This article will teach you how to pick the ideal wedding dress, regardless of whether you’ve had visions of your gown since you were five years old and know exactly what features you want, or whether you hadn’t given it a second thought until your future spouse’s mother nags, “You still haven’t gotten your gown.”
The search for your ideal dress can be difficult. After all, you’ve probably never tried one on before, and it’s the most costly item of clothing most women will ever possess, so pressure is undoubtedly present when looking for a wedding dress.
1. Find out what you like by doing research
To create a visual collection of your favorite dresses, clip pages from magazines, browse wedding boutiques online, explore Pinterest, and see what famed brides were wearing. Find a unifying theme by comparing each item’s level of adornment, lace, and volume.
Ask yourself questions like are their backs always open? Give some clarity to your initial ideas and identify a few common elements among the types you like.
2. Be Open
Wedding planners will tell you that they frequently see women arrive with a predetermined concept of the type of gown they want just to put it on, and discover they don’t really love it. When looking for a wedding dress, be open-minded. You might discover the dress of your dreams, which you never imagined would exist. This is why staying open to options is good.
3. Prepare for the Bridal Sizing
Due to bridal sizing, your gown’s size will frequently be one to two sizes larger than what you typically wear. Even while increasing the number may sound terrifying, keep in mind that only you and your consultant will be aware of it.
4. Buy in Your Actual Size
Shop for gowns in your current size rather than dropping down a size, even if you intend to lose weight before the big day. It’s far simpler to take in a dress than to try to wear one that is really too tight.
5. Shop Early
Many dresses require four to eight months to make, and even once they are delivered, you may need additional time for modifications and embellishments.
6. Establish Your Budget
Although discussing numbers can be awkward, doing so will spare you future disappointment. Determine who will pay for the gown before your first session (your family, your spouse, or you?).
7. Shop during the week
Weekends are busy for bridal salons, so you might receive less individualized attention or have to wait for someone else to try on the dress you’re dying to wear. It is best to schedule your appointment for a weekday rather than the weekend.
8. Shoe Up for Your Appointment
A dress will appear very different with flip-flops than it will with stilettos, so avoid borrowing high heels from bridal salons if possible. Bring heels that are the same height as the ones you anticipate wearing on your special day so you can have a better idea of how the dress will look.
9. Decide on your wedding’s theme in advance
Choose if you want a relaxed garden party-themed wedding or a formal, elegant event before you start dress shopping. The last thing you want is for your dress to clash with your overall wedding theme, so keep the venue and theme in mind as you pick and choose gowns.
10. Include Hidden Costs in the Budget
Say your budget for clothing is $2,000; in that case, you shouldn’t spend that much on a dress. This is due to the fact that if you want to keep your gown as a keepsake after the wedding, you’ll need to budget for tailoring, accessories (including your veil, jewelry, and shoes), as well as cleaning and preservation.
11. Locate a Fantastic Bridal Salon
Before setting up appointments, do your research since you don’t want to waste time visiting a store that doesn’t sell the dresses you desire or has poor customer service. Find shops with a good reputation by asking married friends for recommendations and looking up online reviews.
12. Call First
Avoid wasting time at a store that doesn’t carry the style, designer, or price point you were looking for. Get an idea of the salon’s inventory over the phone before you go.
13. Schedule a Meeting
Unlike other retail shops, most wedding boutiques don’t have their dresses set up so you can just sift through them and look around on your own. You’ll need to make an appointment so that a consultant can assist you in choosing and trying on outfits.
14. Choose three adjectives to describe the dress of your dreams
Having a clear idea of how you want to look on your wedding day will help you narrow down your options for the perfect wedding dress. Some of the adjectives you can choose from are elegant, vintage, and comfy or romantic, glamorous, and gorgeous. Your outfit choices may be honed if you select three words that best represent the way you want to feel and look.
15. Schedule a full day of shopping
You shouldn’t feel pressured to choose a wedding gown because it takes a surprising amount of time to put one bridal gown on and take it off. It roughly takes around three or four hours minimum to do the shopping. Leave a few hours during the day so you may take your time looking through and trying on gowns rather than making plans for brunch after your appointment or attempting to fit it in between other errands.
16. Choose a Silhouette
Your preferred style, the location and atmosphere of your wedding, as well as what design suits your body the best, all play a role in the creation of your ideal gown. While a simple sheath looks best on tall, willowy brides, a fit-and-flare is both modern and traditional and flatters many body types. A full ball gown adds drama but may be too much for a small frame. The curves are displayed in your favorite pencil skirt-like mermaid styles.
17. Pay Close Attention to Dress Fabric
On top of silhouette, color, and embellishments, fabric has a big role to play in how the whole gown will appear on your body. A fabric material like silk or shantung that is heavier and more structured will hold its shape and smooth your figure. Whereas thin chiffon wedding dresses by Jovani suit more on brides who are slim and smart. However, you can try and test to select the best fabric for your bridal gown.
18. Take Less Traditional Lengths into Account
Unconventional lengths can be a fun way to add your personality to your big day dress, even though they most likely won’t work for a formal wedding. Instead, they might work for a more casual, rustic, or beachy wedding. While a white minidress has a rocker-chic party vibe, a tea-length dress is entertaining for a quirky bride.
19. Bring inspiration with inspiring dresses photos
Bring a photo collage of the wedding dress styles you adore to the store, whether it be printouts of dream dresses from your secret wedding Pinterest board you’ve had since college or a magazine page.
