What is the perfect wedding dress anyway? Is it that it fits like a glove, does it show off your best bits, does it exude your personality, is it comfortable? There is so much pressure on us as brides to look the best we have ever looked on our wedding days, that it can be a stressful and emotional experience. With thoughts of “will I look as good as he expects me to?” ,“will my friends and family have expected me to have had a different type of dress” swilling round in our heads it puts a lot of pressure on us brides to find a show stopping dress!
The wedding dress industry is such a massive one and you will only properly learn about it when your loved one pops the question, so where do you even begin? From the grand and traditional Caroline Castigliano dresses, to the pretty and romantic Claire Pettibone dresses with the sleek and classy Suzanne Neville dresses in-between. There is a plethora of designers who have catalogues of dresses all in varying cuts and fabrics. Looking in bridal magazines is a good place to start, followed by visiting your local bridal shops to start to try some on. Many of them can look very different in real life to how they do in the magazines and feel very different on. Some can be very heavy with so much fabric and thoughts of lugging that around on the ‘best day of your life’ can be traumatic!
Don’t let this put you off but it’s just to give a ‘heads up’ that it may not be the fairytale journey you have imagined. It is something you hopefully only do once in your life, so definitely savour the moment and keep in mind a few sympathising tips.
- In my opinion, make sure that you feel like yourself in the dress rather than somebody in wedding fancy dress. There are so many stunning dresses out there which will look beautiful on; going with your ‘gut instinct’ should be the overriding decision.
- Consider what version of yourself you want to be on your special day? Do you want to feel and look pretty, sexy, trendy, striking? This should give you guidance on how to narrow down the shapes. The fish tails cuts can help to show off your figure and make you feel sexier and the straight lace dresses with vintage details can make you feel pretty and angelic. Or you can go grand and striking which can be easier to achieve with the traditional meringue dress (these dresses can especially suit a church wedding which are becoming less and less popular these days).
- The most valuable opinion is your own but after that it can be that of your Mum, your Gran, your Maid of Honour, the list goes on and on!!! Trying to please everyone is never a good way to go, the dress your friend would go for wouldn’t necessarily be the dress that you would like and therefore having too many opinions involved can complicate matters further. Stick with a couple who are honest and who know you and your personal style!
- Budget is always an important factor and putting on dresses that are way over budget can be a fatal error as you may fall in love with something you can’t afford. However, if this does occur then sample sales can be a good way to alleviate this problem. Stick to looking at designers that are within your budget so you are not wasting valuable wedding planning time!
- Stick to your guns! Once you have chosen your dress, it’s on order and the big day is approaching I will warn you that you may have second thoughts and panics about your dress. All my married friends have! Remember, there are so many dresses out there and you chose yours for a reason, so stop comparing yours to the dresses in the bridal magazines or to your friend’s who recently got married and who “looked stunning”!! You will look gorgeous and your dress will be perfect for YOU!
Love Zara x