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It may be difficult to believe but you don’t have to pay full price for your luxury wedding gown! To push towards a more sustainable bridal industry and to advocate for preloved gowns, Loved Twice Bridal wants to share a few tips on how to shop preloved wedding gowns and things to look out for. Hang tight and read tho, I promise it's worth the few THOUSAND dollars you'll save.
First things first, go into your hunt with a vision. If it’s not an exact gown, at the very least a silhouette, fabric and size. This will help you narrow down your search. If it’s your first time shopping and are not sure where to begin, book a bridal appointment at your local boutique to narrow down your look. Having been the stylist on the other end, let them know off that bat that you are using this your time as an explorative appointment and won’t be able to make a decision today. It takes pressure off and will really focus on weeding options out and you’ll get great customer service because they appreciated your transparency.
After narrowing down a style or a designer, or maybe you found the gown, ask the boutique if they would be willing to sell the sample. Designers release two collections a year and boutiques often resort to sample sales to get product out the door. If you express interest in purchasing the sample, you won’t get the same discount as at a sample sale, but you’ve ensured that the sample is yours to keep and won’t get further damaged while it is in the shop until the sample sale is held. Additionally, you want to reward the boutique for the time spent with you. The last thing you want to do is use their time, space and money and not offer to buy something. If the boutique is not willing to part with their sample just yet, maybe it’s their best seller, ask to be notified when they are. And as a thank you anyways, may I suggest leaving them a review! There are so many bridal boutiques to choose from so if they are deserving, a review goes a VERY long way. From here, take the night off! While it may not seem like much, bridal appointments are mentally and emotionally exhausting, so you don’t need to rush into any decisions, especially if you have gone to several in one day. You’ve now woken up with a fresh mindset and are ready to find that exact gown. Now this next option requires a bit more work- but could end up saving you a significant amount of money to make up for the time spent! Look at the designer’s website for other retailers who carry the brand. There is no guarantee that the boutiques will have the exact gown you are looking for in the same variation or a close enough size, but if you are lucky enough to find a boutique that has it and is willing to part with the gown, ask them to send you photos and a video of the gown! As a former manager, I know I have jumped at the chance to make a sale over the phone if all that was asked were some photos. The next option would be shopping sample sales! As a reminder, designers release two collections a year, so boutiques have to make room for new styles and host sample sales to do so. Depending the brand or boutique, these gowns are discontinued a certain percentage or group into a price; $1,000, $2,000, etc. These bridal sample sales are often first come first serve and may still require an appointment. There is absolutely no sense in going to every sample sale in your area. Only go to the ones that carry the designer you are looking for or ones with similar aesthetics. Only take people whose opinions you value most and be prepared to make your decision in the moment as these gowns fly off the rack and holds are not an option. If you are not having much luck with finding a sample, it’s time to consider preowned.  Loved Twice Bridal is an online luxury bridal consignment boutique that houses, markets and sells preloved wedding gowns so brides can resell and buy their wedding gowns with confidence from a tenured industry professional. The Loved Twice Guarantee ensures that each of our gowns is hand-selected to fit into our curated assortment of designer gowns. Additionally, all gowns are vetted, inspected and authenticated prior to being listed on our website. Shopping secondhand wedding gowns from Loved Twice Bridal comes with plenty of advantages, but most importantly peace of mind.
Virtual buying appointments allow our styling team to showcase our items prior to committing to the gown. We take this time to discuss measurements and offer styling suggestions just like at a traditional boutique. For $60, our try at home program allows you 3 days to confirm your choice so you can make an informed decision and have the special moment of saying ‘yes’ to the dress! Perhaps your dream wedding gown recently sold on Loved Twice Bridal and you think you may have found one on another resale platform. Loved Twice Bridal offers a secondhand consulting service to professionally guide you in the right decision. During these consultations, we will confirm your measurements and vet the potential gown from a professional’s perspective. While we can’t guarantee the condition or offer our opinion on authenticity, we will provide you with the stamp of approval as far as sizing. Loved Twice Bridal aims to make shopping secondhand wedding gowns an option for every bride, regardless of budget or views on sustainability. By professionally guiding you, we hope you make the more sustainable choice and do your part in promoting sustainability in the bridal industry.
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