Advice

Is there a store near you that has the dress in stock? If so I would schedule an appointment to go try it on first! Otherwise, I think it's totally up to you: if the cost is low enough to where you wouldn't be upset if you changed your mind later on, you could purchase the dress now if you truly feel that it's the dress! If you do end up buying it now, I recommend that you stop looking at dresses online to help prevent dress regret.

Also, congratulations on your recent engagement!

Do not purchase without trying it and others on first. A dress on a model looks nothing like on a real person because you are not airbrushed.

Also the forum has countless threads of brides who bought the first dress they saw and are now on their 4th or 6th dress and lost thousands of dollars with months to go. Wait until 6-9 months before the wedding to purchase but you can try on now to see what styles you like.

If it is fully refundable upon return, I say go for it.

I got my dress REALLY early, like a year and a half before, and I still love it. I would suggest trying on though before you commit, because sometimes dresses in photos don't fit your vision. But if you love it and it looks the way you want it to, I say go for it!

Congratulations on your engagement. I would see if you can find a store that carries the dress so you can try it on. If you really love it, get it. But, if you do buy a dress this early, don’t look at wedding dresses anymore. That is how dress regret happens 🙃.

I'd definitely wait till close if it was me because I tend to change my mind and find something I like better. I bought my first dress a before covid. I ended up returning it as soon as it came in because I just ended up hating it. I found a different dress that I absolutely love a lot closer to the wedding and I still love it like the day I tried it on. Plus don't buy anything without trying it on. You don't know what you truly want to wear for your wedding until you try on a couple of dress. I always imagined wearing a plain mermaid style dress for my wedding. When I went dress shopping the first time all I tried on was plain mermaid style dresses and later on realized I didn't feel like I looked like a bride. I ended up loving and buying a ballgown with lots of details on it.

Go try it on it can’t hurt. Depending on the designed dresses can take up to 9-12 months to come in. So you really aren’t THAT early. If you love it, I’m sure it won’t hurt to wait a few months to be sure. If it’s not a really old design it most likely won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. You can also wait for a trunk show to get the dress at a discount

When I saw my dress online I knew it was the one. I say order it and if you don’t like it return it. But still schedule appointments at bridal salons.

If I bought the first dress I loved online, I never would've found my actual dress -- which I am obsessed with!

I personally would not commit to a dress I saw online without trying it on, along with other dresses, for the reasons mentioned above: dresses can look very different in-person (for better or worse), and you might be surprised by what styles you didn't necessarily like on the hanger or in pictures, but love on yourself.

Buying a dress early isn't a problem imo if you find "the one" and are relatively consistent with weight. I bought mine about 14 months out; I wasn't planning on it, I just wanted to get a shopping trip in with my mom & sister, but ended up finding my dress right away.

Good luck!

I bought my dress over a year away. I'd say find a store and try it on and if it's the one you will know. If you love it buy it. If u want to wait longer tho and still know it's the one I'm sure a bridal shop can get that dress in.

Definitely try it on first before you commit. My wedding is on 4/3/21 & I bought my dress in June 2020. I went in with my inspiration pics & ideas of what I thought I wanted but totally open to different ideas. I walked out with something totally different!

I would try it on before you commit and definitely wait and try on a few others that way you won't have dress regret later! They say to start looking a year in advance but depending on the shop and how long it takes for the dress to arrive and alteration timelines sometimes you shouldn't buy till 6 months before!

I would recommend picking a venue before buying a dress, only because I've seen a lot of brides reselling dresses they bought early on in their engagement and then they end up picking a venue that doesn't match and wanting a different dress.

I'd also recommend trying on a variety dresses before purchasing any one dress. I ended up getting my dress on StillWhite, and purchased it without ever having tried it on, but I did go dress shopping beforehand and that was really helpful in narrowing down what I did and didn't like. For example, I thought illusion lace sleeves on boho inspired dresses looked really nice in photos, but in real life they were uncomfortable and itchy, made it difficult to lift my arms, and me look matronly, not modelesque. After trying on a bunch of different styles of dress, I felt a lot more comfortable purchasing the dress I had been eying but was hesitant to buy because it couldn't be returned. Fortunately I ended up loving the dress, but I feel like if I had bought it without trying on all those other styles, I would have second guessed myself a lot more and maybe doubted whether it was the right dress for me.

It's kinda like the person you are about to marry likely isn't your first crush or even the first person you ever dated. You likely had several prior relationships before knowing this was the person you wanted to commit the rest of your life to. So even if you think this dress is "the one" it might be helpful to at least have a few others to compare to before making that decision.