Boy meets Girl. Boy and Girl date and fall in love. Boy buys engagement ring, Girl cries as she says yes, Boy and Girl set date for wedding. Girl realizes she needs to buy a wedding dress and starts to panic. Girl wails with despair, “There are so many options, I don’t know where to begin!” Girl finds this article. Girl breathes sigh of relief. Girl finds the wedding dress of her dreams. Girl and Boy live happily ever after. Have no fear, brides-to-be of the Harrisburg region, your wedding dress shopping guide is here.
Basically, the dress choices for a bride-to-be boil down to three options: off the rack, off the sewing mannequin, and off the web. Allow me to break it down for you.
Off the rack: Buying your wedding dress pre-made from a store sounds simple enough until you realize that this can be further broken down. Brides of the Capital region can choose from national chains and local boutiques. National chains, such as David’s Bridal (www.davidsbridal.com) and Alfred Angelo (www.alfredangelostores.com) are the best choices if you have special sizing needs (take it from someone who has spent most of her adult life shopping in vain for plus sized petite formal clothing!). Yes, they can get pricey, but the price tends to even out when you realize the wide range of the selection for brides, bridesmaids and mothers of the brides. David’s also offers wedding planning services to help you handle everything from flowers and linens to financial planning and name change services. But if the price tag associated with a national boutique is off-putting to you, keep an eye out for sales. David’s has an annual $99 sale on “select bridal gowns” and Alfred Angelo hosts the Designer Bridal Sale, usually near the end of February, which boasts “designer gowns, not designer prices”. Local boutiques are a great option for brides who don’t necessarily need special sizes, have a smaller dress budget and are looking for more personal attention. Tinier shops, such as Tara’s Bridal in Camp Hill (www.tarasbridal.com), and Taylored For You Bridal Boutique (www.tayloredforyoubridal.com) in Mechanicsburg offer a smaller selection but at greatly reduced prices. Shops of these ilk often start the shopping process with a consultation to discuss not only what you want for your dress but what you want for the whole day. Boutiques that call themselves “full-service bridal salons” tend to offer wedding planning services and can provide far more personal attention than some of the bigger stores.
Off the sewing mannequin: Once again speaking from the perspective of a plus-sized petite woman, it can be both frustrating and time-consuming to troll the stores to find a dress that kind of fits only to have to hem it and let out the seams and shorten the sleeves and countless other adjustments. If you’re going to go through the trouble of fittings, measurements and adjustments, you might as well end up with a dress made just for you. And if you’re lucky enough to have been blessed with the perfect body and not need adjustments to your dress, it can still be a dream come true to have a dress made just for you. Many on-line stores such as My Big Fat Beautiful Wedding (http://www.mybigfatbeautifulwedding.com/design-your-own-wedding-dress.htm) and Cocoon Wedding Factory (http://www.weddinggownfactory.com/) allow you the opportunity to send in your measurements and get a dress made just for you. Please keep in mind that it can take up to two months to complete a custom dress so order with plenty of time to spare.
Off the web: As with everything in this fast-paced world, brides-to-be can order their wedding dress right off the web. Amazon.com has a picture of every dress it offers and lets you narrow your search by size, fabric, brand, size, color and price. Ebay has less photos but gives you more options, allowing you to search specifically for dresses by sleeve style, size, color, price, condition, and designer. Ebay also offers thousands of postings for custom dresses, many of which offer estimates for how long it will take for the dress to be completed. Ebay also gives many opportunities for the buyer to contact the seller, so you can get the dress made exactly to your specifications.
So there you have it. While it seems overwhelming at first, all Harrisburg brides-to-be need to do is decide which way they want to buy their dress (rack, mannequin or website) and choose their options from there. In your search for the perfect wedding dress, it’s important not to lose sight of the occasion you’re buying the dress for. Buy a dress that makes you feel happy and beautiful and enjoy your wedding!