A Few Thoughts Before Buying Your Wedding Dress
How important is the dress? Only you can decide! It’s pretty easy to spend more than $2,000 on a dress at a bridal store. (I personally got mine for $380 from Azazie. It looked identical to the one I wanted that was $2,400 in store. Plus for the $380 it was made for my exact measurements, so don’t go in thinking you HAVE to spend $X,XXX amount)
Only YOU know your friends, family & how opinionated they may be. We have heard tons of stories expressing the difficulties of dress shopping when “too many” friends/family members are in attendance. Suggestions have said to bring just 1-3 people when you are starting your search. Be mindful if they are the type of friend that will be honest if it doesn't appear flattering, or if they are the type that will say, “I love it” to everything. Then maybe schedule another day to show your whole group THE one, or narrow down the top 3.
Don’t forget to budget for alterations! Alterations on a dress could cost just as much as the dress! The more layers, lace, and detail, the more expensive alterations will be. Also, if you choose a fitted dress, alterations will likely be more extensive and therefore more expensive.
Dresses can easily take 6 - 12 months to arrive. Yep - really! Dress shopping should be an early priority on your list. However, you WILL find a dress in less time than that if you have to. Don’t let the dress shop stress you out on your timeline.
If THE DRESS isn’t of high importance on your day consider a beautiful white bridesmaid dress or a white dress that isn’t marketed as a bridal gown. There are lots of options that cost hundreds of dollars, not thousands, and no one else will know! Plus, everyone will think you are beautiful even if you wear a paper sack.
What do you plan to do with the dress after the wedding? Consider asking your dress shop if they offer cleaning or preservation services. (I won’t lie, I personally sprayed the bottom of my dress where it was extra dirty with a stain spray. Then I washed it in my home washer, hung it to dry & it’s been hanging in the Bridal Suite ever since. *Except on wedding days, when it’s shoved in the dresser drawer* And you can’t even tell!!! —That was the experience I had, for free…)
Ever Thought of Suit Separates?..
So what is a suit separate? We get this question a lot. A suit separate is just that, a 2 piece suit that is sold separate. There is a lot of talk about of how terrible Men’s Warehouse is to work with. However, myself personally as well as past clients have had no issues (as of writing this. *Knock on Wood*) while working with Matt at the Woodburry, MN location.
Below are images from our own wedding. These are suit separates. The pants were $28, the jacket $99, the Calvin Klein undershirts $15, shoes from Kohls $30, vests to match the dresses $18 from Azazie, tie $9, pocket squares $0 as they are the “sample swatches” for colors from Azazie. Sure they may never wear the “Tiffany Blue” vest again, but the rest they will get years of use out of. Our wedding was in 2021 so I am sure prices have gone up some, but it was over $100 cheaper than renting PLUS…
The men all got to KEEP their outfits & the total was roughly ONLY = $200
I will say, that we didn’t have to go through them for alterations as we had a member of the wedding party who did them all in an afternoon, for free.
A Few Thoughts Before Hiring a Hair/Makeup Artist
For a list of professionals we have had good experiences with, check out the Vendors Tab within your personal WEVEN account.
Unless time and travel fees are not an issue within your timeline or budget. (Or if you just have a small intimate group of ladies.) Oehme Oasis suggests that HAIR is done offsite. It makes for a much better use of your time in the morning if your entire tribe goes to your favorite salon. In doing so, a group of ladies can get their hair done all at one time VS having just 1 or 2. PLUS some of the “travel fees” we have been seeing lately are quite LARGE!
Makeup can be done onsite in most cases. It really depends on your schedule for the day, the # of ladies & travel fees.
Here are a few statements & suggestions provided by some of our vendor-friends who are in the industry (Because we are not H/MU experts, at all..)
**You think your makeup + hair will look JUST like the inspiration photo.
Unfortunately it will not. Not because your hairstylist/makeup artist is lacking talent, but simply because… you are not that person – your hair type/texture/color is not the same, nor are your facial features. Every year it seems that we are all given a handful of the same inspiration photos, by EVERY single client… Those styles are GREAT, but have trust and confidence in your makeup/hair artist. Allow them to customize that look to suit you.
**Some will think the more organized/detailed you can be, the better.
This is NOT always true. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite when it comes to your makeup+ hair services. It’s not that we don’t LOVE organization, (because believe me, we do!) but some services will take longer than others depending on the desired style, hair type/texture, makeup coverage needed, etc. Sometimes a spreadsheet that puts services in order, or at specific times, actually causes makeup + hair services to run behind.
**You believe that you can do your own makeup + hair.
Sure, your everyday makeup and hair looks amazing! That doesn’t need to mean you should do your own for your big day. Your wedding day will be one of thee MOST photographed days of your life. You’ve likely spent THOUSANDS on your photographer. Make that investment count and hire a pro for your beauty services.
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{Pros should know how to make your hair + makeup look great & last ALL day. We can all remember seeing celebrities in magazines with VERY OBVIOUS flash black, (when your makeup reflects the flash from professional cameras) you do not want that in your wedding photos. The last thing we would want is for you to spend thousands on your photography, and regret not spending a LITTLE bit more to include professional makeup + hair.}
Thoughts Before Hiring a Florist
Many florists have minimums. Before you spend too much of your time, (or theirs) make sure you ask if they do. *Note: Also remember to inquire about other things, such as delivery fees, setup fees, design charges, out of season fees, etc.
To get the most bang for your buck, consider utilizing decor on ⅓ or ⅔ of tables and doing floral arrangements on the others. This means your budget will be split over less tables and each arrangement could even be bigger.
For statement pieces, consider which areas will be photographed the most. Consider garland or HOP Vines for the archway/doors in the ceremony area. Or even on the head table/sweetheart table in the reception space. Either way, those items would be in a lot of photos and you’ll feel you got the most use from that beautiful piece!
If hiring a professional wedding florist simply isn’t in the budget, you are NOT alone! On average, 80% of our couples have done their bouquets DIY style and no one was the wiser! Some have been SO incredible we have even mentioned they may want to think about a career change.
If you’re wanting to use real flowers and trying to stretch your budget, use flowers that are in season around your wedding date. Most flowers are seasonal, and getting them out of season can become expensive quickly.
Another way to stretch your budget if you really want real flowers is to RE-USE them in MULTIPLE locations. Example: Use the same pieces in the ceremony/entrance location as you do at the venue entrance, heatable, sweet treats/cards, etc. Simply put someone in-charge of facilitating their movement.
