How to Buy a Wedding Dress Online in 2024

Discovering one-of-a-kind designer wedding dresses online has become increasingly popular, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. With many top wedding dress designers and sought-after collections available for browsing and purchase online, brides now have a simplified way to find their dream wedding dress.

Selecting a wedding dress that truly reflects your individuality can be a challenge, especially if you desire a gown that will captivate everyone's attention. Your wedding day is the one occasion where you deserve to wear a dress as extraordinary as you are, and finding your unique wedding dress has never been easier with the myriad of online wedding dress shops stocking gorgeous, iconic wedding gowns from both local and renowned international designers.

If shopping for such a special garment online leaves you feeling worried or stressed, this quick guide will not only help you buy your wedding dress via an online store, but will also relieve your fears by letting you in on all the industry secrets for ensuring that your gown not only fits your body in the most flattering ways but represents your unique style and taste.

Finding Your Perfect Fit

When bridal boutiques were exclusively selling dresses offline, brides were able to feel and fit the dress, so naturally, when shopping from the best places to buy wedding dresses online, brides have to be extra savvy and know exactly how to find the perfect dress for them.

The general rule when browsing the web for your wedding gown is simply this: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If a shop is offering an unbelievably discounted price for its higher-end advertised gowns, then the deal you are looking at is just that, unbelievable. Before you are disappointed, do a little research about the bridal boutique. You are bound to find reviews of their dresses online, and if you can’t find anything, give the boutique a skip - at least you won’t have your heart broken. 

Having a look at the finer print is also an important factor to consider before you commit to purchasing your wedding dress. Such policies should outline the company’s return policy, the shipping costs, and the date that your dress will be delivered. The delivery date is exceptionally important, as you will want to have more than enough time to alter the dress, should it need changes.

If you are buying exclusively online and not visiting the boutique at all, then you will want to get as many photos of the dress as possible. Most websites simply have one or two images, in which case you should always request more. Having multiple images of the dress will not only help you to determine if the dress is the one you want, but it will also help you figure out if the size is right.

Speaking of dress sizes, not all size guides are universal. Instead of going by the basic sizes, you should measure your waist, your hips, and your bust, and use those exact measurements when ordering your dress.

Don’t be shy about asking the online bridal store plenty of questions about the sizes and should you receive a dress that doesn’t fit perfectly, then make sure that the return policy allows you to return the dress without having to worry about incurring additional costs. While you should expect that the dress will need some alterations, receiving a dress that requires major work will set you back both time-wise and financially.

Ideally, the online bridal boutique should serve as “window shopping”, and once you have found the gown of your dreams, you should book an appointment at the boutique to see the dress in person and to try it on.

Our 5 Favorite Online Wedding Boutiques

Now that you know exactly how to buy a wedding dress online, we’re going to share a couple of bridal gown businesses that are worth having a look at, should you not find your perfect gown with us.Along with selling a range of stunning wedding dresses online, we also support our fellow bridal boutiques and we’d like to give a shout-out to these incredible establishments who’ve made buying a wedding dress online so easy.

Something Blue

Based in the beautiful Seattle-Tacoma Area, Something Blue not only sells a spectacular and diverse selection of wedding gowns but they also have resources that brides can use to make the buying process that little bit easier. Something Blue stocks dresses for every budget, every size, and every bride, and they have a pretty fantastic sale section where brides can get their hands on their unique wedding dress at a fraction of the original price. Some of the gorgeous designers they carry include Essense of Australia, Joelle Olivia Bridal, and Moonlight Bridal.

Lovely Bride

They say they are the coolest bridal shop, and by being both exclusive and inclusive, we absolutely agree that they meet all the cool criteria. Lovely Bride stocks highly sought-after gowns by designers like Sarah Seven, Made With Love, Alexandra Grecco, and Rue De Seine, with each dress being ultra-modern and available online. Lovely Bride has refined the online selling process, and since 2010 they have been dressing both American and UK brides.

Marina Morrison

For those brides with classic or even vintage tastes, Marina Morrison stocks a beautiful selection of gowns in their online store. Their dresses are from some of the world’s best designers such as Mira Zwillinger, Mark Ingram, Sara Gabriel, and Sophie et Voila, and the boutique ships globally. Marina Morrison also hosts special events throughout the year.

Lace + Liberty

Lace + Liberty is truly revolutionizing the wedding dress world by including an AI design studio on its online boutique store. Brides can use this feature to design their dream gown, which the boutique then custom makes. The business is being touted as the future of design, but it also has ready-to-buy collections from Sonoma, Soleil, and Taala. Like Wildbride, Lace + Liberty is based in San Francisco.

Jinwang

Selling a collection of gowns, personally curated by Jinwang, this online bridal boutique stocks dresses by legendary designers including Costarellos, Dana Harel, Elie Saab, Giambattista Valli, Katherine Tash, Lela Rose, Le Spose Di Gio, Liz Martinez, Naeem Khan, Peter Langner, and Vivienne Westwood. The boutique also offers a tailoring service, just for its bridal customers, and they host Trunkshows throughout the year.

At WildBride, we are more than an online store. We want every bride to feel like their true, authentic self on their wedding day, and our stunning selection of unique wedding dresses is just perfect for the bride with distinctive taste. You can shop our range of exquisite wedding dresses through our online store or you can contact us/book online to make an appointment to visit our San Francisco boutique where you can personally view our beautiful wedding dresses.