He popped the magical question and you said ‘Yes.’ With the engagement ring on your finger and the Big Day marked on the calendar, the countdown begins in your quest to plan the wedding of your dreams.
As a betrothed couple, this is both an exciting and overwhelmingly stressful time in your lives. The months ahead will involve a lot of planning, scheduling, budgeting and shopping. As with planning any large event that requires a ton of details, for the purpose of this blog piece, we will be focusing today on the one item likely to be every bride’s favorite: her wedding dress.
Whether traditional or modern, custom-made or off-the-rack, there is a dress for every bride-to-be regardless of her budget, size, or style preference. So, grab your mom or best friend, make an appointment at the bridal boutique, and go wedding dress shopping with an open mind. Here are a few more tips to get your plans off to a blissful start:
1. Determine the Look. Before shopping for the gown, you need to figure out what the dress code will be. Traditional, formal or semi-formal? Where will the ceremony be held? A formal ceremony calls for an elegant long gown, whereas a tea-length dress may be ideal for a beach ceremony. Today’s wedding styles and standards are as varied as they are numerous. Openly communicating your expectations and wishes with your fiancé will help set the stage for achieving the wedding day look of your dreams.
2. Set the Budget. Wedding dresses can cost from a few hundred up to thousands of dollars alone. In addition to the dress, you need to consider the cost of alterations, the shoes, veil, special jewelry, and any other accessories you may need, and all of these can easily add up. Be realistic with a price range you are comfortable with and stick with it. There is no point in wasting time trying on gowns you can only dream of affording.
3. Start Shopping Soon. As soon as you set the date of the ceremony, or a minimum of eight months prior, start setting aside time to shop for a dress. Give yourself enough time to pick a dress, so there is a wider selection to choose from and there is time to do fittings and alterations, if needed. Weekends are chaotic but popular shopping days, but a less stressful shopping experience can be had on a weekday morning. Consider taking a day off from work for this. For a personalized shopping experience, scheduling an appointment with a consultant may be helpful.
4. Choose a Style. Every bride desires to look her best on her wedding day. After all, much of the focus will be on her. That said, you should select a dress style that accentuates the best of you. Know what you like and what looks good on you. Do not rule out certain fabrics or silhouettes because you think they may not work. You may be surprised.
5. Let’s talk Size. Wedding dresses vary greatly in size and your dress will be ordered based on your current body dimensions. Though you may be planning to lose a few pounds and inches before the wedding day, it will be less expensive to make small alterations to your dress along the way than to squeeze into an ill-fitting, tight dress later.
6. Who to Bring. Friends and family mean well, but bringing too many people along for wedding dress shopping may result in a clash of opinions and ideas that may or may not be helpful to you. For a more relaxed and focused shopping experience at the boutique, bring along no more than one or two individuals for their support, such as your mother or a best friend.
7. Complete the Look. Your wedding look is not complete without the accompanying accessories that make it all come together. At each dress fitting, it would be helpful to bring along the undergarments you plan to wear on the wedding day, as well as the shoes, jewelry, veil and any other accessories.
8. Get it in Writing. A wedding dress is an expensive purchase and with any large expense item, you want to make sure you get what you ordered at the quoted price and delivered on the promised date. Regardless of where you order the wedding dress of your dreams and before you sign on the dotted line, ensure that every detail of the dress, from its size and color to designer label and style, is accounted for in writing.
Shopping for a wedding dress should not be just another task to check off your wedding to-do list. Give yourself as much time as possible to enjoy the experience, trust your gut, and ease off the expectations. You are shopping for what will surely be one of the happiest moments of your life, so make it as fun of an experience as you can. And, as always, if there are ever any other tasks we can shave off of your wedding day to-do list, we are here to help.
Image credit: Bill Davenport
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