If you are a bride shopping for your wedding dress, you likely have a lot of questions about how the entire process works. Today, we're talking all about how returns, refunds and exchanges work at bridal dress shops when purchasing your wedding gown. This is everything you need to know when it comes to return policies when buying a wedding dress or outfit, plus we're sharing our best tips for how to deal with buyer' remorse when it comes to your wedding dress. Shopping for a wedding dress or bridal outfit is a unique experience and it can be overwhelming to shop for such a specific piece of clothing, especially for an important day like your wedding day. Shopping for your wedding dress is much different than a day of shopping at the mall or your favorite department store.
Many brides are not familiar with how the process of purchasing a wedding dress works and may not know what to expect when shopping for their wedding dress. One question we hear from many brides is what happens after they order their wedding dress and what is the bridal store’s return policy for wedding dresses and bridal accessories. We have all the tips brides need to know about the return policy of bridal dresses so you can be fully prepared before you start your wedding dress shopping.
Simple Answer
One of the top questions we hear from brides shopping at Lovella is about the return policy of wedding dresses. This is an important aspect to understand before you make a big purchase like a wedding dress. The return policy for wedding dresses and bridal accessories is a simple one, but one that has solid reasoning behind it. The short and sweet answer is that wedding dresses and bridal accessories are final sale items and they can not be returned.
Anything you purchase in a bridal store, whether it's your wedding dress, wedding veil, or other bridal accessories, anything you order is made to order for you. This means these items are a final sale and there are no refunds or exchanges or returns available. Wedding dresses and bridal accessories are, for the most part, made to order so they are being made specifically for you and are a final sale item.
Sample Sale Dresses
You may be a bride that plans on shopping for a sample sale wedding dress. Perhaps you know that you love the styles a certain bridal designer offers, or you are just looking to save a little in the wedding budget when shopping for your wedding dress. You might be thinking that there is more flexibility on the return policy for a sample sale bridal dress since it’s a dress that the bridal store has in stock and was not made to order for you. Sample sale wedding dresses are also final sale items. These dresses are typically part of a sample sale for a bridal store to clear out inventory for new samples to arrive, and so these dresses will be a final sale item as well.
Once a item leaves a bridal store, they are not able to be returned or exchanged. No matter if you decide to purchase a sample wedding dress or a custom, made to order bridal dress, know that the sale is final and be 100% sure of your decision before making that purchase.
Video: What Is The Return Policy For Wedding Dresses?
For those of you who prefer to get your advice in video form, don't miss this advice video discussing the return policy for wedding dresses so that you can be a well informed bride and know what to expect when you are shopping for your dream wedding dress.
Buyer’s Remorse
When purchasing your wedding dress from a bridal store, you want to be absolutely sure about your decision. Since wedding dresses and bridal accessories are final sale items, you want to be positive you are choosing the right wedding dress. It is very common for brides to have a form of buyer’s remorse after purchasing their wedding dress. We hear this from our Lovella brides all the time so do not worry if you start to second guess yourself after purchasing your bridal dress.
What oftentimes happens is you place the order for your wedding dress and then you go home and while you are waiting the six to eight months it takes for your dress to arrive at the bridal store, you begin analyzing the photos you took when trying on dresses. You might start to panic and think you made a wrong decision. You might be zooming in to see parts of the dress that don’t fit you correctly. It’s all part of the process- just remember that it’s all going to be okay. The sample dress you tried on may have been clamped to you and wasn’t the perfect size for you, so of course it’s not going to fit you exactly right in every spot. That is what alterations are for.
We encourage you to remember how you felt in the dress, versus just how you look in the photos. You said yes to the dress so keep that in mind. We always tell brides to look at photos of themselves in the dress while they are still in the dress and can see their appearance in the mirror. Take in all the data - how you look in the dress in photos, how you look in person in the mirror, and also how you feel in the dress.
Online Sales
If you end up changing your mind about the wedding dress you have already purchased, you do have an option outside the bridal store. Remember that all wedding dress sales are final. If you do decide that the dress you bought is not ultimately going to be right for you, you can always try to sell your dress online to recoup some of the funds and then purchase another wedding dress.
Smart Shopping
One last tip we have that will help ensure you can avoid buyer’s remorse when it comes to your wedding dress is to shop smart. Be sure that whoever you are bringing with you to your shopping appointment is going to be encouraging and a positive presence. We’ve heard from past brides who felt pressured to buy a certain style wedding dress and ultimately ended up purchasing a second dress because they were never in love with the first dress. Bring along family and friends who have a similar vision as you and who will help guide you to finding the right dress without pressuring you into a design you don’t love.
Don’t make any decisions that are rushed or premature because wedding dress sales are final. If you start to have second thoughts about your wedding dress while you are waiting for your order to arrive in store, see if you can make an appointment to try on the sample dress again. Remind yourself how you felt in the dress and why you bought it in the first place. Trying on the dress again may calm your nerves and remind you that you did make the right choice or may clarify that a certain modification needs to be made in the alterations process to make you fall in love with the dress again.
More Helpful Wedding Dress Shopping Advice
We hope you have found this advice about wedding dress return policies helpful in making you feel prepared to confidently shop for your bridal dress. For even more helpful advice when it comes to shopping for your dream wedding dress, be sure to check out our past posts:
- What To Expect When Wedding Dress Shopping For The First Time
- What Happens When Your Wedding Dress Arrives After You've Ordered It
- How To Resell Your Wedding Dress
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
About Wedding Fashion Expert
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
