeks for three people to embroider and bead, and that’s just one step in the process of making a dress.”

5 Months Before the Wedding

While you wait for your lovely wedding dress to be made, spend a little time researching alteration specialists—if your bridal salon doesn’t offer this service, that is. Some seamstresses may charge per service (i.e. hemming, taking in the bust, etc.), while others may request a flat fee for the overall alterations, so budget accordingly. Not sure where to start? Ask your bridal salon if they have recommendations for great tailors, or else ask family members and friends for feedback on the pros they used.

You’ll also want to start thinking about your big-day accessories. It’s a good rule of thumb to have your veil, jewelry, and other adornments picked out before your first fitting to get an early glimpse of your full bridal look. It’s also essential that you bring your wedding shoes to your first fitting, as their height will determine your gown’s hem length. With that in mind, when searching for footwear, find a shoe that complements your dress while staying on par with the wedding vibe. “If you’re getting married outside in the mud or grass, you want to pick the appropriate type of shoe, so again venue plays an important part,” Watters adds.

3 Months Before the Wedding

At the three-month mark, your dress should be finished and at the salon. Just in case it’s not, you do have a bit of wiggle room before the first fitting, so don’t fret. Dunbar also provides a bit of advice when it comes to the overall delivery date of your gown: “If you’re having a destination wedding or doing bridal portraits, that effectively becomes your wedding date because you need your dress for that time,” she shares. “A lot of brides also prefer to have their dress completely done a month before their wedding just so the fit is perfect and there are no changes in the body.”

6 to 8 Weeks Before the Wedding

You should have your first fitting scheduled at least six to eight weeks before your wedding. At this time, work with your seamstress to make minor tweaks (like changing the neckline, trim train, etc.), and consider bringing a bridesmaid or two along to demonstrate how to bustle the gown. Hold off on buying your bridal undergarments until after this point, however, so that you can gauge the best foundation for your specific situation.

4 Weeks Before the Wedding

At four weeks, you should be scheduled to have your second fitting. By now, most of the heavy lifting should be out of the way, so you’ll have a much better visual of how the dress will look. If you haven’t already, choose the final headpiece, veil, and accessories. Come armed with undergarments and shapewear, too,

2 Weeks Before the Wedding

While some dresses only require two fittings, a third, final round of alterations may be necessary, which typically happens two weeks before your big day. At this juncture, the gown should be almost flawless. Try on your entire wedding ensemble—veil, shoes, and all—and prepare for a sappy (even tearful) first full look.

1 Week Before the Wedding

Now, it’s officially crunch time—you’ll need to pick up your finished gown and pay the remaining balance, including alteration fees. The salon or tailor will also send you home with a protective garment bag to keep the precious cargo safely stored until the big day (and out of view from nosy fiancés).

Also, fear not if you’re flying. “Gowns are constructed so much differently now—many are so light and airy and they’re easy to take care of yourself,” says Watters. “But, usually, the alteration people will have it very [travel ready].” Simply carry the dress, bag, and all, on the airplane with you (never check it with your luggage), and safely stash it in an overhead bin, front closet, or on its own seat (yes, some brides buy plane tickets for their gowns).

The Big Day

Before walking down the aisle, unpack the gown, hang it up to air out, and steam away any wrinkles for the finishing, picture-perfect touch. Hesitant to lay hands on your own dress? Watters says that some bridal salons provide consultants to service the wedding. “It just depends on your budget and how much help you want from the salons for these extra services,” she explains.

How to Shop for a Last-Minute Wedding Dress

While the above timeline is ideal, not all brides have this much leeway—in fact, some may need their gowns in as quickly as a week. If you’re wondering when to buy your wedding dress but the above timeline doesn’t apply to you, there are some options to consider. Dunbar explains that leading bridal designers actually have the technology to pre-cut gowns, meaning they can get a head start on the creation process before the dress is even ordered (way less waiting on your end). Brides on a deadline can also turn to expedited shipping options if needed.

Or, for to-be-weds with substantially shrunken timelines, meet your saving grace: the online route. Especially on par for brides seeking a relaxed and modern look, retailers like Anthropologie, Eloquii, Shopbop, Revolve, Net-a-Porter, MATCHESFASHION, and Reformation all offer diverse collections of high-quality, on-trend, ready-to-wear gowns available for immediate purchase. Happy gown hunting!

Wedding Dress Shopping Tips

Before you begin to search for your wedding dress, there are a few key shopping tips you should know, all of which we highlight below.

Do Your Research

It’s safe to assume you’ve had a rotation of dream wedding dresses saved to your Pinterest board long before your partner popped the question. If you don’t already have a vision of your ideal gown, though, now’s the time to do your homework. Start by ripping pages out of bridal magazines, scoping out top trends, pinpointing your favorite designers, or gaining inspiration from real brides. Then, make note of commonalities within your favorite finds. Do open backs continue to catch your eye? Embellishments? Lace? Fitted silhouettes? Whatever the theme, hold onto it and bring visuals for your first bridal salon appointment. However, be sure to maintain an open mind—you may fall in love with something that was never even on your radar.

Do your research on your desired bridal salon, too—look into each salon’s designer selection, price point, and the sample sizes they carry to make sure it’s the right fit for your gown allowance and vision. And, as far as bridal sizing goes, don’t let the number on the tag get to your head. Since most bridal designers use a scale that runs on the small side (a size 10 wedding dress translates to a true size 6/8), you’ll end up purchasing a garment that’s about two sizes larger than your usual. With this in mind, feel comfortable shopping for picks in your actual bridal size.

Set a Budget

The worst thing you can do is go into a wedding dress shopping appointment without a budget—falling in love with a gown that’s far more expensive than you can afford will only set you up for failure. Before you start shopping, determine what a realistic budget is for you; then, over communicate that to your sales associate—they want to help you find a dress that you love and that you can afford, and the only way they can do that is you’re forthcoming about what you can spend.

Start Shopping After You’ve Selected Your Venue

Dunbar advises going gown shopping only after you’ve picked your wedding venue and set a date, which makes sense considering you want to wear something that stays true to the locale’s vibe (a beach ceremony and elaborate ball gown may not bode well) and works for the season.

Once you’ve selected your venue, however, “it’s important to really start thinking about your dress and nailing it down six to nine months before the wedding,” Dunbar adds. “This allows for a good amount of relaxation for the shopping experience.” You should also have your wedding dress budget finalized by this point (including alteration fees), as well as a list of the lucky ladies (or gents) you’d like to accompany you during your shopping trip.