One thing that today’s brides are facing in their wedding planning is a longer-than-normal order time with wedding dress designers. There are so many global logistics that are causing production delays. So what can you, the bride, do to get ahead of it? For starters, give yourself plenty of time to start planning and shopping for your dream dress.
Here in Utah it’s pretty common for brides to have short engagements compared to the rest of the nation (4-5 months vs. 16 months). Pre-COVID times it was hard to get a wedding gown made in 4-5 months but a lot of designers did all they could to complete short engagement orders. Now post-COVID there has been a high volume of backorders that need to be fulfilled causing longer-than-normal ordering time. We saw textile mills having closures throughout the pandemic which brought delays in getting the fabric made and shipped to wedding dress designers. As the world shut down continuously over the last couple of years our shop and our designers are doing everything we can to get your dream dress made in a timely fashion.
Now, local Utah bridal shops (including our own) are struggling to get certain designer gowns made with the Ukraine and Russian war happening overseas. We carry designers who produce gowns in Ukraine, which has caused some delays since February of 2022. Fortunately a lot of the designers (including our own) in Ukraine have been able to set up shop in temporary production factories. Others are lucky enough to continue working in their own factories but they still need time to safely create and ship your wedding dress. We are grateful that our friends at Tanya Grig are safe and working to bring bride’s dream dresses to life amidst the adversities they are facing.
With all of these global issues, what is a realistic timeline for a bride to order a wedding dress? Realistically, giving yourself a 12-18 month engagement will ensure that our designers (and other wedding vendors) can adapt with any possible delays that arise. Most wedding gowns are produced in 6-8 months, but we always allot time for alterations (2-3 months) and shipping (2-6 weeks).
We understand that not everyone has a long engagement timeline, so we ask the more time you can give us the better! We are lucky to have designers who can rush certain gowns (for a fee) for brides who have engagements shorter than 6 months. So always reach out and inquire about our order lead times if you are concerned about getting a new gown in store on time for your wedding.
Our last little piece of advice is to spend some time researching local bridal shops before you book your appointment. Find a store that matches your design esthetic, budget, customization preferences and/or unique designers because you will go in feeling prepared to say yes. Versailles Atelier Bridal is here to help guide you through the process of finding, or designing, your dream wedding dress all while adapting to the wedding boom delays we are experiencing.
Want to learn more about our amazing designers? Check out our Designer page!
If you are ready to say yes to your dream dress, Book your appointment here
ALL ARE WELCOME, CELEBRATED + ACCEPTED.
