Would You Care For A Sample

Just so you know, this post was stellar. 

Awesome.  

It would have brought world peace among us... until safari crashed and erased it. 

I could kill someone with my bare hands. 

Sorry everyone. 

 This subject is sensitive for most people. 

 We will try to explain everything as delicately as possible. 

 The dreaded sample size.

Why is it so big?  Why is it so small?  Why don't you have multiple sizes?  Why do I have to try on a sample?  Why is this sample dirty? 

 Let's talk about it. 

 And stick with us, this might get confusing and ugly. 

 You might wonder why we don't just get a size run of each style that we buy, that way we don't have to worry about the ordering process.
Well, some stores do that.  

We will talk about the pros and cons about ordering later, but as for those of you who don't know the term, a size run is when you buy every size that a style comes in. 

 For example, if a wedding gown can come in a size 2-220 that means we're buying 110 dresses of that one style and big chains like David's Bridal do that because they manufacture their own gowns and in turn, they are less expensive.  

Now, OUR cost of a wedding gown can be between $700 to $2500 (mid level)  per dress, if we're not designing and manufacturing it on our own.

 Yeah, it gets pricey. 

 We almost bought a gown that was $30,000 cost (what we pay) once. 

 Were we on crack?  

Well, if being on crack means that you are hypnotized by the most stunning dress you have ever seen in your life then *yes, yes we were. 

 (* The Perfect Dress does not condone or promote the use of drugs.  It's just a joke people.  Just a joke.) 

  

This wasn't the dress, but this is the most expensive wedding dress in the world. 12 million dollars. Beaded with diamonds. 

 Can you see why getting a size run wouldn't be a smart business decision? We would blow our whole open to buy (click here to get that definition) on that one style and couldn't afford to buy anything else. 

 kinda make sense? 

 Now let's talk about the size of a sample. 

 Normally, a Bridal Gown sample size will be a size 8, 10 or 12, which in regular U.S. sizes is about a 6, 8 and 10.  

So for example, when I got married (the person who is writing this), I wore size 8 jeans and my wedding dress was a size 12.  (I always thought it was so unfair that on the day we want to feel our smallest, the sizes are all messed up and make us feel bigger.) 

 Do we think that every woman is this size? 

 No, we don't. 

 Sometimes it's too small and sometimes it's too big.    

 Can we adjust with clamps to fit most brides so that they can see what it would look like in their size? 

 Most of the time, yes. 

 Is it fair? 

 No, it's not and we hate that so, here is what we try to do. 

 When we see early on that a dress is getting popular, than we order another sample in a larger size. If we know that a style will be super beautiful and flattering on a bride that is sexy and curvy, than we get a bigger sample. 

 As owners we are just trying to give you, the Bride, the best selection of stunning wedding gowns you can see in one shop. 

 We try, Brides.  We want you to know that we try.  

We aren't out to get you and to make you feel bad about yourself and we don't expect you to change.

We love our Brides.

We know you are all different and that's what makes our job fun!

With all of this information, let us know if there is something we aren't doing.

Something we haven't' thought about doing. 

  And for those of you who have made it this far, pat yourself on the back and leave your name in the comments and we will give you a congratulatory shout out in the next blog post. 

Just Kidding.  

Kind of.

Our Bride Megan

Our beautiful Bride Megan was kind enough to send us some photos of her stunning Wedding to, her now husband, Phillip.

Masterpiece Images did an incredible job of capturing their special day.

Megan chose an Allure gown that was completely strapless.

"My experience at The Perfect Dress was amazing! You were so accommodating and supportive.  I bought the first dress I tried on!  I had always wanted a dress with a V-neck front and back, and lace, with ½ sleeves.  The Perfect Dress offered the amazing opportunity to have all of those things!"

She worked with our seamstresses to create the gown she had always wanted.

"I have told several brides to go to The Perfect Dress to get the dress you have always wanted!"

Megan waited for two years while Phillip was serving an LDS Mission.  Their only correspondence was through letters.

Such a cute idea

Thank you Megan for letting us share your beautiful photos!

We loved working with you!

Fall And Winter Brides Tend To Have More Luck

Why, you ask?

Well, they aren't getting married in the spring or summer.

Which means that they aren't getting married in the busy season.

Which means when we get a huge shipment of new wedding gowns, like we got today, it's easier to be one of the first try them on.

It also means that if you a short engagement and need to buy to a dress off of the rack, we have more of those gowns available.

See what we're saying?

If you are getting married in the next six months and don't have your gown, you need to make an appointment at The Perfect Dress and see our beautiful new gowns.

But you do need to hurry.

These gowns go fast.

Don't say that we didn't warn you.

Our Bride Chandler

Chandler Huntsman truly was a Perfect Dress Bride.

Not only were we lucky enough to dress her for her special day, but we were able to dress her Mother and Bridesmaids.

She chose a beautiful textured ball gown and we helped her create her perfect dress by adding beautiful lace scalloped sleeves.

Her photographer, the talented Rebekah Westover, captured Chandler's beauty in a timeless and elegant way.

You are a beauty Chandler.  

Helping you was our pleasure.

How Do You Know That You Found The One?

Let us start this post by posing a question: How will you know when you meet the one? 

 No. 

 We're not talking about the person you will marry.  

Let's hope you have already established that by the time you are trying on wedding dresses. 

 We're talking about the right dress. 

You have tried on what feels to be a million gowns and then, finally you walk out of your dressing room and up to the mirrors and your heart rate quickens.  

You are short of breath.  

You feel a little light headed and tingly and then the tears come. 

At this point, call 911 because you might have a serious problem on your hands. 

 This is not what ALWAYS happens when you find the perfect dress.  

This sometimes happens.  

You also see it a lot in TV and in the movies. 

 We remember one specific Bride that we worked with who found her wedding dress.  

She LOVED it.  Couldn't get enough of it.  

She probably spent a good twenty minutes twirling in the mirror and talking about how perfect it was.  

But suddenly, as she looked in the mirror, her smile slowly faded.  We then asked her if there was a problem with the dress and she quickly said no.  

She turned around and said "this isn't the dress". 

Come again? 

 "This isn't the dress", she sadly said.  

We then asked her why and she told us that she wasn't crying and that Brides know what dress they will wear because they will start to cry when they see it.  

A little taken back, we told her that a reaction like that is more rare than normal.  We began to tell her that this is the reaction we see most: 

Take away the bed and it's pretty accurate

Elation.  

Happiness.  

Squealing.  

High fives.  

Hugs all around.  

That is what we see when a Bride finds her dress. 

 That Bride ended up leaving confused and holding on to her false expectation.  She came back two weeks later to order that same dress, after going to every Bridal Shop in the city, only to find out that she had run out of time and wouldn't be able to get that dress in time for her wedding.  

She learned the very valuable lesson of going with your gut in a very sad way that day. 

 She isn't the only one that has brought the whole crying thing up though.  

We always have Brides asking us "shouldn't I be crying", and our response is always "why would you"? 

 Look. 

 You will know your dress because you will feel happy, beautiful and most importantly, you will feel like yourself (just a dressier version). 

Tying Up Loose Ends

We know that for most of you summer Brides, now is the time to get everything in order.

Maybe you haven't gotten your jewelry yet and you know how important that is

click >here< to see why.

Speaking of jewelry, do you have your Bridesmaids' (which double as a great Bridesmaids gift) or Mothers' jewelry?

How about your veil?

Your headpiece?

We promise that this post was not suppose to stress you out.

We know you have a lot on your plate.

We just wanted to remind you that not only does The Perfect Dress have beautiful Wedding Gowns, but we are also known for our accessories.

See you soon!

"How Do I Keep My Wedding Dress Clean?"

This is a question that we are asked on a daily basis.

Hey, we would want to avoid this too

Now before we get into this, let us preface a little.

You are buying a white dress.

You will be out in the elements.

You will probably be taking photos in it before your Wedding.

It will get dirty.

Unless you're planning on standing in a corner all day just waving at your guests.

With that said, here are a few ways to keep your dress from looking like this

This Bride can totally pull it off though

1.  Bring a bed sheet that is about the same color of your dress to your Bridals/Groomals if you're super worried about getting your hem dirty before the big day.

If you are going to be standing in dirt or sand or hot lava, have your photographer lay the sheet down, step on it, bring the train out and then your photographer can hide the excess under your train.

Now, this is a lot of work, but we have had Brides do it so that they can keep their gown looking ship shape.

Get this girl a sheet STAT!  And a new photographer...

Sorry, that photo was just too hilarious not to share.  Does anyone know what's going on here?  Her husband's a Pirate?

Where were we?  

Oh, right...

2.  If you do get a little something on your dress, don't fret!  We are going to let you in on a little industry secret.

They are not just for baby bums anymore!

Baby wipes are a Bride's best friend.  They can get out stains better than anything and they are gentle.  Just make sure you get the wipes that are unscented and with no dyes.  

WARNING: If your gown in made out of silk or linen, do not use these!  They will leave a water spot and can sometimes make your dress look worse.  You should only use them for satins or polyester.  

Yes Brides, a lot of your gowns are made with a polyester blend.  Even the Vera Wang gowns.

GASP!

3.  Never and we mean NEVER dry clean your gown!  

Why?  

Because even the "best" dry cleaners can shrink your gown, fog your beading and ruin your dress.

We have helped more Brides who have taken their dress to be cleaned before their wedding day and it has be ruined.  

They usually only have a couple of days to find a new dress.

Now, we're not saying that every dry cleaner is bad, because they are not.  We are just telling you to not take that chance before your Wedding.

Do whatever you want after your Wedding, but don't clean it before.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

Last, but not least

4.  Just have fun!

You are going to have cute kids with dirty faces want to hug you

You're going to have people want to dance with you who will step on your dress

It might rain that day

You only get one day.

Stop stressing about your dress and enjoy it!

Our Bride Shayla

We are so excited to show you photos of Shayla, one of our lovely Brides, and her dreamy husband on their Wedding Day.

Shayla looks absolutely incredible in these photos.  

You can tell when a Bride feels beautiful in her Wedding Gown.

It shows in your photos.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

You get the picture (no pun intended)

Congratulations Shayla and thank you for letting us dress you on your special day!

Keeping Your Gown Wedding Day Ready

Sometimes when we give a Bride her gown to take home, she will act almost as confused as Miss Utah.

Bless her heart

And we totally get it!

Having your Wedding Dress in your own safe keeping can be a little stressful.

Brides always ask us if we can hold on to their dress in our back room for them until they need it and even though we would love to, we just can't.

Here's why.

If we held on to every gown we sold for Brides, our back room would look like an episode from Hoarders, but without the gross dead animals.  And the old food.  And the stacks of newspapers.

Ok.

It would be nothing like Hoarders, but it would be WAAAY too crowded!

We sell a lot of gowns and we would hate to misplace or have something happen to your gown, so it's best if it stays with you.

Here are some tips to keep your Wedding Gown looking perfect for your Wedding Day.

1.  Store your Wedding Gown in a room that nobody goes in.  It might be a guest room, an office or if you're like some of us, your workout room.

Oh... you actually use yours?

Yeah, so do we.

2.  Make sure that children and animals DO NOT go into this room!  We once had a poor Bride whose cat decided to do the tango with her dress one night.

You can imagine what happened.

3.  If you have found a room with these requirements, you will want to take the dress out of it's bag, bring the train down and hang the gown high up so that it won't get wrinkled.

Like this

Just make sure that your gown is not in the sun or anywhere that water could get to it.

4.  Need to get a few wrinkles out of your dress and veil, but don't own a steamer?  Just hang them up in your bathroom when you are taking a shower and the warm steam will soften them.  Keep the water away from your gown though.

If you follow these steps we can't promise that everything else on your Wedding Day will be perfect, but at least your Wedding Gown will be!

Destination Wedding? How To Get Your Wedding Gown There Safely.

 Over the years, Destination Weddings have surged in popularity.  

We would say about 4 out of every 10 brides we work with are getting married somewhere other than their hometown. 

 A question that we are constantly asked is 

"How do I safely get my dress to my destination?" 

Here is how. 

 First off NEVER and we mean NEVER pack your gown in your checked luggage.  

Have you flown Delta lately?  

Pretty sure they lose one of our bags every time we fly with them.  

   See. This kid flew on Delta.

 We have heard of Brides getting their luggage lost and resorting to buying the first white dress they saw when they got to their location.  

You want to take your dress as your carry on and don't get pressured into buying a special piece of luggage for you dress.  Just make sure that you have a breathable cotton-like garment bag to put your dress in.  

Don't get the plastic ones.  They tear easily and always give the gowns a funky smell. 

Secondly, don't let the dress out of your sight.  

Now brides, don't go too overboard on this, but just make sure that you know where it is at all times.  

If you stop by and grab a greasy, disgustingly delicious mess we like to refer to as a "Cinnabon", give yourself a high five and put the dress on a chair next to you until you are finished devouring it.  Don't leave it with your mom or Fiancé to look after it. 

 Third, as you board the plane inform the flight attendant that you have your wedding gown and ask where you should put it.  The key here is to be kind.  If you're not, it's going in the overhead bin.  If you are, they will hang in their little closet that they have for the flight attendants and pilots. 

 

Really American Airlines? 

Remember Brides, you get more flies with honey than vinegar. 

 That's it.  

Not too hard is it? 

 All you have to do is keep your seat backs and tray tables up until take off and you are ready to go. 

 Oh. 

 And does anyone else think it's kinda funny to have a life vest under your seat in case of a water evacuation?  We mean, unless you're flying with Captain Sully, I don't think you will be needing it.

 And don't even get us started with using the seat cushion for a flotation device.  

We think we'll pass. 

Gross.