An hour and a half, and a dress you did not see coming.

Book a time, tell us a little about your day, and bring the people whose opinion you trust. Wear something easy to change out of, and bring shoes close to the height you will wear. Save the photos you love, and keep an open mind about them. Children are welcome too.

Your stylist meets you at the door and the hour and a half is yours. The look books first, then a slow walk along the racks: over a thousand designer gowns from ten labels, in one of the widest size ranges in Sydney, so what you try on is the real dress in a size that fits.

You choose a few. Your stylist chooses a few you would never have picked. Then you try them all, and that is where the day turns: the neckline you thought you hated, the fabric you had never heard of, the silhouette that makes the room go quiet. In our experience, two in three brides leave with a style they had not planned to try.

There is no clock on the mirror. If it is the one, we will tell you how it will be made and when it will arrive. If it is not, we will tell you that too, and help you work out what comes next. Nobody is sold a dress at Sweethearts; brides choose them.

The gown is ordered in your size, and when it arrives our own seamstress fits it to you here in the boutique: hem, bust, straps, bustle, every detail, over as many fittings as it takes. Veils and accessories are matched in the same room, by the same people, so the whole look is right before you walk out with it.