Frequently Asked Questions

 

• SHOULD I MAKE AN APPOINTMENT BEFORE I COME TO LOOK AT WEDDING GOWNS?

We do not require an appointment except on Saturdays, however, appointments are always given preference and we do highly recommend them due to our store being closed-concept. Self-service is not available or permitted, so we will require you to wait until a stylist is free to work with you. Every future bride is assigned a personal stylist that will wait on her one on one.

 

• HOW MUCH TIME SHOULD I SCHEDULE FOR MY APPOINTMENT?

We always set aside an hour and a half for our bridal appointments. Any longer, and our future bride may get confused or too tired to think about which gown is her favorite. Plan for extra time, though, as most brides do find their dress on their first visit - and you will need time to celebrate with photos!! 

 

• HOW MANY PEOPLE SHOULD I BRING WITH ME?

Since we are a small, boutique style salon, our bridal area does not have much room. We ask that you bring no more than three people with you to pick out your gown. We suggest that the person who will be ultimately paying for the gown be in attendance, so that if you find your gown it can be paid for immediately. Pick a few people who love you to come and your experience will be a lot more enjoyable and you will have a better chance of being successful in your quest. Its great to have one or two people who are close to you to give you honest opinions but bringing too many people to “poll the audience” is a recipe for disaster that may make you miss out on your perfect gown. In the end the only opinion that truly counts when picking a wedding gown is YOURS!

 

• WHEN SHOULD I START TO SHOP FOR MY WEDDING GOWN?

We recommend that a bride orders her gown no later than 9 months before her wedding, and has her venue and date scheduled prior to shopping. Gowns take an average of 6 to 8 months to arrive, and we want to make sure you give yourself adequate time for alterations.

 

• HOW MUCH DO YOUR GOWNS COST?

We have a wide range of prices. Most of our custom order gowns are between $850-1700. We also have plenty of gowns on our value rack at discounted prices under $1100. We HIGHLY recommend that you come with a budget planned, and ready to purchase the gown of your dreams when you find it at your appointment; we would never want you to have to walk away from your favorite!

 

• WHAT IF I FIND THE GOWN OF MY DREAMS AND I'M NOT READY TO BUY IT YET? (I'm not ready financially or I want my mom to see it.) CAN YOU HOLD THE GOWN FOR ME?

Sorry, we can't. Aliber’s Bridal has only one of each gown on our racks. If we held a gown we may be depriving someone from buying, that saw and loved that same gown a day before you. That is why we suggest that before you set an appointment you ask yourself, “If I found the wedding gown of my dreams in my budget can I buy it today?” It’s best to be ready at Aliber's Bridal by bringing your mom or whoever you want with you so if you're that lucky to find the perfect dress you won't have to leave it behind. We do offer payment plans for gowns purchased off the rack or special ordered in your size and preferred color with 50% down and 3 monthly payments with our financing plan (this does incur some additional charges)

 

• WHAT FORMS OF PAYMENT DO YOU ACCEPT?

We accept cash, personal check, VISA/MASTERCARD/DISCOVER/AMEX, and money orders. We do not accept personal checks as a final payment when taking merchandise out of the store. 

 

• DOES ALIBER'S BRIDAL DO ALTERATIONS ON SITE?

Yes, but they are limited currently. Aliber’s has a seamstress on staff with years of experience working with the gowns we sell. Your gown will never leave our store without our permission, and only then to be cleaned or have special attention given to it. We are not currently offering alterations on anything that was purchased elsewhere. 

 

• DO YOU CARRY SPECIALTY WEDDING GOWNS?

We carry a wide selection of destination bridal gowns, curvy bridal gowns, and gowns that will work very well for a pregnant bride. We work very hard to make your experience a special one, no matter what your circumstance is.

 

• SHOULD I SHOP FOR MY WEDDING GOWN AND BRIDESMAID DRESSES ON THE SAME DAY?

Don't try to do too much in one day. We suggest you not try to shop for bridesmaids and a wedding gown all in the same day. Finding that perfect gown can be harder, more time consuming, and more mentally exhausting than you think. We suggest you focus on your wedding gown first. We will gladly make an appointment to work with your bridesmaids at a later date.

 

• SHOULD I PURCHASE MY BRIDAL GOWN ON THE INTERNET?

While shopping over the internet is easy, convenient, and can sometimes save you money, you should NEVER buy a wedding gown over the internet. The internet is filled with discounters who claim to have the "real thing", but are nothing more than cheap knockoffs of designer dresses. The dresses can arrive in a brown box inside out, wrinkled, and are usually incredibly poor quality. It is not unheard of for the dress to be sewn together incorrectly and/or beads glued on instead of sewn on and it falling apart on you. Not what you might have imagined for the dress of the most important day of your life. Be sure to look at www.bridalbeware.com

 

• ARE ALL SALES FINAL?

Yes they are. Once a dress, veil, shoes, jewelry, and head piece have been ordered, they cannot be cancelled and no money will be refunded. In some rare cases, when a gown has been purchased off our racks, we are willing to exchange the gown for a different one from our racks as long as it has never left our store. 

 

• SHOULD I GET A SITTER FOR THE KIDS? 

While we love children, we strongly advise you not bring children to a bridal store. Your wedding gown choice is one of the most important you will make for your wedding. For the rest of your married life you will be looking at pictures of yourself in that special gown. When shopping for that gown you need to be able to focus and concentrate without distractions. A bridal salon is not a fun place for kids and they will get bored very quickly and totally distract you from this important mission. A bridal salon is also NOT a safe place for children due to loose pins and other hazards. Crying babies also distract other future brides on this important day and we will ask that crying babies be taken outside.

 

• CAN I GET A CATALOG OF THE WEDDING GOWNS YOU CARRY?

Sorry, it's impossible for Aliber's Bridal to publish a catalog. This is because our styles and the wedding gowns we have available change on such a regular basis, and we carry multiple styles from different designers but can’t carry everything that designer offers. We do have pictures on our Pinterest that you can browse, and we can tell you if we have a particular style in stock for you to see in person. We also offer a borrow program through our designers, so that if we don’t have a style you’d like to see we can have it in our store for about a week. In that case, a nominal shipping fee would be charged.

 

• ONE OF MY BRIDESMAIDS LIVES OUT OF TOWN, SHOULD SHE STILL BUY THROUGH YOU?

We always suggest that your bridesmaids order from one store. That way, all the dresses are ordered at the same time and from the same dye lot. We can take measurements and an order from your bridesmaid over the phone, and take care of any out of town payments via PayPal or credit card. 

 

• ARE THERE ANY DISCOUNTS IF MULTIPLE ITEMS ARE PURCHASED THROUGH YOUR STORE?

Aliber’s Bridal offers many incentives for purchasing at our store. Please ask an associate to list our bridal package incentives for you!

 

• I HAVE A WEDDING GOWN I'D LIKE TO SELL, WILL YOU BUY IT FROM ME? 

We will not. The brides that we work with are looking to purchase a brand-new wedding gown. Pre-owned wedding gowns are another market. We suggest you take it to a consignment shop, or donate to Jessica's Closet or the Salvation Army. There are also websites such as Tradesy, Oncewed, RecycledBride, StillWhite, PreOwnedWeddingDresses, or eBay. Do not expect to sell your wedding gown for any more than 50% of your buying price. You can also donate your gown to any of the angel charities that create baptism gowns for stillborn babies (they can create up to five from your gown!) - we recommend Sheri Parker at (717) 693-3808. If all else fails, there are plenty of local theater companies that would be more than happy to have your gown in their costume collection!