When you book your bridal appointment at most bridal boutiques, you’ll be trying on sample gowns. These gowns are handpicked by our team and purchased at National Bridal Market to have in stores for our specific brides to try-on!
National Bridal Market is a bi-annual event hosted in Chicago that we, along with bridal stores all across the nation, attend to decide what dresses and designers we want to carry. You can read more about National Bridal Market here!
|
|
|
Any dress you try-on in our store is considered to be a sample dress. Brides use these samples to make a decision on what dress to say yes to - then we can place a special order for a brand new one in your size and desired color. We typically carry most samples in one size and one color but they can be ordered any size, and many have different color options! Because of having just one size of each dress, the sample dresses likely won’t fit you perfectly; that’s where your stylist comes in with all the tools and knowledge! Clips, panels, and extra fabric are tools we use to show our brides what the dress will look like once ordered to their specifications.
We put a TON of thought into what samples we are going to buy - thats right buy, we don’t get them for free. This, and the fact that we only have so much space, are big reasons we have to be super thoughtful in which samples we choose. We also keep our brides in mind when purchasing these and make sure we are tailoring our samples to our brides.
|
|
|
|
Another reason we put so much thought into it is because one day that sample will be someone’s wedding dress! Once we think a sample has served its purpose in store, or the designer discontinues the dress, we sell the sample “off the rack.” We take such good care of our dresses knowing one day, someone will wear it at their wedding! If your wedding is coming up quickly, you will definitely want to look into buying off the rack so you can take your dress home the same day as your appointment!
|
|
|
All photos by Yasmine Carmen Photography