What happens at a bridal appointment? At Rouge Bridal, your 90-minute bridal appointment is all about YOU. You’ll work one-on-one with a dedicated bridal stylist who will help you choose wedding dresses, try different styles, narrow down your favorites, and hopefully find the dress you’ll wear down the aisle!
But your Rouge Bridal experience actually starts before you ever walk through our doors.
So, you’ve booked your bridal appointment… now what?
Before Your Bridal Appointment: We Get to Know YOU
Once you reserve your appointment, we’ll send you our Bridal Bio.
And yes, we want ALL the details!
Where are you getting married? What’s your venue like? What kind of vibe are you going for? Romantic? Classic? Boho? Modern? Who are you bringing shopping? What’s your budget? What styles have caught your eye?
And don’t be afraid to spill the tea about your shopping crew.
If Mom has VERY strong opinions, tell us. If your sister thinks she’s the fashion expert of the family, we want to know. If Grandma is paying for the dress, that’s helpful information too.
We’re not being nosy we promise!
Your Bridal Bio helps your stylist get to know you before your appointment so we can personalize your experience and even start thinking about wedding dresses that might be perfect for you.
Your bridal appointment is 90 minutes.
During that time, you’ll have a dedicated Rouge Bridal stylist guiding you through the entire wedding dress shopping experience.
Your stylist knows our gown collection. She knows which dresses fit differently, which styles offer more support, which gowns can give you the look in your inspiration photo, and which unexpected dress you might overlook on the hanger but LOVE once it’s on your body.
She’s also trained to properly clip gowns that are too large so you can get a realistic idea of how they’ll look in your size.
Most importantly, she’s there to listen to you.
Before we start trying on dresses, we’re going to chat.
We’ll talk about your wedding, your vision, your budget and the inspiration photos you’ve saved.
Your stylist may already have several gowns in mind based on your Bridal Bio, but after talking with you and seeing your inspiration, she may grab a few more.
We’ll also have a quick conversation with your entourage.
Our message is pretty simple:
We’re all here to support the bride.
Everyone has different taste in clothing, and that’s okay! Mom might love lace while you love simple satin. Your best friend may picture you in a ballgown while you feel amazing in a fitted dress.
We want your people involved, but we want to hear your opinion first.
After all, there’s only one person at the appointment who’s actually wearing the dress down the aisle.
Then Comes the Fun Part: Trying on Wedding Dresses!
Now we SHOP!
Your stylist will help you in and out of each wedding dress. As you try them on, we’ll figure out what you love and what you don’t.
You might discover that the neckline you thought you wanted isn’t your favorite after all. Or that the dress your stylist convinced you to try even though you weren’t sure about it is suddenly THE ONE.
That’s why we always tell brides to keep an open mind.
Wedding dresses look completely different on a body than they do hanging on a rack.
There isn’t a magic number.
Some Rouge brides try on just a handful of wedding dresses and find THE dress.
Others want to work through everything we’ve pulled before making their decision.
Both are perfectly normal.
We’re also big believers in keeping ONE favorite as we shop.
Why a top three? You’re not getting married in your second or third choice!
As you try on gowns, we’ll compare each new contender to your current favorite. If something beats it, we have a new favorite. If it doesn’t, we move on.
This helps keep you from getting overwhelmed and makes the decision much easier.
Here’s a little secret:
You don’t have to cry.
Your mom doesn’t have to cry. Grandma doesn’t have to cry. The entire store doesn’t have to burst into applause while dramatic music plays in the background.
Sometimes a bride cries. Sometimes she can’t stop smiling. Sometimes she just keeps staring at herself. Sometimes she says, “I don’t want to take this one off.”
There isn’t one correct way to have your YES moment.
When we think we’ve found your dress, we’ll put it back on and start completing the look.
This is when it starts to feel REAL.
We’ll add a veil, jewelry, hair accessories or other finishing touches so you can see your complete bridal lookinstead of just a wedding dress.
Sometimes adding that veil is the moment everything clicks.
Suddenly you’re not just standing in a dressing room wearing a pretty gown.
You can actually picture yourself walking down the aisle.
And if it’s your dress…
YOU SAY YES!
Celebrate that moment! You just found the dress you’re getting married in!
After the celebrating, we’ll take your measurements.
Wedding gowns are ordered according to each designer’s individual size chart using measurements such as your bust, waist and hips.
And here’s your warning:
Bridal sizing does us DIRTY.
Don’t be surprised if your bridal gown size is one or two sizes larger than the size you normally wear. Bridal sizing is different from everyday clothing sizing, and the number on that tag means absolutely nothing about you.
Trust the fit, not the number.
It’s also completely normal for your measurements to fall into more than one size.
For example, if your bust measures into a size 12 but your waist measures into a size 10, we would generally recommend ordering the size 12 and having the waist altered to fit.
We want the gown to comfortably accommodate your largest measurement because a seamstress can take fabric in much more easily than she can create fabric that isn’t there.
At Rouge Bridal, you have two options when ordering your wedding gown.
You can pay for your gown in full, which many of our brides choose to do, or make the required 60% initial payment and pay the remaining balance over the following three months.
We’ll go over everything with you before your order is finalized so you know exactly what to expect.
Now comes the hardest part…
WAITING.
Most special-order wedding gowns at Rouge Bridal take approximately 5–6 months to ship from the designer, plus shipping time to our store.
As soon as your wedding dress arrives, we’ll let you know.
Then you get to come back and TRY ON YOUR ACTUAL WEDDING DRESS!
If you didn’t choose your veil or accessories during your original bridal appointment, this is another great opportunity to complete your wedding-day look.
Yes, plan on alterations.
Wedding gowns are ordered in a standard designer size; they are not custom-made to your exact measurements. Most brides need some adjustments to achieve the perfect fit.
Common wedding dress alterations include:
- Hemming the gown
- Adjusting straps
- Taking in the bust or waist
- Adjusting the bodice
- Adding a bustle
Once your gown arrives, contact your preferred seamstress and let her know your wedding date. She’ll tell you when she’d like to begin fittings based on her schedule and the alterations your gown needs.
Rouge Bridal does not perform alterations in-house, but we’re happy to provide recommendations for experienced formalwear seamstresses.
Oh girl, we’re not finished with you yet!
While your wedding gown is being made, there are still plenty of wedding-day looks to check off the list.
We can help you with your bridesmaid dresses, finalize your groom and groomsmen’s suits or tuxedos, help the mothers of the wedding find their dresses, and finish your bridal look with veils and accessories.
Your wedding dress may be ordered, but the Rouge Bridal fun isn’t over!
After you’ve danced, celebrated, taken a million pictures and married your person, there’s one final step in your wedding gown journey:
Cleaning and preservation.
Wedding gown preservation professionally cleans and protects your dress so it can be safely stored for years to come.
Maybe someday a daughter or granddaughter will want to wear it. Maybe part of it becomes a future reception dress, bouquet wrap, baptism gown or another sentimental keepsake.
Or maybe you simply want to open that box years from now and remember exactly how you felt wearing it.
Rouge Bridal makes wedding gown cleaning and preservation easy. After your wedding, bring your gown back to us. We’ll send it to our trusted cleaning and preservation company and contact you when it returns.
The process generally takes approximately 6–12 weeks, depending on the time of year.
Ready for Your First Bridal Appointment?
Your bridal appointment isn’t supposed to be intimidating.
You don’t need to know exactly what style you want. You don’t need to understand bridal sizing. You don’t have to know the difference between every fabric, neckline or silhouette.
That’s what your stylist is here for.
Come with an open mind, bring the people who make you feel amazing, and let us take care of the rest.
You might walk through our doors saying, “I’m just going to see what I like…”
And walk back out as a ROUGE BRIDE!
Ready to find your wedding dress? Reserve your stylist and dressing room at www.rougebridal.com/appointments.