Randy Fenoli Shares Wedding-Dress Promise Mistakes

• Randy Fenoli of “Say Yes to the Dress” has been a consultant and bridal designer for many years.
• She told Insider that she’s seen brides make the same mistake shopping for their dream dress.
• Not setting a budget and letting your group control the appointments can be a big problem.
• Visit the Insider homepage for more stories.

Few people know more about shopping for wedding dresses than Randy Fenoli from “Say Yes to Dresses.”

As a consultant, fashion director and designer at Kleinfeld Bridal, she has helped many brides find the wedding dress of their dreams.

Often, Fenoli and other bridal experts help brides-to-be find the perfect dress with ease.

But Fenoli told Insider that there are two mistakes he sees brides make that can really derail the wedding vows.

First, the bride and groom must have a budget, according to Fenoli.

If you don’t clearly communicate how much you want to spend, a consultant may ask you to try on dresses you can’t afford.

“Once they said, ‘I don’t have a budget,’ I was like, ‘Great, this is a $30,000 dress,'” Fenoli told Insider.

He went on to say that he recently worked with a bride who claimed she wasn’t on the budget, so he asked her to try on a $7,000 dress.

“She wore the dress and she loved it, but then she was like, ‘Oh, that’s over budget,'” Fenoli said.

He, or most consultants, won’t put the bride in a dress she can’t afford, but they can’t prevent that scenario if the bride isn’t willing to set an actual budget.

Second, Fenoli said the bride and groom should be able to set expectations with the people who accompany them to the appointment.

“If you think you’re mature enough to get married and start a family, I think you’re mature enough to handle marriage vows,” she said.

For Fenoli, that means explaining to the people you bring your budget, the type of clothing you’re looking for, and the kind of feedback you’d like.

“Sit down with your entourage before you walk into the salon and say, ‘Listen, I don’t want to look like Cinderella, so don’t pull a big poofy ball gown. Number two, my budget is $1,000, so don’t pull a $10,000 dress unless you’re going to put in $1,000. Another 9,000. And number three, I’m very sensitive about my hips, so when I’m on a pedestal in front of everyone in the salon and everyone’s looking at me, don’t say that,” she gives an example.

She goes on to say that a lack of communication can lead to a bride crying in the fitting room and leaving without a dress.

“This is what happens if you don’t have this conversation,” he said. “And I guess if they did, we wouldn’t have the show.”

She advises brides to be as clear as possible about what they want from a shopping trip.

“Let everyone know that I am the bride. This is my promise. I love you and I appreciate you, but remember that you are here to support me in finding my dress,” she said.

In the end, Fenoli only focused on helping brides find dresses that they felt comfortable with.

“My goal has always been to help brides choose the dress they feel is the most beautiful, because when they feel beautiful, they wear it like no other dress on the planet,” she added.

“They know they look good, and everyone feels it,” Fenoli said. “It’s about the confidence you have when you wear that dress.”

New episodes of “Say Yes to the Dress” air every Saturday on TLC. You can catch up on last week’s episode on Discovery+.