Finding the right dress - Dos and Don’ts
Picking a wedding dress for your big day can be equally exciting and daunting. We build such big expectations of not only finding the perfect dress, but the experience of doing so, that you can very easily fall not the trap of not enjoying the ride.
Having been there, and done that (I got married a couple of years ago), and also having worked with a number of brides since, there are MANY lessons I’ve learnt along the way on how you can make the most out of the experience!
We’ve asked a number of brides and brought our own experience to the table to give you some of the biggest do’s and don’ts for a fail-proof wedding dress shopping experience!
The early bird:
Wedding dresses take about 6-8 months to be made - crazy right!? It’s the beautiful fabrics, the precise cutting, construction - all the craftsmanship that goes into making your dress special - this takes time! Waiting too long to get your perfect dress means that you run the risk of using out on your dream styles, fabrics, and ultimately that you’ll likely pay a lot more for your dress. Plus, who wants the unnecessary stress! Long story short - get in there early!
Have a budget:
There are plenty of options out there. Streamlining the choice can do wonders to reduce those wedding dress jitters by giving you something to weigh your options with. If you need to go over your budget - at least you’ll be able to plan, ultimately allowing to make your decision process less stressful!
Have inspo but be open-minded:
Start pinning! Give yourself an image of what kind of style you want. Think about The style of your wedding and how all the visual details will come together. This will really help you whittle down which shops/designers you want to visit! Having an idea of what style you want to go for will make your bridal consultants job a lot easier too. They’ll be able to pick out relevant styles and really get to the bottom of your style. Make sure to be open-minded when your consultant suggests something to try on too, give the wildcard dress a go! You might be surprised how different styles might make you feel beautiful, even if it isn’t exactly what you came in thinking you’d want! That’s totally normal. Listen to your gut, and if it makes you feel good, makes you feel like a kick-ass version of yourself - you’ve got a winner!
Prioritise the list of places where you want to shop:
Plenty of brides over book consultations - this is a big mistake! Although totally understandable, you actually give yourself buyers fatigue which leads to questioning even the most natural of purchases. When you have “the moment” you want to ACT on “the moment”, NOT second guess yourself. If after seeing your top few shops and you still haven’t found your dress, then make your way down the list. There’s no point in making the process even more confusing for yourself! Go with your gut!
Be mindful of who you bring:
It seems natural to have your whole entourage joining you when you dress shop. Time and time again, we see first-time brides bringing a huge group of people which massively differs to brides further down the line who tend to bring few guests. It’s a hard thing to do to give honest advice whilst setting aside your own personal style - therefore don’t assume your closest friends and family will be able to do that for you. And that's ok! Too many opinions can get in the way of you being in tune with your gut. Bring a few people max, making sure they’re friends who you know have a good idea of what you’re trying to achieve and will be supportive. Trust us and trust yourself: you're going to look GORGEOUS on the day!