Wedding dress shopping is such an exciting experience... you
hope it’s going to involve plenty of fairytale gowns, champagne and happy tears,
and you REALLY don’t want it to remotely resemble *that* scene in Bridesmaids.
I am
still walking on air after finding my perfect dress. So here are my top 13 tips that will hopefully help any
brides-to-be find the dress of their dreams!
1. Do your research
No
really, DO YOUR RESEARCH! This is absolutely vital, hence the shouty capital
letters. This is probably going to be the most expensive dress you’ll ever buy
and you’re going to be wearing it on the most important day of your life. You really don’t want to look back on your wedding pictures in 10 years, shudder and ask yourself what the heck you
were thinking.
I’ve
found two techniques that work well for basic wedding dress research:
One, you can buy a huge pile of bridal magazines, grab some scissors and glue and put together a scrapbook. Or you could just fold down the
pages of dresses that take your fancy. If you do this, it’s worth making a
note on the page about what exactly it is that you like - is it the style, the
silhouette, the material, the detail? Jot down anything and everything that you love.
Two, create a Pinterest account, if
you don’t already have one. (*Warning* it is very likely you will quickly
develop a Pinterest addiction!) There are tons of wedding dress images on
Pinterest, so you’ll be spoilt for choice. Try searching for different designers,
cuts and shapes, as well as your wedding theme and your wedding season. Pin
everything that catches your eye.
2. Check out loads of designers
Think of
it this way, if you were buying a £1,000+ handbag, you’d want to buy it from a
designer you absolutely love, right? It’s the same with a wedding dress. There
are SO many designers out there and they all bring something different to the
table, it just depends on the look you’re going for and the type of dress
that will complement your wedding theme. A few to get you started are: Mori Lee
by Madeline Gardner (my favourite!), Sassi Holford, Justin Alexander, Essence,
Jenny Packham.
3. Write a hit-list of shops to visit
These
shops could be nearby, or you could even tie your shopping trip in with a fun girly
weekend away. Just bear in mind that you will probably have at least two
fittings before the big day, so be careful not to complicate things TOO much by
having to travel really far away each time. If you have your heart set on a
particular designer, try to pick shops that stock that designer, then you can
prioritise trying on those dresses.
It’s also worthwhile doing a quick google
search of the shop names, as wedding forums with reviews will often pop up in
the results – this is a good way of sussing out whether a shop is worth visiting
or not... just keep an eye on the date of the comments, if they were written five years ago
then things might’ve changed (for better or worse – excuse the pun!) Give the
shop a call and book an appointment, bearing in mind bridal shops tend to be quieter on weekday
mornings and busier on Saturday afternoons.
4. Choose a trusted few to go with you
When I
was researching wedding dress shopping tips, I read that you should never
invite more than three people to go with you. It’s also worth bearing in mind
that you want the dress to be a surprise on the big day, so you don’t want lots
of people to have already seen you in it! Pick people whose opinions you trust,
this could be your mum, best friend, godparent, mother-in-law, sister-in-law,
or another family member or close friend. I really wanted to invite everybody
close to me to come along when I was dress shopping, but I ended up just asking
my mum, my best friend and her mum who’s also my godmother. We made a weekend
of it and it was great fun!
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| Los and me |
5. Have a pamper session the evening before
When you
are trying on wedding dresses, you want to look and feel your absolute best.
Indulging in a little pamper session the night before is a great idea, as
you’ll be walking on air afterwards and you’ll look great too. (Don’t be
tempted by the fake tan though, you don’t want to leave any orange smudges on
the dresses!) I’d recommend starting off with a nice hot bubble bath, shave and
exfoliate, then pop a face mask on. Use loads of your best moisturiser, pluck your
eyebrows, paint your nails and dry your hair in your favourite way. You’ll feel
absolutely amazing afterwards!
6. Eat breakfast!
It can be
tempting to avoid breakfast, but trust me, it’s definitely better to eat
something. Firstly, trying on wedding dresses is knackering! They’re big and
heavy and not the easiest things to get on and off. You can get really hot and
bothered and the last thing you want is to feel dizzy and tired. Start the day
with a nice breakfast that won’t make you feel bloated – think eggs, avocado,
yoghurt and fruit. Try to avoid white bread, bacon, sausages and sugary
cereals.
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| Coconut porridge with fresh strawberries and chia seeds is one of my all-time favourite breakfasts |
7. Remember to pack…
Shoes
that have approximately the same heel height as the shoes you’ll wear on the
day. Most shops will have a box for you to stand on in front of the mirror, but you need
to make sure the dress flows in the same way while you’re the height you will
be on your wedding day. Underwear is really important too. A white or nude
strapless bra is a good idea, as is knickers that you’ll be comfortable wearing
while stripping off in front of a stranger!
8. Don’t be shy
On that
note, it can be a little weird getting your kit off in front of a stranger. But
just remember, they’ve seen it all before! If it makes you feel better, wear
big knickers and a strapless bra so that you won’t have to take it off if you’re
trying on a strapless dress.
9. Keep an open mind
Dresses
look so different when they're on the hanger. Keep an open mind and try on lots of different
styles. I was convinced I would go for a certain style of dress, but I have actually ended up with a completely different style that I had never even considered. I wouldn’t
have discovered that style without trying on lots of dresses with different silhouettes.
Remember, you can also completely transform the look of a dress by adding a waist belt,
jewellery and, of course, a veil. Many bridal shops can also change dresses by
adding straps and altering the neckline. It’s definitely worth talking to them
to see what they can do.
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| A waist belt can completely transform a dress |
10. Just because you don’t cry doesn’t mean it’s
not ‘the one’
This was
something that really surprised me, as I was absolutely convinced I’d cry!
Instead, if you are smiling so much that your face aches and
you can genuinely picture yourself wearing that dress while walking down the
aisle, saying your vows, eating the wedding breakfast, cutting the cake and having
your first dance… then you’re onto a winner.
11. Don’t be pressured by pushy salespeople
During my
first round of wedding dress shopping (read all about that here)
I experienced the full force of a pushy sales assistant. She said if I didn’t
order it soon then they’d be working to a very tight schedule to get the dress
into the shop and finish the alterations (bearing in mind my wedding was almost one
year away at this point). I mentioned this to Margaret at The Brides Room of
Birkdale (the shop where I found my dress) and she said that in her 16 years in
the industry she has never known a dress take longer than five months to come
in. So, the moral of the story is to take no notice of pushy salespeople!
12. Take your time and think about it
I think
this is so important. No matter how convinced you are that you’ve found ‘the
one’, there’s no harm in going away and thinking about it, even if it’s just
for 24 hours. Bridal shops have to order the dresses in anyway, so it’s not as
if you’re at risk of somebody else swooping in and buying the last one in your
size. Go home, have a glass of wine and look at your colour scheme and your wedding theme ideas. Try to picture the entire day and how you'd look and feel in that dress.
13. If you’re 100% sure, it’s time to crack open the champagne!
Ordering
your wedding dress is one of the most exciting things EVER! It’s such an
important part of the day and something you absolutely want to get right. Once
this is done, it’s a huge box that can be ticked off and definitely time to
celebrate! My mum and I did this by eating cake and drinking champagne… I can’t
think of any better way to celebrate!
I’ve blogged about my own wedding dress shopping experiences, which you can read by clicking on the links below:
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