A Day in the Life of a Bridal Consultant

I have worked in bridal since I was fifteen years old. I started as a runner, which means I put dresses away and cleaned up the store. I loved it! I loved looking at the gowns every Saturday and getting to know the inventory. A year or so after that I became a consultant. I was really nervous. It’s very nerve-wracking as a sixteen-year-old to assist women much older than you in finding a dress that costs thousands of dollars. I quickly got used to it, though, and became confident in my abilities as a bridal consultant.

Bridal consultants are always running around trying to please the bride as much as they can. It may not seem like a stressful job at first glance, but knowing that someone is trusting you so much as to pay thousands of dollars for a dress that you helped pick out is very stressful. Because we know how difficult it is to trust a stranger, especially when that stranger is a salesperson, consultants are always striving to be as genuine as possible. We won’t lie to you if one of the gowns you try on isn’t the gown for you. We will also be honest if we love a gown that you aren’t so crazy about.

Consultants are also always trying to get brides to step out of their comfort zones. Plenty of brides come in thinking they want a certain look or silhouette. However, more often than not, brides walk out of the store having purchased a gown that is the opposite style than the gown they originally wanted. We want you to look and feel your best, whether that’s in the dress you imagined before the appointment or not.

My favorite memory as a bridal consultant was at my first store. A bride called the store crying because the hotel sprinkler went off and ruined her wedding gown just hours before the wedding. The owner told her to come to the store right away and we would all focus on finding her a new dress and getting it altered before the wedding. That’s just what we did. We spent the rest of the day finding her another dress that she loved and making sure she was happy (luckily we didn’t have very many appointments that day). It was great seeing everyone come together to make one bride’s wedding day perfect. The bride was very grateful, and we were so happy to have helped her.

Although being a bridal consultant can be stressful, it is also rewarding. We get to spend our days making people smile. There’s nothing better than that. So, when you go shopping for your perfect gown, just remember that your consultant is being genuine and wants you to look and feel your best.