Sponsored by Wedding Belles New Orleans

Joyful though it is, planning a wedding brings with it a world of options and decisions for a bride-to-be. One of her most important,  the dress. This isn’t the sort of thing one can just pop in and grab. To find her dream dress, every bride deserves to have her questions answered by a trusted expert.

While there are plenty of bridal boutiques out there, Wedding Belles New Orleans provides a luxury bridal shopping experience that attracts the area’s most stylish brides.

You’ve got questions? Amy has answers. 

Wedding Belles New Orleans owner Amy Casbarian clears up bridal shopping basics, dispels myths and shares tips to help a bride get exactly what she wants.

1. What is a trunk show?

Trunk shows are special events hosted by bridal boutiques to showcase a particular designer’s latest collection for a limited time. Years ago, the gowns actually traveled from store to store in trunks, hence the name. Sometimes trunk shows will allow for brides to try on the collection straight from the runway before it’s available in stores. Shopping a trunk show is a great way to see pieces from a particular designer’s collection that would not normally be in stores. And most of the time, incentives such as discounts on purchases will be offered, wink wink.

2. What is a sample sale?

Sample sales are an opportunity to find gowns at significantly discounted prices (40%-80% off). There are a few reasons for the discounts. Sometimes the dresses have been previously tried on, the fabric or lace for a particular gown becomes unavailable, the gown can no longer be reordered as new, or the stores simply need to make room for new inventory. Most dresses on a sample sale will be lightly worn and will need some adjustments, but nothing a seamstress can’t alter.

3. Why is my dress size larger in bridal or bridesmaid dresses than my typical dress size?

Likely, when you get measured for your bridal gown, the size chart can place you one or two sizes larger than your typical dress size. “We know this can be disheartening,” Amy says. “There are a couple of reasons for this. Bridal designers use European sizing since most of the leading design houses began in Europe. European sizing is typically smaller than what we are traditionally used to in ready-to-wear clothes.”

Another reason you might find your bridal gown size to be larger than you expected has to do with how the size is selected. To ensure a proper fit, a number of body measurements are taken and compared to the specific designer’s size chart and the size is selected based on the largest measurement. “Since most designers do not offer split sizing—meaning you may be a size 8 in the bust but your hip calls for a size 14—the 14 is ordered and tailored to fit your body. The important thing to consider is that you have found your dream dress and the size is irrelevant!”

4. Why does it take so long for a dress to come in?

Bridal gowns are made-to-order and can take up to 14 to 20 weeks to be produced. After trying on a sample and choosing your gown, Wedding Belles New Orleans will take your measurements and send the order to the designer where they place you in a queue with other brides, mindful of your wedding date and when the order was placed. The fabric is cut specifically for your dress, so your gown is truly custom made for you.

5. But what if I waited too long to order my dress?

Don’t stress—Wedding Belles can likely rush the gown for you. Many designers offer this option and likely have anticipated a few brides needing a gown sooner than the typical 14 to 20 week mark. This means you can pay a rush fee to have your gown placed ahead of other gowns that were already in the queue so the seamstresses can work on your gown before others.

Wedding Belles New Orleans strives to be a resource for all brides, so reach out in an email or a phone call with any questions about the process.