Timescales

Ideally, you should start looking for your dress about nine months before the wedding. This is partly because it can influence so many other decisions that need to be made for your wedding party, and partly because choosing a dress is not usually an off-the-peg purchase. Many retailers will have some dresses that can be bought off the rail, but often your dress will be ordered in especially for you. The standard order and delivery time for manufactured dresses is twelve to sixteen weeks. Add to this that you may need to allow time for fitting and alterations, the minimum time you need to allow can be six months. There are occasions when a ‘rush fee’ can be paid if you have left it a little late to order!