This is a question that many brides don’t seem to know the answer to.  Just today a bride came into the store hoping to find her dream gown, but she has less than 6 weeks until the wedding date.  Here are a few suggestions on time lines to help you know when to shop for what.

The gown:

12 months prior:  Start looking for your dream gown - try different styles and hone in on what suits you best

9 months prior: Order your gown.  Generally speaking a 9 month window will allow you to order your gown from most designers and still give you plenty of time for the seamstress and bridal portraits, which are typically taken 3 months before the wedding.

5 months prior:  Your gown is in and you go for your 1st fitting.  Select shoes, proper undergarments, and a veil/ head piece, if you haven’t already.

3 months prior:  Bridal portraits in your fitted gown

1 month prior: Any final fittings that may be needed

Last minute: Touch up steaming

1 week after:  Have your wedding gown professional preserved to remove spots and stains.  (Remeber, sugar stains will not appear until time and heat have cooked it into your gown.  Sugar stains look like battery acid and can be removed after they have set, however be aware that different fabrics will react differently.  The best way to avoid sugar staining is to have the gown preserved after the wedding).

OK, I just heard about a promo that Belle’s Photography is running until August.  It is for brides who book a wedding photography package with them.  I don’t have all the details, so you are best talking with Mike over there.

What do ya get? A FREE resort stay for a whole freaking week at a posh resort!  It’s for 7 days and 6 nights and Belle’s Photography has paid all the resort accommodation fees for you, except tax.  The resort stay is valued at $2500!  The resorts are owned by RCI, the worlds largest resort timeshare owners, so you know it’s good.

Sound too good to be true?  Yeah, I thought maybe, so I looked into it.  Apparently RCI has over 330,000 weeks each year where their rooms are left empty.  That is how Belle’s Photography was able to arrange such a sweet deal for you.  If you tried to just call up and book - $2500.  If you do it via Belle’s Photography you only pay tax!  Which is around $250.  How sweet a deal is that?!?!

Shoot, I should go buy a wedding photography package.  I hear you can go to lots of places in the US - like the Poconos (romantic), but honey, I would so be going to Barcelona or some sweet European city!  I’m getting all excited just thinking about it.

Anyway, I talked to Mike the other day and he told me about this promo.  It starts TODAY, July 16th and ends on August 1st.  All you need to do to get the resort stay is put down your deposit on a wedding package.  Belle’s Photography packages start around $1750 and they travel all over the place, so if you aren’t in Abilene, don’t worry.  Call them anyway.

BTW - in case you didn’t know, Belle’s Photography shoots all the photos that are in our store and all of our ad pieces.  If you are a bride - you HAVE to look at them.  They have AWESOME stuff!

Here is their contact info:

Belle’s Photography - see their stuff @ www.BellesPhotography.com

Phone: (325)201-7458

Our bridal gown sample sale is going on until July 17th, 2008!

(Ummm, what’s a sample sale?  OK, no problem.  A sample sale is how bridal boutiques move out their bridal gown samples.  They may do it for several reasons, including discontinued gowns, making room for new stock, dropping certain lines, etc.  Either way, it means you get the gown that is IN THE STORE at a fraction of retail price.  A very cool way to save some cash and get a gown that you may not have been able to afford other wise.)

Belle’s Bridal Boutique has all our designers, even couture lines, marked down up to 80% off!  No joking!  Our appointments tend to book about 2-3 weeks ahead of time, but there are still a few slots during this sale that are still open!  Wahoo!  Save money!  Have fun!  Find your perfect wedding gown at Belle’s Bridal Boutique.

And yep, we are doing private appointments, even during the sample sale.  Why schlep it?  Just because it’s a sample sale doesn’t mean we have to take away the pampering.  Belle’s brides LOVE coming into a quiet boutique where they are the only bride in the store.  Oh la la.  Celebrity-like shopping without all the fame.  Private appointments - just another thing to love about Belle’s Bridal Boutique.

Hurry up and call for your appointment now!  (325) 673-0033.

So, I’m the owner at Belle’s Bridal Boutique in Abilene, Texas. If you bought your gown from us, odds are you’ve seen me. I’m always there. It’s a fun job to have and it requires we know everything there is to know about weddings - not just wedding gowns. Yep - holy cow! We know about wedding gowns too.  We know which styles cinch that waistline, add curves in just the right places, and make you look like a million bucks (without paying a million bucks). Yeah, we know about all that.

That alone is something worth doing. For those of you that watch What Not to Wear one of the things they talk about is what styles you should be wearing that most flatter your figure. It goes way beyond make sure your blouse has a couple of darts. Well, we know that part so you don’t have to. We put brides into gowns that flatter their figure AND have the dreamy qualities they always wanted in their wedding gown. That part is fun.

But it’s not enough. I mean, wouldn’t it be great if your bridal consultant knew what the wedding day looked like? If she actually had been to more than 2 weddings in her lifetime? Yep. I’d be thinking yeah, that’d be good.

There are SO many questions that come up that affect your gown. The little stuff, like dancing, to the big stuff like sweating. Yeah, I said it. Wedding gowns are hot. You’re gonna sweat. But did you know that your fabric choice affects how hot you get? We may have a satin gown that you totally LOVE, but you’ll melt in. Knowing about the wedding day, and what to ask the bride makes a BIG difference. So, you found your dream gown at Belle’s and it’s satin and you’ll pass out from the heat.

Well, now that you know you’ll be sweating like a pig, what can we do about it? Silk anyone? Ordering your gown in an alternative fabric, like silk satin rather than your normal poly blend will help keep you cool.

This blog will be littered with wedding day tips, bridal gown trends, and all sorts of wedding stuff to help your wedding be totally awesome! And of course - Belle’s Bridal Boutique will announce their sample sales on here. Sample sales are a fantastic way to get a designer gown at a fraction of the price. You get the sample in the store, and it goes home with you that day, with big time savings too.