4.  SHOULD I BRING IN PICTURES FROM MAGAZINES OR THE INTERNET OF GOWNS I LIKE? Yes, Yes, Yes. BUT, we strongly advise that you remember two things. First, the models used by the bridal designers average 6’ tall and wear a size 4 so unless you are this tall and wear a size 4 the gowns may not look the same on you. THIS IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO SEE YOURSELF IN THE GOWN IN YOUR SIZE BEFORE YOU BUY IT. The second thing you should know is that many designers sell gowns that are not advertised in the magazines and are not available online. They tend to look better on “normal” sized women so BRING AN OPEN MIND. It has been our experience that when many women see themselves in a pictured gown they thought they loved they exclaim “gee, I thought it would be more exciting” and, when they try on a gown style they had not even considered before they go crazy over how good it makes them feel. You should also know that when a bride brings in a picture of a gown she likes, 70% of the time we either have that exact same dress or one that is very similar. Ours always seem to be for a lot less money too.

      5. SHOULD I MAKE AN APPOINTMENT BEFORE I COME TO LOOK AT WEDDING GOWNS? Yes, At Jon's Bridal we do not permit self-service. Every future bride is assigned a personal consultant that will wait on her alone. We do accommodate walk-ins but appointments are always given preference. (With an appointment either a consultant is waiting for you or you will automatically be “next up”.) In Florida call 813-931-8991.

      6.  WHAT IF I FIND THE GOWN OF MY DREAMS AND I’M NOT READY TO BUY IT YET? (I’m not ready financially or I want my mom to see it.) CAN YOU HOLD THE GOWN FOR ME? Sorry, we can’t. Jon's Bridal usually has only one of each gown (sometimes there may be the same gown in a different size). If we held a gown we may be depriving someone from buying that saw and loved that same gown a day before you. The advantage of our style of store is that if you don’t find a gown of your dreams on your visit you can return in two weeks and see many new and different gowns that came in since your last visit. The disadvantage is that if you find the gown of your dreams and don’t purchase it that day there is a good chance it won’t be here when you come back. That is why we suggest that before you set an appointment you ask yourself, “ If I found the wedding gown of my dreams in my budget can I buy it today?” If the answer is no just schedule a tour so you won’t fall in love with any one gown. Its best to be ready at Jon's Bridal by bringing your mom or whoever you want with you so. If you’re that lucky to find the perfect dress you won’t have to leave it behind. We do have a lay-a-way plan (50% down, balance in 30 days) and with approved credit we also offer 90 days same as cash. All major credit cards are accepted but, we do not accept checks.

      7.  HOW IS JON'S BRIDAL DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHER BIG CHAIN BRIDAL STORE? There are two BIG differences. First, although both Jon's Bridal and the big chain both stock wedding gowns, the big chain store manufacturers its’ own dresses at their factory, i.e. all the wedding gowns “they” sell were made by them. At JON'S BRIDAL we do not make wedding gowns. Instead, we buy from the same designers who normally sell to the small boutique stores, but, instead of buying one dress at a time off a sample like the boutiques do, at Jon's we buy hundreds at a time from each designer, which entitles us to large discounts that we are able to pass on. In retail this is known as “volume discounting”.
The second BIG difference is that the chain stores have “fixed styles for the season”. This means that for the most part their dress styles don’t change during the year. They can even give you a catalog because they are selling the same gowns over and over. At Jon's Bridal we don’t have “fixed styles”. Our wedding gown styles and inventory changes every week (sometimes every day). In the clothing industry this is referred to as a “warehouse operation” like a TJ Max store. The benefit to you, our customer is that if you don’t find the gown of your dreams on your first visit, just come back in two weeks and you WILL see new and different wedding gowns in your size. The only small disadvantage to a warehouse operation like Jon's Bridal is that if you do find your perfect wedding gown and don’t purchase it, there is a good chance it won’t be here when you come back and you’ll have to start over in your quest.

8.  DOES JON'S BRIDAL DO ALTERATIONS “ON SITE”? Yes, In the Tampa Jon's Bridal, “Elite Alterations” owned by Annette Corpion is located in the rear of our store. Elite can be reached directly by calling 813-931-8631.

9. Encore Bride; 2^nd wedding; re-affirming vows; what does Jons have? Almost 25% of the women who visit Jons looking for a wedding gown fit into this category. These women tell us… I don’t want to look like an 18 year old all poofed out and covered with beads and sequins BUT I do want to look special and beautiful so that when my fiancée sees me he will say “thank God I got her.” With this many customers coming in for encore weddings Jons is ready. We have an extensive selection of “informal” wedding gowns which are simple, less expensive gowns with either no train or a little sweep train. We also have many “cleaner” less complicated styles of traditional type gowns that our encore brides have fallen in love with.

10. Beach weddings; Destination weddings; Pregnant Bride??? Not a week goes by when we don’t have several requests in this category. The advantage of being so big that we have the equivalent of six regular bridal stores worth of inventory means that we can give our beach and destination customers a truly awesome selection of wedding gowns designed to look free flowing, elegant, sexy and exciting for just this type of wedding. As for the pregnant brides, not only do we have a great selection of gowns that will accommodate this special need but we have the experienced consultants that will be able to guide you to a beautiful dress that will truly enhance your special day.

11. Full figured women and Plus sizes at Jons?? Jons Bridal has always enjoyed a stellar reputation with plus size customers. Jons Bridal offers plus sizes in three different options: 1. Off the rack where we have dresses up to size 30 ready to take home immediately; 2. A special order section where we have samples in sizes 18w to 36w available to be ordered. You will need to see us at least five months before the wedding for most of these dresses. Some are available sooner. 3. Special cut dresses are also available. If your budget permits it we have several designers that will take your measurements and cut a wedding gown to your needs and specifications. Here again, we will need to see you at least five months before the wedding.

12. If I’m planning on losing weight when should I shop for and when should I buy my wedding gown? Every experienced bridal seamstress will tell you that it is easy and inexpensive to take a wedding gown down in size. 95% of all future brides will need some alterations and when they open up side seams, taking out ¼ inch or 3” costs the same. So if you lose weight it is easy and inexpensive to make your gown still fit you perfectly if it was purchased in a bigger size. The opposite, releasing a gown if it is too small because you put on weight can be far more expensive to do and often it will not look perfect. Planning a wedding can be a stressful time and it is a mistake to add more stress because you will not fit into a dress if you don’t reach your weight goal. Most brides buy their wedding gowns 9 to 18 months before their weddings so that they can facilitate all the other planning and purchases that revolve around the gown. You should do the same even if you are planning to lose weight. Buy the gown that fits your current weight and if you reach your weight goals it will be easy to alter to fit you beautifully. If you don’t, so what! You gown will still fit beautifully and remember he fell in love with you the way you are, not the way you hope to be.

13. Who should I bring with me when I come for my wedding gown shopping appointment at Jons? When shopping for a wedding gown all the experts advise not to bring too many people. Your mom and one or two other trusted individuals seem to be the perfect mix. Pick a few people who love you to come and your experience will be a lot more enjoyable and you will have a better chance of being successful in your quest. Its great to have one or two people who are close to you to give you honest opinions but bringing too many people to “poll the audience” is a recipe for disaster that may make you miss out on your perfect gown. In the end the only opinion that truly counts when picking a wedding gown is YOURS! You will be the center of attention at your wedding (no one cares how the groom looks). You want a wedding gown the will make you look awesome and feel amazing. You are the only one who will really know when you have found the gown that does this.

14. Should I look for my wedding gown and the bridesmaids’ gown on the same day? Don't try to do too much in one day. We suggest you not try to shop for bridesmaids and a wedding gown all in the same day. Finding that perfect gown can be harder, more time consuming, and more mentally exhausting than you think. We suggest you focus on your wedding gown first, check out our entire second floor of bridesmaids before you leave and plan a separate day for the bridesmaids shopping.

15. Will I be able to see gowns at Jons that are different from what I’ve seen everywhere else? YES YES YES. There are only seven stores in the entire United States that stock independent designer gowns in all sizes and are as large as we are (We are the largest bridal store in the entire State of Florida). Davids, Demetrios, and Alfred Angelo are all manufacturers who have their own chain stores. This means they manufacturer what they sell and the wedding gown inventory in their stores is limited to what they have made themselves. At Jons we have as many as thirty different famous designers from around the world represented AND the majority are the designers “confined lines” which are dresses that are not advertised and not found on-line. These designer confined line wedding gowns are only sold to a very limited number of large volume stores like Jons. The advantage for you the customer is that you can get an amazing designer gown at an exceptional value (no advertising costs tied to them) that won’t be available and sold all over the place.

16. Will I actually be able to go through the racks and see for myself ALL the dresses Jons has to offer? Absolutely! Many of our customers have complained that at other bridal stores they are put into a dressing room and the store employee goes to another room to select gowns she thinks the future bride will like. At Jons you and your personal certified bridal fashion consultant will go through the racks together to review, discuss and choose the wedding gowns you will try on. You will be able to see every gown Jons has to offer in every size. The gowns are all bagged and we do take special care of them. Before trying on any of our gowns you will be asked to remove all jewelry (whoever is with you will hold it). You will be given wipes to clean your hands with and a disposable make-up mask to put on. Your consultant will give you a long line bra and a special slip to put on privately than the consultant will open the bridal bags and put the wedding gowns on you. We go to extremes to make sure every wedding gown stays in perfect condition and you will appreciate that we took such extreme care of it when you find that amazing dress you fall in love with.

17. What’s the scoop on bridesmaids at Jons? AT THIS TIME THE BRIDESMAIDS DEPARTMENT AT JONS IS CLOSED. We have decided that given the quality control issues we were experiencing with the bridesmaids that we will, for now, totally focus on wedding gowns.  

18. Should I get a sitter for kids? We strongly advise you not bring children to a bridal store. Your wedding gown choice is one of the most important you will make for your wedding. For the rest of your married life you will be looking at pictures of yourself in that special
gown. When shopping for that gown you need to be able to focus and concentrate without distractions. A bridal salon is not a fun place for kids and they will get bored very quickly and totally distract you from this important mission. A bridal salon is also NOT a safe place for children due to loose pins and other hazards. Crying babies also distract other future brides on this important day and we will ask that crying babies be taken outside. Children under 12 are not permitted in our wedding gown rack area or the Couture area. NO CHILDREN ARE PERMITTED IN BRIDESMAIDS ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY. Due to safety concerns and liability CHILDREN ARE NEVER PERMITTED IN THE ALTERATIONS/SEAMSTRESS AREA.