Here’s what you need to know before making a costly mistake.
Buying your wedding dress online can be a huge money saver – but it can also be risky. Will the dress fit properly? Will the dress look like it does in the picture? Will the dress be well made? These and many other questions may be on your mind when you’re considering buying your wedding dress online. Here’s what you need to know before making a costly mistake.
View Photos – Don’t purchase a wedding dress by looking only at drawings or sketches of it. You’ll want to see how the dress actually looks in real life – from as many possible angles so you can see every inch of the gown.
Virtual Try-On – Sometimes you can “try on” the dress virtually. You can use a virtual model with similar measurements as yours to see how the dress will look. Add to that the ability to view the dress 3 dimensionally and from different sides so you can determine how the dress will look when it’s on your own body.
Materials – Check the materials that the gown is made with. Some materials pack and ship better than others. Plan on sending the dress to a professional cleaners for pressing. Avoid materials that look cheap or are too thin. This can be hard to tell from the photos but you should review the fabric content and description.
Quality – Checking for quality can be difficult when shopping online. Carefully read the description and view the photos to see if the dress looks like it’s high quality. Allow plenty of time to receive your dress in case you want to return it.
Customer Reviews – Read through customer reviews and testimonials to find out about the experiences of other brides. You’ll learn a lot about the quality, delivery, sizing, and other important factors so you can more easily compare different online wedding dress shops.
Payment – Learn whether the company offers various payment plans and how much must be paid to start the order process. Review the site to find out the return policy and what types of payments are possible.
Delivery – Find out how long an order takes to process and, once processed, how long it will take for the dress to be made and when it will be sent. Learn what type of delivery options are available and the way the dress will be packaged for shipment.
Returns – It’s important to understand the return policy before placing an order. Many stores will only provide a partial refund, even if you cancel the order soon after placing it. Find out if the company offers refunds or if you’ll get store credit – which won’t help if you don’t like the quality of the dress.