Most brides purchase their gown at least 12 months in advance. Keep in mind that gowns can take 6-9 months to arrive from the designer once ordered, plus you need about 8 weeks for alterations. For brides with a shorter timeframe there are some designers that offer rush options, and we also have gowns that can be purchased immediately from our inventory. 

At Bella Bianca Oakbrook, our gowns range from $2,000 to $7,000 and at Bella Bianca Chicago gowns range from $4,000 to $20,000+. If you are questioning which location is right for you, feel free to give us a call at either salon and we can talk through what you are looking for to recommend which location will have the best options for you. 

We know how important it is to have your most valued crew with you. It’s important not to be overwhelmed by too many opinions, but also to make sure that key decision makers are in attendance because you never know when you will find THE one! To ensure that each bride’s party can comfortably fit within their designated viewing area, we allow up to 4 guests maximum per bride. At Bella Bianca Chicago, we do offer the Bella Signature Experience which can accommodate up to 8 guests and provides a glass of champagne as well as a sweet treat for the cost of $250. 

We do require underwear to be worn when trying on gowns. We recommend wearing nude undergarments and either sticky cups or pasties. This will give you the best vision of how the gown will look on the wedding day.  If you plan to wear shapewear on the big day, feel free to bring those as well. No need to bring heels as you will be standing on a pedestal in the gowns.

The majority of our gowns are bridal size 10-14. We also carry a selection of gowns in bridal size 18-24. Each designer’s size chart is different, but on average bridal sizing is 2-3 sizes smaller than ready to wear. If you are concerned about sample sizing, please give us a call and we can talk through your vision and what we currently have in our inventory. Please note that trunk shows often feature the runway sample of new collections which are sized much smaller. If you have a particular gown that you are interested in, we can always check with the designer to see if they have additional sample sizes to send us on loan. Keep in mind that when ordering, there are MANY fit customizations that the designers offer to suit each bride!

While our inventory is expansive, it is impossible to carry the full collection for each designer. If you are interested in particular styles by designers that we carry, please reach out to the location you wish to visit and let us know. That way we can either pull from our other location’s inventory when possible or reach out to the designer to check if they have sample available to loan us for your appointment. 

During trunk shows, we are spotlighting one designer and have additional gowns sent in for brides to try on. These are often the designer’s brand-new collections which are not even available in stores yet, giving brides the chance to be the very first to wear those styles long before other brides have access to them! Oftentimes, brides can meet the sales director for the line or even the designer themselves. In all cases, there are purchasing incentives on orders placed for the featured designer during the trunk show only. Please note, trunk show gowns are sometimes not available to purchase outside of the trunk show. Because of this, if you don’t think you will be ready to commit during that visit, please let your stylist know so that they avoid pulling any trunk show dresses for you to try on. 

Due to the very delicate nature of our inventory, we do not allow any outside food or drink to be consumed within our salons. We can allow outside beverages if they have a lid with sip hole or straw only.

Out of respect for our other guests as well as our delicate inventory, we do not allow any pets within our salons apart from service dogs in accordance with ADA guidelines. This includes pets in carriers or bags. 

Yes, we offer full service in-house alterations which operate out of our Oakbrook location. There, we have a large alterations facility with separate fitting rooms, and a team of expert seamstresses and alterations assistants who are prepared to do everything from standard alterations to detailed customizations. We coordinate transferring gowns purchased in Chicago to our Oakbrook location for alterations. For our out-of-state clients or those living in Chicago without access to transportation, we can recommend outside options. Please note that we only offer alterations on gowns purchased from Bella Bianca.

We do not offer cleaning or gown preservation in-house. For these services, we recommend Davis Imperial which can be reached at 866-963-0922.

In our Oakbrook salon, we have ample free parking both in our front lot and in the lot behind our building. In Chicago, we recommend parking in the 900 N Michigan parking garage which can be accessed from Rush or Walton. Unfortunately, we cannot validate parking, though there are many nearby garages as well as street parking. 

With our salon location in the heart of Chicago’s Gold Coast shopping and entertainment district, there are many fabulous hotels to choose from! Within walking distance to our salon, we recommend The Sofitel Chicago Magnificent Mile (across the street), The Thompson Hotel (2-minute walk), or The Viceroy (6-minute walk). Call us for more recommendations to compliment your gown shopping trip to Chicago!