How to Buy a Sample Sale Dress
Bride, we hear you – you want a gorgeous wedding dress but you don’t want to break the bank, so you’re looking into buying your dress at a sample sale. We 100% support you and want you to know our favorite tips for buying a dress at a sample sale so you know exactly what to do when you walk through the doors of your local bridal boutique.
1 - Search Within Two Dress Sizes
A sample sale is exactly what it sounds like – a sale of the sample gowns a boutique has in their store, which are used to try on by every bride that books an appointment! When you have enough time to order a dress in your size from the designer (6-8 months), the designer will sew a brand-new gown for you in your size. However, when you purchase a sample dress, you are purchasing the in-store gown off the rack, so the gown you purchase will be the exact gown in the exact size you try on that day in the boutique. Gowns can be safely altered down by TWO sizes to fit perfectly for your wedding day without losing significant design or structure that makes the gown as beautiful as it is – any more than that, and you’ll have to rely on your stylist’s advice for which gowns might be able to be taken in by more sizes.
Photo by Bridget Stephenson Photography
2 - Know Your Budget
Come prepared with your budget in mind! Sample sales are amazing because you can get a gorgeous designer dress at an insanely steep discount, so just make sure you know your budget and you’re aware of the price range of the sale. Knowing these numbers before you even walk into your bridal boutique will help you immensely by giving you peace of mind knowing you’re shopping in a place that carries gowns in a range that works for you, as well as informing your stylist so they can be completely prepared to help you find your dream gown in your budget!
Photo by Bridget Stephenson Photography
3 - Come Prepared to Pull the Trigger (Because Your Dress Won’t Last!)
It’s best to book your appointment toward the beginning of a sample sale because the dresses are off-rack only! This means that when someone buys a gown, it goes off-rack the same day of the appointment and will no longer be available to purchase by anyone else. So, book your appointment early, and when you do come in for your appointment, come prepared to pull the trigger and say Yes to your dress, because if you leave, the odds are quite high that someone else will come and take it off-rack before you’re able to return and try it on again!
Photo by Bridget Stephenson Photography
4 - Bring the Right People
If you have a person or people that you absolutely want to be there at your appointment, make sure you coordinate with them ahead of time and schedule your appointment at a time that works for all of you, so everyone can be there when you find your dress. Like we mentioned above, it’s soooo so important to come prepared to buy your dress at a sample sale since once a dress sells off-rack, it will no longer be available to buy during the sale. So bring your people and come ready to have an amazing time and say YES to your dress!
Photo by Bridget Stephenson Photography
We are allllllll about finding your amazing dress at an equally amazing price! We want you to have all the tools you need to successfully find your wedding dress and leave your sample sale happy and excited to have checked dress shopping off your list. If you have any questions about sample sales or are interested in booking during our Annual July Sale, you can book online here, you can text our shop number 541.368.2090, or you can call 541.330.7090 and one of our stylists would be happy to help get you on our calendar!!
