Frequently Asked Questions

 

 
 
 

Booking an Appointment

  • If you would like to try on wedding dresses, we ask that you make an appointment so that we have one of our talented stylists available to work with you and so that we can make sure we have a fitting room open for you. Bridal gown appointments require a total of 1 ½ hours for you try on dresses and place your order. That means we have a certain number of time slots available on our busiest days of the week and book the calendar in a way that maximizes the number of brides we can accommodate. We feel we do our best work and give you the best experience when we have time to plan, so we ask that you make an appointment by calling us at 203-309-5110 or by clicking here.

  • We do not charge you a fee to try on bridal gowns. We do offer an upgraded appointment tier where you are given exclusive use of the boutique for you and your crew, along with extras that make the appointment even more special. Those private appointments do have a fee associated with them, and the details can be found here.

  • You may invite up to 3-4 people. Alternatively, you can book one of our special appointments, which includes nibbles, champagne and swag bag.

  • We require a credit card number to reserve your appointment time slot, but it is not charged unless you cancel less than 24 hours prior to your appointment. If you cancel less than 24 hours before your appointment or do not show, your credit card will be charged $100. The reason for this cancellation fee is that the prep work associated with a bridal gown appointment to make it special for you requires at least 24 hours, and we are unable to fill that slot if you cancel less than 24 hours before.

    • Bridal Gown Appointment: 1.5 Hour in length.

    • Accessories Appointment: 1 Hour in length

    • Little White Dress Appointment: 1 Hour in length

    • Mother of the Occasion / Eveningwear Appointment: 1.5 Hour in length.

    • Bridesmaids Appointment: 1.5 Hour in length.

    • Tuxedo/ Suit Appointment: 1.5 Hour in length

  • Typically with in an hour and a half appointment, you will have the opportunity to try on approximately 8-10 gowns.

  • Yes!! We love helping to make the gown shopping experience extra special. Click here for details of the different tiers we offer. Please note, these require extra planning, so we ask that you give us as much advance notice as possible!

  • Time is always your friend when planning a wedding! Bridal gowns typically take 6-8 months to produce and you will need 2-3 months for alterations. So, in a perfect world, we would like you to shop for and purchase your bridal gown about one year before your wedding. However, we realize this timeline isn’t doable for everyone, some of our designers are able to produce gowns quickly when necessary, and some of our designers average closer to a 2-3 month production time. That means you can rest easy when you come to us – we work with all timelines and will celebrate you no matter are how close or far away your wedding is! Also, we have a collection of gowns available for purchase that can be taken with you that day, meaning there is no wait for your gown to come in.

 

 
 

Appointment Prep

  • We carefully pair our brides with a member from our styling team, you will get the chance to connect with your stylist via phone the week of your appointment. Your stylist will go over wedding details, who’s coming with you, and help to brainstorm some bridal looks that you may like even before stepping foot in the door. We want you to feel like your visiting friends when you come to ALSW and we find the personal touch beforehand helps to do so. We can’t wait to meet you!

  • We want you to feel comfortable, the only item that is a must is any type of underwear, this is for sanitary reasons. A nude seamless undergarment works best and helps with envisioning the end result. Most gowns have a decent amount of boning to them, so most times a bra is not needed. If you feel more comfortable with a strapless/sticky bra or even a nipple cover bring those. A stylist will be with you in the fitting room so if you prefer to have coverage, a thin Spanx or shapewear is helpful.

  • YES! That’s what is so special about our store, we feel it’s important to walk around, touch & feel the gowns. This is a step we feel is important in finding the perfect gown.

  • We LOVE seeing inspiration photos and what gowns make your heart flutter. This is the time for your Pinterest boards, Instagram and TikTok videos you’ve had saved for all these months to be shown. Helpful Hint: If you can pin point what it is you love about the looks, that will be helpful for your stylist.

  • Keep in mind that your budget may shift as you begin your gown shopping and have a better feel for what you’re liking. See our “Creating a budget” tips below!

  • We want our brides to feel beautiful when shopping for their wedding dress. We do ask that you do not wear self tanner or body make up to your appointment as it can leave residue on the gowns. That being said we do suggest either a clean or light face of make up if that’s how you feel your best, we also recommend bringing a hair tie/clip with you incase you want to put your hair up at any point.

  • Bring up to 4 people who are a positive force in your life and ready to celebrate you. Keep in mind too many opinions can become overwhelming so staying under 4 guests is helpful. As more than 50% of our brides say yes on the first visit, we strongly suggest bringing the people who mean the most to you. If someone can’t be present be sure they’re near their phone for a quick video call or to review photos.

    (For the safety we do recommend to bring no children under the age of 5 years old as most items in store can be both fragile or sharp such as pins etc. )

  • We ask that you do not bring outside food or drink, yet looking to offer lite nibbles for your guests, take a look at our appointment tiers here.

  • A trunk show is an event at the boutique where we feature a specific designer’s collection for one weekend (sometimes two if we’re lucky!) For these shows, we pay our designers a fee for the exclusive one-weekend use of the most recent gown collection + previous best sellers. In exchange, our designers sometimes offer incentives for you to purchase during the weekend, such as a free customization or designer sketch. In certain instances, the designer himself or herself is present to work one-on-one with brides. It’s always so exciting to see a bride say “yes” to her gown with the designer next to her!

 

 
 

Creating a Budget

  • We have two different types of wedding dress collections at A Little Something White: special order gowns and a limited variety of off-the-rack gowns.

    Special Order: With a special order bridal gown, you will try on a sample of the gown in the boutique, and then we place an order for that gown from the designer in the size and color of your choice. With this type of order, you may also be able to make certain changes to the gown, or customizations, since the gown is being made for you. Gowns from this collection may be priced anywhere from $2,400-$14,000, with the bulk of our gowns falling in the $2,500-$6,500 range.

    Off-the-rack: With an off the rack bridal gown, the gown you try on in the store is the exact gown you will be purchasing, and you will take it with you on the day of purchase.

    Keep in mind the additional cost of accessories and alterations.

  • We have two different types of eveningwear dress collections at A Little Something White: special order gowns and a variety of off-the-rack gowns. Our entire collection ranges from $380 - $7,000, depending on how you shop our store of course. See our collection here with a break down of each designers range.

    Special Order: With a special order evening gown, you will try on a sample of the gown in the boutique, and then we place an order for that gown from the designer in the size and color of your choice. With this type of order, you may also be able to make certain changes to the gown, or customizations, since the gown is being made for you. Gowns from this collection may be priced anywhere from $2,000-$7,000.

    Off-the-rack: With an off the rack evening gown, the gown you try on in the store is the exact gown you will be purchasing, and you will take it with you on the day of purchase. This collection can range anywhere from $400-$5,000

  • See our “Offerings” tab, where you can see the price ranges for each designer within the collection youre shopping. Ie Bridal Gowns, Bridesmaids, Mother of/Eveningwear, Accessories & Bachelorette/Little White Dresses

    • VEILS: Our collection of veils are made from the finest materials, and depending on what you fall in love with can range from $300- $3,000.

    • JEWELRY: We have two collections in house. You can shop our new pieces which range from $68-$298 or looking for something with a little history? Shop our Vintage collection ranging from 1920s-1970, these pieces were designed to stand the test of time, created from the major fashion houses like Dior & Van Cleef. Wearing one of these is like wearing a piece of history! Price ranges from $225-$1,800

    • HAIRPIECES: Our collection can work for all hair styles & types from sleek and simple to that touch glamour. Price ranges from $78- $200

  • As of January 2025 we will no longer perform on-site alterations. That being said we have an extensive list of seamstress across the country who work on bridal gowns, eveningwear, bridesmaids dresses and suits. Just like any other vendor you hire for your wedding day, we do recommend calling them for availability and pricing.

  • The individual seamstresses determine their availability, pricing, and lead times and we do not have transparency or influence on those factors. We suggest reaching out to them as soon as possible to ensure you’re able to be seen and that you feel comfortable working along side them. Keep in mind a seamstress is just like any other vendor, you want to make sure you chat with them prior to setting up an appointment.

 

 
 

After your Appointment

  • Once your gown passes through our QC process, our team will be reaching out to you to let you know your gown has arrived. From there we will set up a “Gown Reveal” Appointment where you get to try your gown on one last time with your stylist. This is the perfect time to shop accessories, have a loose understanding of what will be done in alterations & more. Typically your gown arrives approximately 3 months prior your wedding. This leaves plenty of time for alterations. Once this appointment is complete you will have the choice to hand carry the gown home or ship to a location of your choice (Price may vary on shipping location)

    Please Note: Do not wear make up, and refrain from any body lotions, glitter or self tanner as all of these can leave a residue on your gown.

  • As of January 2025 we no longer perform on-site alterations. That being said we have an extensive list of seamstress across the country that we will provide you with. These seamstresses work on bridal gowns, eveningwear, bridesmaids dresses and suits (Their specialty will be indicated). Just like any other vendor you hire for your wedding day, we do recommend calling them for availability and pricing.

  • Your stylist will provide her contact info with you, you can book directly with her via her contact info or call us at 203.309.5110 or via the website. Be sure to let us know you’ve previously shopped with us!

 
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