Shopping for your wedding dress
Image by Holly Hambling
Where to begin!
Congratulations you’re engaged and now you have the excitement of planning your wedding day. A lot of this can be enjoyed as a couple, but the dress bit is down to you. Most of my brides start a year to 18 months before their wedding day, this is only a rough guide. Some brides will start 2 years before or just 3 months, there’s no right or wrong.Just be aware that leaving it closer to your wedding date minimises your options. Maybe you start off with a Pinterest board, friends and relatives sharing images of wedding dresses in all different shapes and sizes, some lacy with long sleeves, some that seem really fitted to the knee and then go really out at the bottom and then there are the massive ones that mum seems to really like with sparkly skirts and fitted tops. How do you begin to make a choice?
The answer is fairly simple. Once you know when you are getting married and where, write yourself a little list. On it you need to put the things you like about your body, the things you don’t like about your body, how you want your dress to make you feel. Do you need the dress to have some sort of arm coverage (a tattoo or scar that you may want covering .) Do you need to wear a bra? So that will rule out backless dresses. Do you have sensitive skin and find you get sore if something irritates you. So maybe not the sequined and beaded number your aunt had her eye on for you. Do you hate having something fitted over your legs? That’s mermaid & fishtail ruled out. If you get hot really easily but you don’t like the tops of your arms then perhaps instead of the long fitted sleeve you’ve been coveting go for an angel sleeve, a lot looser and way more comfy.
All of these things need to be considered as they are so important for your personal comfort on the day. Then you have the budget to consider. How much do you want to spend on your wedding dress? Going wedding dress shopping with no budget in mind is a big mistake. Falling in love with a dress that you were encouraged to try on in the boutique only to discover it’s about £2500 over what you’ve now found out is what you have to spend on your dream dress is not a happy feeling.
By now you have your venue, photographer and maybe band/Dj booked so you have a good idea as to the overall costs involved in your wedding. This will then help you choose bridal stores that not only have what styles you are interested in trying but also cost wise work well with your budget. If prices or price guides aren’t available on the website contact them and have a chat. Also consider what sizes are available to try. In my experience a lot of brides have been completely amazed that nearly all the dresses in some bridal stores are a 10,12 or 14. Nothing bigger which can ultimately lead to quite an unsatisfactory experience if you are a size 18 or bigger. Remember some wedding dresses can come up very small.
Who to take to your appointment? Now this potentially is a tricky one. A lot of bridal stores will only allow 4 people. This is purely down to space and you the bride not getting overwhelmed. If you are lucky enough to have an amazing group of friends that all want to share the moment of you trying on wedding dresses this can be quite an awkward one. Be strong and perhaps just choose mum or a significant person that you know you can trust for their honest but kind opinions. Some of the best images from the wedding day are the first looks from your bridesmaids, so go with it and keep it a surprise!
Choosing the dress, now here it is, the moment that you may have dreamt about or dreaded with every fiber of your being. When you go to your appointment make sure you wear clothes that are easy to take on and off, slip on shoes so you don’t have to worry about laces and wear a pair of well fitting knickers that don’t dig in anywhere and preferably in nude or blush. Most dresses don’t need a bra but if you are bigger than an F cup chances are you might need some extra support. Be open minded, talk about your list of things you would like your dress to have or not have and try not to screw your face up at suggestions, you never know that could be your dream dress.
The only certain thing is you have to choose something for your wedding day to wear that makes you feel fabulous, the best version of yourself and you know what that can sometimes be a complete surprise. What really made your heart sing and found you crying snotty tears of joy because in that wonderful moment you saw you in this dress getting married to the person you love. How amazing is that? But wait it’s not lace, it doesn’t have sparkles and it's not really slim to show off your curves. This dress might not have anything on it at all, could be a really simple, modern style in classic satin or mikado. But you know what? The dress makes you feel incredible and joy of joy It has pockets and beautiful buttons and best of all it makes you feel ‘A BRIDE’ End the search cancel the other 4 appointments you made because it doesn’t get better than this. You’ve found your dress, you’ve trusted your instinct, listened to yourself and now you are ready to enjoy what will be the best day ever.
Happy dress shopping !