5 Benefits of Buying Your Dress Early...

1. The Dress Sets The Tone For Your Wedding!
You don’t want your theme, location, or decorations to limit your choices for bridal gowns. Choosing your dress first allows for you to really get to try on each style of dress and decide, without restraint, what dress you love most and looks the best on you. After you have the dress, then all of the other details will follow with ease. Girls are always surprised at what dress they think they want and the dress they actually get.

2. It’s Cheaper!
This is the reason we all love. Who doesn’t want to save a few when planning a wedding? Ordering early allows for a lot of brides to do layaway plans. Layaway is great because, instead of paying for the dress ½ and ½, you can spread out the payments and ease the blow of a lump sum. Let’s face it. Weddings are expensive. It’s nice to have small monthly payments that keep you on track and are more affordable. Also, ordering your dress early means you don’t have to pay rush fees! Who wants to tack on $150 dollars just to get it here?

3. Better Safe Than Sorry!
We have all heard a wedding nightmare story from a friend, of a friend, of a friend. Don’t let that be you. Ordering your dress early will give you time at the end to take care of disaster, if it should strike. If, for some reason, Godzilla breaks loose and goes on a dress eating rampage, you will have time to order another. Rest easy in knowing your dress is safe and sound in storage, waiting for your big day.

4. Less Stress!
Stress seems to be the leading cause of everything these days. It causes droopy eyes, pimples, sleeping disorders, and even…weight gain. By getting your dress early, you won’t have to worry about last minute shipping, fittings, cleaning, and hems. As a bride, you will have enough on your plate taking care of not only all of your little details, but his as well. Besides a prettier and more laid back you, less stress will allow you to really enjoy that last month before your wedding. You will have extra time to get that facial and massage, and really enjoy it. You won’t be secretly stressing the night of your rehearsal. And, you will even be more energized and rested the night of your bachelorette party. Everyone loves a calm and put together bride.

5. Because It Is Supposed To Be Fun!
Bridal shopping is one of the most important times of a girl’s life. You don’t want to spend this time worried and stressed. Shopping early will help you get an idea of what is out there, how much it costs, and what is the best fit for your wedding. Looking for a dress should be fun above all else. By purchasing your dress early, it will do away with all of those things we mentioned above that suck the fun out of finding “The One.” A lot of bridal shops offer after hours appointments to really get the most out of your shopping experience. We at The Wedding Bell offer champagne appointments. What is more fun than sitting with your closest friends and family, sipping champagne, and talking about your tiny waist. When else in life do you get to stand around while someone else dresses you in beautiful fancy dresses?

Danielle
Bridal Consultant
danielle@theweddingbellbride.com

Cool Book Photo Shoot

I had a great time with Kadie from North Thurston H.S., Janel from Foss H.S., and Jazmine from Steilacoom H.S. when I was in town a few weeks ago. This is the image we are going to use for the back cover of The Cool Book Prom magazine. It will be mailed out to all juniors and seniors in the the first week of January. If you don't receive one, just send an email to info@theweddingbellbride.com in mid-January, and we will mail one to you. Thanks again, girls! You looked beautiful! Also, this was shot on location at Hello Cupcake on Pacific Avenue in Tacoma, and the hair and makeup was done by Embellish Salon in Tacoma! Thanks to both of them as well!

Kim

Owner, The Wedding Bell and Miller Photography Studio

How to Prepare for your Appointment at The Wedding Bell

Ladies, there are all different kinds of brides out there. Maybe you’re the type that has a binder full of magazine and website photos, articles, and lists. Maybe you’re the type that has known what you want your wedding to look like since you were a little girl. Or, maybe you’re just seeing what types of dresses are out there. No matter what type of bride you are, we at The Wedding Bell are here to help you.

To be prepared for your appointment to try on dresses, there are a few universal preparations you should heed:

1) Wear undergarments you will be comfortable in. A consultant works with you to get the dresses on, and we will provide you with a bustier to wear. So, keep that in mind when making your undergarment choices for the day.

2) Take a few minutes to look at our website, and get an idea of the type of dress you think you would like to try. Your consultant will work with you to help you decide which silhouette you like best. This is easier to do if we have a jumping-off point to begin the search from.

3) Invite a few select people. We recommend no more than 3 people come with you, otherwise, the array of opinions can get overwhelming and confusing.

4) Know how much money you want to spend. If you have a budget in place, your consultant can work with you and make sure the dresses you love are within your price point.

5) Be open to new possibilities. Many times, brides come in with an idea in their head and are thrown off when something new comes along. Don’t be afraid to try lace, even if you don’t think you like it. You’ll be surprised what you’re drawn to once a gown is on you.

6) Get excited! This is a fun and exciting event, and we’ll do our best to make it as stress-free as possible for you and your guests.

7) Last, don’t get frustrated if you don’t have that “Ah-ha!” moment. Most brides don’t! Often, a bride puts on a gown, and loves it more and more after comparing it to other gowns. So, don’t think you haven’t found “the dress” if you weren’t brought to tears by anything immediately. Sometimes, you have to try on other gowns to realize exactly WHY you love another!

Jessie
Bridal Consultant
jessie@theweddingbellbride.com

National Bridal Market

The National Bridal Market was held 3-6 October in Chicago, IL. The National Bridal Market brings together some of the best manufacturers in the bridal and special occasions industry. I travel to bridal markets twice per year to do all of the buying for The Wedding Bell. It’s exciting to see what new fashion trends are headed our way and to be able to network with other stores.

It appears as though ball gowns, trumpets, and one shoulder gowns are headed our way. There were so many great gowns there that it really was difficult to do the buying. I just wanted to buy it all!

I picked up some new bridal lines that I am very excited about. We are going to start representing Jasmine Collection, Jasmine Couture, Pronovias White One, and Aire Barcelona. And, of course, we are going to continue to represent Mon Cheri Bridal, Sophia Tolli, 2Be Bride, and Mikaella Bridal. Speaking of Mikaella, all I can say is “Wow!” The gowns were beautiful, and we are going to host a Mikaella trunk show the last weekend of January.

I ran into Tony Bowls while I was there. He is one of the hottest prom and pageant designers out there, and he has a new reality show that will hit the networks early next year. I am trying to coordinate a time for him to come out to our store to do a Tony Bowls trunk show in February or March. Check out www.tonybowls.com to view all of his great dresses, and stay tuned for the big event!

Anyhow, new bridal and special occasion gowns are showing up almost daily. We will see the bulk of the gowns in November, December, and January. I hope you are all as excited about them as I am to show them to you!