When Brian and I were planning our wedding years ago, I was a little nervous about shopping for a wedding dress! Aside from the fact that I didn’t think I’d find a dress in my size that I’d love, I wasn’t sure how much the perfect wedding dress would cost! So like most brides, I went online and started Googling! I came across several online shops and lots of beautiful dress designs! Most of them looked very high end but the prices were almost unbelievable! Just imagine a Hayley Paige like design but for $200-$300! I was beyond interested, but it also made me nervous! I was so close to buying a dress online from one of these sites when I came across a dress that I liked on eBay! After a little convincing from my coordinator, I crossed my fingers and purchased the dress off eBay! Horrible decision!

The dress arrived a few days later! It wasn’t anything like the photos that I’d seen online! It was white, but really shiny and had an almost blue tint to it! Nothing like what I had in mind for our wedding day! Granted, it was only $100 so I wasn’t expecting a lot with this purchase! After that, I decided that I’d browse David’s Bridal website one last time before heading into a local dress shop! That was when I came across the dress that I wore on our wedding day! It was on sale ($399), only available online and was only available in a complete size too large, but I decided to give it a try anyway! I’m so glad that I did! And the funny thing is that I had looked at “my dress” several times but didn’t think I liked it! An alteration later and it fit perfectly and I can’t believe that I managed to find my dress online!

If you’re like I was and wondering if you should buy your wedding dress online, I suggest giving it a try if you’re going to buy from a reputable dress shop! My first experience was terrible, but buying online at David’s Bridal was amazing! I believe that if you find a trustworthy place that you can also visit in person, it may not be a bad idea!

Here are a few of our favorite bridal shops between Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina!

Alexia’s Bridal

Winnie Couture – Charlotte

New York Bride and Groom of Raleigh

I’d love to hear where you found your perfect wedding dress! Tell us below!