What to know before saying ‘yes’ to an online wedding dress

Carol Hickins’ wedding dress arrived at her office “in a plastic bag inside a brown cardboard box,” she says. The packaging was a “letdown,” she says, but the dress was not. She loved the gown she bought from the Ann Taylor website.

That was in 2013, and Ann Taylor has since stopped selling wedding dresses. But Anthropologie’s bridal line BHLDN has stuck around since launching in 2011, and many other retailers have joined the online market. Now, brides can buy gowns online from designers like Nicole Miller, luxury stores like Moda Operandi or from a home try-on site like Floravere. They can even browse wedding dresses while buying jeans — H&M, ModCloth and ASOS have bridal lines.

Less emotion — and less guidance

No matter the site, adding a dress to a virtual cart doesn’t pack the same emotional punch as buying one in person — and that can lead to a more clearheaded purchase, says Meg Keene, founder and editor-inchief of A Practical Wedding, a website for what it calls laidback, feminist weddings.

You won’t be making that significant financial decision as you cry, your mother gushes and a beaming salesperson slides a veil into your hair. “You’ll be at home and be able to calmly weigh your options,” Keene says.

But shopping online for a wedding dress is a “more selfguided experience,” says Shelley Brown, fashion and beauty editor at The Knot website, which

BEBETO MATTHEWS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Bridal fashion from the Amsale collection is modeled during Bridal Fashion Week in New York. Buying a wedding dress online is a much different experience than doing so in a store. Shopping online can help brides make more clearheaded and less...