Last week, we reported on bridal boutiques around the city offering options for brides continuing to navigate wedding planning during the coronavirus crisis.
Town & Country Bridal on St. Charles Avenue has also added an option for a virtual appointment.
The team at Town & Country laid out the process in a few steps.
First, they will assign a bride a stylist that will set up a meeting with her through FaceTime or Zoom, or the typical text, call or email.
During this meeting the consultant asks questions about the bride, her vision for the gown, spouse-to-be and asks to see any screenshots or ideas.
Once all the info is taken, the stylist creates a collection of gowns for the bride based on the client’s preferences, just like a regular appointment. However, this collection will be viewed virtually instead of in person at the store.
During the virtual appointment the bride and stylist will narrow down the options to the bride’s top three choices. Those top three choices are delivered locally or, if outside of the delivery area, much like with Rent the Runway, shipped to the bride packed with all the tools needed to style the gown at home. Additionally, the stylist will be on hand virtually for when the bride tries on the gowns.
An extra incentive, brides that say “yes” to the dress and makes a gown purchase during the at-home, virtual appointment get 15 percent off.
Note: Town & Country assures that each gown sent out for an at-home appointment is cleaned and sanitized upon return to the store.
Brides who purchase during an at-home try-on will have the option, when everyone and everything in the city is safe and returns to normal, to schedule a “Show Off” appointment to bring along any bridal entourage or family members can gather, pop champagne and see the bride in her new dress.
In theory, this new option Town & Country has come up with sounds like a welcome alternative while everyone is navigating the pandemic that has left us all social distancing at home. We can’t help but feel a bit of sadness with this option thinking that a bride would try on her dress at home alone, even with the idea of a follow-up “show off” appointment. It’s not exactly the same as the real thing. It’s also not ideal that a bride would have to assist herself in the styling of a gown. There is room for error in that scenario. For example, the dress may fit differently than it would if a seasoned stylist were present in the room.
With the rise of virtual fittings across the city however, the bridal boutique staffs are taking every issue into consideration to help brides along the process of choosing their wedding gown.
Would you try a virtual appointment and at-home try-on? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
