Top Tips on Wedding Dress Shopping

Wedding

Feb 4

I have put together my top tips on how to ensure your wedding dress shopping is a success.

The first thing I recommend is that you create a vision board, whether this is created by cutting pictures from magazines or the most convenient way is creating a Pinterest board of your perfect wedding dress.

To start with, be open to ideas and styles and pin freely. Think about the areas of your body you’d like to show off or what are your strong features? Perhaps you’d rather your back be open or you want to show off that waist of yours? Do you want sleeves, a low back, a long train. Remember though; do keep an open mind with styles available.

I always recommend you have your venue booked so you have a clear idea of the style and feel of your wedding day. The main reason for saying this is if you are having a festival wedding on a farm, this will create and have a very different vibe to an exclusive country manor house.

Now that you have created your vision and have some ideas of dress styles you need to start looking for bridal boutiques. Is there a particular designer you are drawn to? If so, find out where your nearest stockists are. Think about the location, whilst you may not mind the travel initially to find your dream dress, will it be a problem when you have to go back for dress fittings at a later date. Think about who is going to accompany you to the bridal boutique - how far will it be for them to travel.

Many boutiques are strict on fitting appointments so if you are limited to Saturday’s, you may have to wait several weeks for an appointment. Also ask whether there is a consultation fee and if so whether this is redeemable against a purchase.

Many of the bridal boutique websites give guidelines on price so if you are on a strict budget; it is advisable to ask about prices of any styles you particularly like. Therefore you don’t waste your time of get disheartened when the dress is way over your agreed budget.

It is also important to be aware that most boutiques do not stock dresses in larger sizes so be prepared for smaller sample dresses. If you have any concerns, I suggest speaking with the designer or boutique as they will do their best to help you.

So, you have your appointment all booked in and all the family and closest friends joining you – please stop right there! Having too many people with you will just end up in confusion and often takes away the importance of this occasion from you. I would recommend only 2 or 3 close friends or family members to join you.

On the day of your appointment try to wear makeup similar to what you plan to wear and your hair looking nice. This will make a big difference to how you feel when you are trying on dresses. Also consider what underwear you have on, think nude or white and perhaps a multiway bra if you have one so avoid tights and sports bras!

Remember to enjoy the experience; don’t rush it and try and many styles as you can. One of my biggest regrets when I, myself was trying on dresses (10 years ago now!) was that I didn’t try enough on and experience the different styles…in fact, I only tried 2 on!

Let me know how you get on as I love to hear about your experiences. My full or partial planning services will help you find that guidance on the right style of dress for your special day. My friendly, calm and fun approach will ensure you are on the right track. Fancy a coffee to chat through your ideas, I would love to hear about them so do get in touch.