Wedding dress appointments; a time of great excitement and a time to share a special moment with family and friends. We see these emotions and special moments with every bride-to-be who visits us and are very grateful to share these times with brides. It is our role to help support the all-important dress choice with […]
Wedding dress appointments; a time of great excitement and a time to share a special moment with family and friends. We see these emotions and special moments with every bride-to-be who visits us and are very grateful to share these times with brides. It is our role to help support the all-important dress choice with our expertise, our understanding, experience and team.
What to take to a wedding dress appointment? How long do bridal appointments last? Do you have to pay for wedding dress appointments? Some of the many questions which we are asked regularly, and questions we want to help answer so that the focus is on the enjoyable, special and personal experience that finding your wedding dress should be…
We answer all the key questions and give you an insight into the importance of our brides experience to us.
Writing this blog for our brides at this time raises additional questions and concerns, postponement of weddings and temporary closure of showrooms has changed the way brides-to-be can plan their weddings for late 2020 and beyond…
Plan and research;
Weddings and Wedding dresses can give any bride a feeling of pressure and anxiety, even those who are certain of the dress they envisage can feel the pressure to be different, to change their vision and their style.
We say, be yourself. Above everything.
What does that mean? Consider your style, how you want to look on your day and the style of dress that makes sure you feel that way.
This will then help to start considering the location of your wedding, the time of year and season, your budget planning and how this sits with your style of wedding dress.
Pinterestcan be the perfect place to start. We have shared our collections but also our different styles on focused boards to help brides consider theirstyle and body type.
Do you have to pay for bridal appointments?
In many instances yes you do have to pay for bridal appointments.
We charge for weekend and weekday evening appointments. All other appointments are not charged for. Follow up or secondary appointments are not charged for.
Why? Unlike retail and some other bridal stores, we give complete exclusivity of our showroom for your appointment, meaning you will not share the space with anyone else, our showroom and team are there to entirely focus on you and your wedding dress. Our ethos from the very beginning has been to simplify the experience with an honest approach to having your wedding dress made.
However, on reopening from our temporary closure due to Covid-19 pandemic, we will not be charging for any appointments for 3 months.
How far in advance do you need to book a wedding dress appointment?
We would ideally say book your appointment with a minimum 6 to 9 months before your wedding date.
However, some brides we will see with much longer until their wedding as they wish to organise their dress sooner and circumstance may require a lot shorter time frame for some brides, we can accommodate both scenarios and are very experienced with these circumstances. Covid-19 pandemic has created difficult circumstances for brides, with our production in house our team are capable of making dresses with much reduced time frames for brides who have had their wedding dress shopping period reduced.
Why do we typically advise so far in advance? Depending on your chosen service each bride will have their personal fitting schedule, which will involve a number of fittings. Our dresses are made to order regardless if they are made to a standard size with alterations or fully bespoke made to measure. Each service requires a fitting schedule and a level of time working on your dress to ensure your dress is perfect for your wedding day. OurHow To Plan A Wedding Step By Stepblog is a great tool to understand time frame when planning your wedding.
It is also very common to visit more than once before deciding on your dress, so to ensure you have a comfortable amount of time to decide on your dress it is best to book sooner rather than later. We have considered the importance of second appointments on our previous blog here.
How do you book a wedding dress appointment?
In order to book your wedding dress appointment we ask that you email us using our contact form, call us or contact us onInstagram.
We always ensure we have an understanding of every brides style and wedding before their appointment.
You can also visit us at any up and coming events.
What do you wear to a wedding dress appointment?
Wear clothing you feel comfortable in, our appointments are private to you and guests and our showroom is a calm and welcoming space for everyone.
Wear a bra you feel good in that gives you a shape you are happy with, neutral in colour and strapless are also beneficial. If you plan to wear no bra than nipple covers are also beneficial.
Shapewear can be great for under your dress but can be something you purchase once you have decided on the style and shape of your dress.
Our partners at The Pantry have a great selection of underwear specifically for wedding dresses.
How long do bridal appointments last?
Our initial consultation appointments are a minimum 1 hour. Weekend appointments are set at 1hr 15minutes and during the week we can accommodate longer depending on the service required. As commonly brides will visit us on more than one occasion before deciding on their dress, we will spend 2-3 hours with each bride working on their dress ideas and options.
We appreciate many brides visit more than one bridal store, but we do recommend that your shopping is considered and focused on the designers and stores who truly reflect your style. Too many appointments, especially on the same day, can have an adverse effect on what should be an enjoyable time to share with family and friends.
Wedding dress appointment etiquette
There is mixed advice when wedding dress appointment etiquette is considered. Bridal stores differ in their advice and guidance, but our fundamental approach is that we are here to help and support you, whether you have 1 guest or 5, whether you want to try on 1 dress or 10…
We would always recommend 2-3 guests, this is always to ensure that your opinion is the one that matters, but you have family and/or friends to support and give their opinion to help with your decisions. We have a very experienced team who are there to help you and to help develop your ideas and vision for your dress, you can be honest with our team on all levels, this will only help our team understand your likes and dislikes…
Photography in appointments can be very helpful for considering your dress and once you have found your favourite choices. It is also important brides appreciate that a smartphone image should be used for reference for you personally. Afterall your dress will be made and fitting for you specifically, a sample design is only a reflection of the style of dress.
The information we ask from you prior to your appointment is important for us to help throughout your time with us, to understand your style and vision. It is also important for us to appreciate your budget and the service you want to use for your dress making and fitting. We are always open when discussing our pricing and the services we offer with our brides, we work extremely hard to ensure our collections and services accommodate a range of wedding dress budgets whilst retaining the highest of quality, made in London using natural silk.
Wedding dress appointments during the Covid-19 Pandemic
We appreciate that attending a wedding dress appointment during this time is not possible and will have its complications once showrooms and stores can reopen for business. For this reason we wanted to include in this blog our ideas and plans during this time…
Once we can safely reopen our showroom, we will be offering both video appointment and initial consultation phone calls alongside physical appointments. This is to help us understand your wedding and plans, help you understand us, our dresses and our services, without having to travel to our showroom. We will be able to work with you to create your dress and make your dress in time for your wedding.
Our showroom appointments will remain, as they always have been, private to each bride with the showroom and team focused on you only. This has always been important to us to ensure a personal service, and is important for other reasons during this time for the safety of both our brides and team.
All our appointments will be complimentary for 3 months on reopening, fully wavering any appointment fees.
While we are closed, it is still possible to view our collections, follow our social channels, get inspiration from our Real Brides and build your wedding dress Pinterest board.
We are here to support all our brides during this time and you can always reach out to us on email studio@andreahawkes.co.uk
The team look forward to meeting you at the showroom soon…
Wedding dress appointment tips
Some of our tips for your first wedding dress appointment;
– Dress comfortably
– Keep make-up and tan to a minimum
– Bring the people who you respect their opinion most
– Utilise the expertise of our team
– Ask questions
– Be honest with us and yourself about your opinion of dresses or styles
– Send us as much information as possible prior to your appointment. This really helps us prepare for your time with us
– Have an understanding of our collections and dresses prior to your appointment. This really helps you prepare for your time with us
Some other useful blogs:
Alternative Wedding Dress Ideas
What To Wear Over Your Wedding Dress
Book your appointment or call now, visit our showroom or visit one of our stockists, meet Andrea and our team and discuss your wedding dress. Explore our collections, get inspiration from our editorial shoots, Real brides, Pinterest and Instagram.
We look forward to meeting you soon
AH x