MARYLAND– If you’re planning on tying the knot any time soon, bridal shops said shipping delays could cause headaches when it comes to getting that dream dress.
“The normal shipping times have been extended three to four weeks beyond the norm,” Maria Demetriou, Operations Manager and head of alterations at Downtown Bridal, said.
Downtown Bridal, in Salisbury, said they haven’t felt the impact entirely, but they’ve seen the change from pre-pandemic to now.
“There were so many times we could just say oh for $35 we could have it here within two weeks with the fees, well that’s gone right now because they are even having worker issues,” Demetriou said.
On top of that, some manufacturing plants are having a hard time getting fabric.
“I may have just gotten something brand new and all of sudden I can’t reorder it because they are not making the lace anymore or they cant get a hold of it,” Demetriou said.
Meanwhile in Ocean City, Sandals Bridal and Formal Wear, are seeing the same issues. They said luckily for them their designers did a lot of sewing during the pandemic which has helped.
“They got busy so we had a lot of hanging stock available for us to ship out the same day immediately that we could get the gowns within a week,” Maria McEvoy, owner of Sandals Bridal and Formal Wear, said.
But, delays aren’t ideal when weddings are coming back in full force as brides prepare to walk down the aisle.
“2022 is predicted to be the busiest wedding season in quiet some time and from what we are seeing, we are right on track with that,” McEvoy said.
So, in order for smooth sailing on wedding day bridal shops said shop sooner rather than later.
“Right now,with shipping and the horror stories we are hearing from other stores and from other designers we are encouraging the girls to do 9 to 12 months or even later,” McEvoy said.
Chinese New Years is also going on right now, which means all manufacturing productions are closed for the month which causes more delays.
