Dress appointments - who and how many people to invite?

Are you asking about shopping for dresses, or alterations appointments?

For the dress I originally bought, I brought 4 people with me when I was dress shopping: my MOH, 2 bridesmaids, and my mom. Since we postponed our wedding due to COVID, I decided that I didn't love my dress and wanted to find a different one. This time, I've been shopping alone. If you bring too many people with, it can be overwhelming to listen to everyone's thoughts (especially if they're all different), and your voice might get lost in all the opinions. I recommend bringing 1-3 people with for dress shopping.

For alterations appointments, I would maybe bring 1 other person (if anyone).

View Quoted Comment Okay awesome! I have to really think about who to bring

I shopped alone and didn't get any alterations, so, zero.

For dress shopping, I went by myself the first time because it was right when Covid hit and all my family is out of state. I went back again to try on a dress again and I had my friend come with.


For fittings, I had that same friend/bridesmaid come with me and had the best time! It turned out to be one of my favorite parts of wedding planning. I truly think less is better, if not there are too many opinions.

I brought only my mom. I didn’t want too many other peoples’ opinions clouding (or worse, overriding or second guessing!) my own

I only brought two- FMIL and FSIL. Be sure to check with the salon though, due to covid many now have a cap on how many people you can bring.

I took my mom, her bestie (we call her my fairy godmother), my MOH, and one of my bridesmaids. My FSIL and FMIL live 8 hours away, so we Facetimed FSIL during the appointment. I was allowed to have up to 5 guests at this particular salon - but another allowed up to 4 guests. So like Melinda said, make sure you check with your salon!

My mom has always picked out the best dresses for me, so she was a necessity. My MOH is a built in hype woman, so I needed her positive energy. The other bridesmaid I brought is a crier so I knew she would help me know which one was the one 😂 It ended up being the perfect size group and I could even have gone up or down one guest, but I think too much bigger would have gotten overwhelming for me.

I would also recommend reading through the reviews of the salon you're visiting - all the consultants at my salon were reviewed to be honest hype women who would never let you try on something out of your budget or buy a dress you don't love so I knew I could bring a slightly bigger group and not have my opinion get lost.

Regardless of who you bring: When you walk out in each dress, only look at yourself in the mirror for 30 seconds then turn and look at the reactions of everyone you brought with you. That will help you gauge your love of the dress without being impacted by the look your mom gives it or something 😅 That also gives them the ability to see your reaction to the dress before they say anything!

Just my mom and bridesmaid and it worked out great for me. I didn’t want too many opinions or deal with coordinating a time to match everyone’s schedule.

View Quoted Comment This is a very good point and is what I am currently doing trying to see when everyone is free but luckily I am only limited to 4 people so it is almost thanksgiving so I am probably going to shoot for beginning of December or even this weekend

I invited the moms for my first appointment to find a dress which I did find the one. My girls weren't able to make it due to their different schedules. So, I made another appointment later on and they got to experience it again with me. There were 4 of them. They didn't know I had already chosen it until we were done and it was a surprise

You can invite whoever you would like! I just would suggest to keep it small if anything so it doesn't seem overwhelming. Oh, and certain stores or boutiques may have a limit depending on where you go. So make sure to check before you make the appointment.

4 came to the first dress shop & 6 came to the second where I actually found my dress!

My mom and sister and then we FaceTimed my other sister who was out of state! It was perfect.

I’m only taking my mom. You have to consider how many opinions you actually want to have there with you. Everyone will have their opinion and you’re not always gonna like it. Imagine finding the one and half the people you brought don’t love the dress as much as you do. That’s my fear lol.

I went to two stores with my mom and either my sister or friend, but to most stores I went by myself. Totally fine! I worked in a bridal shop after my wedding for a few months, 2-4 guests were generally good. Too many guests = way too many opinions.

I generally agree with everyone here, but did want to note that I have heard it is helpful to bring the person who is going to help you on your wedding day to dress fittings so that your seamstress can show that person how to bustle your dress. Our planner has even said that some brides ask her to come with, so she can help out on the wedding day too.

I went alone this time around. When we got married the first time, I didn’t have anything that I wanted. I really liked my dress but wasn’t in love with it and I hated my veil. I was pressured into getting both. This time, I didn’t want the pressure and I wanted to get exactly what I wanted.

I brought two close friends and my fiance's 12 year old daughter.