Every bride is looking for that ultimate discount wedding dress when they tie the knot. This article gives you advice from a bride's point of view and offers money saving tips in your search for the perfect wedding dress. You'll get better service from a well known established full service wedding store than most bridal warehouse type stores. Not all brides care to save money at bridal stores nor do they want to haggle over pricing, and that's OK too. Keep all of these bridal tips in mind as you shop for your wedding gown, veil, wedding invitations, and toasting glasses. You don't have to be an expert to know it's a violation of FTC rules to remove labels from wedding dresses in the store, unless its replaced by the shop's own label. We still get nasty grams from industry insiders telling us to shut up and that we are "just whining", but it's important that you know many shops are "pulling the veil over you." Some people don't mind this practice, while others do. We don't approve because it's illegal, it's misleading, unethical at best, it allows them too often to do a bait and switch. You have the right to full disclosure on what you are paying hard earned money for. This is only our "stupid, uninformed, whining" opinion, as industry experts and insiders email us to crawl back into the hole we came out of.Most of the wedding stores you encounter will be very good. But as in any business sector, it is run by the original sinful nature of mankind, who has many financial idols to worship, mixed in with some very classy, honorable shops are some real dungeons of doom. If you thinks that it's Walton's Mountain out there, think again. Some shops don't let you take photos in the store with your perfect wedding dress, some shops don't even allow pen & paper to be brought in. Check out some online forums. Brides are passionate and if they were treated right they'll let others know. But if they were treated wrong, boy will they let others know.
Tips when shopping bridal stores
- Do not go into a bridal shop with a chip on your shoulder, we want you to feeling confident and knowledgeable, not confrontational and paranoid. Just be aware of what can and does go wrong. You must be aware of your rights and speak up when you need to.
- Make sure you have this book with you: Bridal Bargains: Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget
with you. Once the shop owners see you with this book, they know you did your homework, and they cannot pull any tricks on you, and you have the prices right there.
- Now is the time to get your Official New Bride Name Change Kit with easy to use forms and checklists to help you change your Social Security records, drivers license, vehicle title, voter registration, passport, credit cards, banking, insurance, medical, and employment records. Most agencies want to be notified within 30 days of your wedding.
- Check the Better Business Bureau (BBB.com) for complaints about the bridal shop before you go there to shop, and avoid any bridal shops with "Unsatisfactory" ratings, or excessive complaints. You also need to surf over to RipoffReport to see if there are complaints from other brides about the bridal shop. There are numerous complaints there against many shops.
