If you’re a bride-to-be shopping for a wedding dress in Southern California or Los Angeles, one of the most common questions we hear before an appointment is surprisingly simple. What shoes should I wear when trying on wedding dresses? Many brides arrive with bags full of heels, flats, or sneakers, unsure of what they will actually need during a bridal appointment.
At Lovella Bridal, we love answering this question because the answer often relieves a lot of unnecessary stress. Wedding dress shopping is already an emotional experience, and knowing what to expect when it comes to shoes helps you feel more prepared and relaxed.
Lovella Bridal is a top luxury bridal boutique in Glendale and the Los Angeles area, and our bridal stylists guide brides through every detail of the wedding dress shopping experience, including how shoes factor into fittings, proportions, and alterations.
Watch the Video: What Shoes Should I Wear When Trying on Wedding Dresses?
If you prefer to watch instead of read, we are embedding the video in this post. Our Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri, explains exactly why shoes are usually not needed during wedding dress try on appointments and how stylists handle height and proportion instead.
Try Wedding Dresses on Barefoot for Comfort and Safety
When trying on wedding dresses, we recommend that brides go barefoot. Not in socks, not in sneakers, and not in heels. Barefoot allows you to feel the fabric of the wedding dress beneath your feet and gives you the safest experience while walking in gowns that are intentionally very long.
Wedding dresses are designed with extra length so they can be tailored to your height later. Walking in shoes while the dress is unhemmed increases the risk of slipping, even for professionals who wear these dresses all the time. Safety is the priority during your bridal appointment.
Why You Do Not Need to Bring Heels to Your Bridal Appointment
Many brides bring multiple heel options to their wedding dress appointment, thinking they need to try dresses on exactly as they will look on the wedding day. In reality, this is not necessary.
Wedding dresses are far too long during try ons to safely walk in heels. Instead of focusing on shoes, your bridal stylist focuses on helping you understand silhouette, structure, and how the dress moves on your body.
How Pedestals Help You Visualize Wedding Dress Length
At Lovella Bridal, brides stand on a pedestal that is approximately seven inches high. This is done because wedding dresses are intentionally long and would otherwise pool heavily on the floor.
The pedestal helps you visualize proportion, especially if you are petite, but it is not meant to represent your actual height on your wedding day. Very few brides wear seven inch heels, so this view is only a temporary visual tool.
How Bridal Boutiques Handle Heel Height Without Walking in Shoes
To help you understand how a wedding dress will look with your actual shoe height, bridal boutiques typically provide heels in various sizes and heel heights. You will not walk in these shoes.
Instead, your stylist may have you step off the pedestal, stand still in a heel height similar to what you plan to wear, and then assess proportion. This gives you a more realistic view of how the wedding dress will fall once it is hemmed.
Why It Is Important to See the Wedding Dress Tucked and Hemmed
One of the most important steps during a bridal appointment is seeing what the wedding dress will look like when it is hemmed. When a dress is too long and sprawled on the floor, it can create an illusion of extra fullness and drama that will not exist once the dress is tailored.
If your stylist does not automatically do this, you should ask them to tuck the excess fabric and show you the realistic length. This helps prevent disappointment later when the dress is altered to your height.
Wedding Dress Length Is Standard Across Sizes
A common misconception is that ordering a wedding dress in a smaller size will automatically make it shorter. In most cases, wedding dress length is standard across sizes, with only slight variations depending on the designer.
This is especially important for tall brides. If you are tall, you may need to order extra length, and trying on heels during the appointment helps your stylist identify this early.
How Fullness Can Be Added Back During Alterations
Some brides fall in love with how full a wedding dress looks when it is too long and spread out on the floor. Once hemmed, the skirt may fall more straight, which can feel surprising.
In many cases, additional crinoline can be added during alterations to bring back that fullness. This is a conversation your bridal stylist and seamstress will guide you through, since not all fabrics or dress constructions allow for it.
When You Should Bring Shoes to a Bridal Appointment
In most cases, you do not need to bring shoes to your wedding dress appointment. However, if you call the bridal boutique ahead of time and they do not provide shoes for height reference, you may bring one heel in your desired height.
If you do bring shoes, you should only stand still in them. Walking in heels while wearing an unhemmed wedding dress is not safe and is not recommended.
What Shoes Should I Wear When Trying on Wedding Dresses?
When trying on wedding dresses, barefoot is best. Shoes are not needed for walking, and heel height is handled through pedestals, tucking fabric, and standing still in provided shoes for proportion.
Understanding how length and fullness are visualized during a bridal appointment helps set realistic expectations and prevents surprises later in the alterations process.
Wedding Dress Shopping Tips from Lovella Bridal Los Angeles
If this advice helped you feel more prepared for wedding dress shopping, Lovella Bridal shares expert guidance to support brides shopping for a wedding dress in Los Angeles and Southern California. Explore these related posts next:
- Checklist of Items to Bring With You to Your Bridal Dress Try On Appointment
- How Long Should a Bridal Appointment Really Be?
- What to Expect When Wedding Dress Shopping
- What to Wear When Going Wedding Dress Shopping
About Lovella
If you're shopping for your perfect wedding dress, come visit us at Lovella Bridal in Glendale, CA. We carry wedding dresses in all sizes and styles, including plus-size bridal gowns and a full selection of veils and accessories. Lovella Bridal is the premier, luxury bridal wedding dress shopping boutique located in Los Angeles, California. Lovella features couture, feminine, modern and chic bridal gowns in all sizes from the best wedding dress designers. Schedule an appointment to find the wedding dress of your dreams at Lovella Bridal. We can't wait to help you!
Meet Lovella’s Wedding Fashion Expert in Los Angeles
Our wedding dress shopping tips and advice are from Nayri, Lovella's own, in-house wedding fashion expert. Nayri is truly the expert when it comes to bridal fashion and wedding style. As the Wedding Fashion Expert, Nayri is the top bridal fashion stylist and the best-selling author of the book "I'm Getting Married And I Have Nothing To Wear," the ultimate guide to helping brides find their wedding day style and their perfect wedding dress. You can subscribe to her YouTube channel or listen to her podcast for more helpful and practical advice on wedding dress shopping.
