Here's a familiar scenario: you're engaged, your wedding is fast coming, and the wedding dress of your dreams seems approximately nine to twelve months out of reach. First, take a deep breath! Whatever your time table, we'll do our utmost to deliver your perfect wedding gown in a timely manner!
But why does it take so long for a wedding dress to arrive, our brides ask. The gowns aren't perfectly custom, tailored to your every measurement, and if major retailers can have similar styles ready to go, why can't bridal boutiques?
For one, major retailers have the capital to order in bulk that small boutiques like ours do not, with quicker turn around times when stored in their own distribution centers. The majority of their selections also tend to be on the simpler, more casual or lightweight side. And two, the simple answer is that, despite not being completely custom made, your wedding gown order with a boutique is still a special order. That is to say, once you say yes! to the dress, our store will take your measurements and place the order based on the designer's size chart. Only then will the production of the dress begin. And because of the nature of our wedding gowns--intricate beading and hand-embroidered laces in addition to finer fabrics--it's not produced in an automated clothing line production. While not everything is hand sewn, our wedding gowns are still typically hand made by a person.
The good news is that technology and innovation have allowed designers and manufacturers to speed up the wedding gown production process, cutting down those nine to twelve months to somewhere between four to six. But four to six is still a fairly good chunk of time, our brides worry. Why is it still so long? Well, some of it is still padding, yes. Keep in mind that designers process thousands of orders nationwide, yours being only one in the queue. And while not a common occurrence, interruptions that impact and delay production in overseas manufacturing, such as natural disasters or the more recent epidemic, can and have happened. Further, and again while rare, shipments can and have been tied up in customs before.
No worries though! If four to six months is still too long, there are other options for our brides in need. The most common solution, if offered or available, is rush shipment. This option pushes orders ahead of the queue for estimated arrival dates around a month earlier than regular ship times. A number of designers however, have gone the extra mile and stocked up on their most popular styles. What that means is that a greater number and variety of gowns have been made, are in stock and able to ship out within the month if they have the size and color of your preference.
For brides who need their wedding gown as soon as possible, our floor samples are always available for purchase at a discounted price. Our recommended tailors are experts at transforming ill-fit gowns, with sometimes up to a three size difference, into perfection. Our consultants are more than happy to help you figure out whether such alterations are viable for your top pick gowns.
Happy shopping!