Help your guests out by sharing this important information with them in a polite and acceptable manner. You can share all of the following information on your registry page:
Note of appreciation and explanation of registries
Colors and Patterns
Store Names with link to your online registry at that store
A good friend of mine recently shared a story with me about her experience with trying to get her wedding dress preserved. I definitely think her story is worth sharing and something that we can all benefit from knowing.
Mandi knew that she wanted to protect her wedding gown in the years to come by having it preserved. She was not particularly thrilled, however, when she talked to her local dry cleaner about the costs and what was involved. Plus, the store personnel was rude to her!
This is not what any of us needs. So, here is what Mandi did. She called around. It was that simple. She called many different cleaners in her area and was pleasantly surprised by what she found.
One of the stores in her area was extremely pleasant to her, explained the process of how her dress would be cleaned, told her that repairs to her dress were included in the price, that they did this all in-house, and offered to place her wedding gown in a box or a garment bag - whichever she preferred. There was just one problem......they were slightly more expensive than some of the other stores she called.
But, the other stores were going to send her gown away to be cleaned, did not do repairs, were not friendly or even helpful to her, and they did not give her the choice of a box or a bag. So, I think we can guess, even at this point, what Mandi was likely to do. Pay the higher price!
But she did not stop there....oh no! She called back to the friendly, helpful, pleasant store and told them that another shop was charging less than they were. They told her that they would honor the other store's price! Mandi is getting her dress cleaned, repaired, and preserved for just $150 at a store that she now trusts.
Now, before you decide that $150 is pretty expensive you should probably know that it is not that bad. In fact, I have seen prices as high as $700, just to get your wedding gown cleaned, put in a fancy box, and there it stays for the rest of your life! There is, of course, more than that involved (especially according to these companies), but come on - $700?!?! That is probably more than you wanted to pay for your wedding gown!
The moral of this story? Know exactly what you want and go for it. Mandi knew that she wanted her wedding gown to be preserved by a trustworthy store that cleaned and repaired her gown without sending it away. When she found everything she wanted, except for the price, she even forged ahead by going for that, too.
I think that Mandi is an inspiration to all Cost-Effective Brides everywhere and that we can learn from her terrific research and bargaining skills. Way to go Mandi!
(If you have stories that you would like to share in the Cost-Effective Bride, please send them to kelly@bwedd.com)