Finding the Perfect Wedding Dress

For every anxious bride who has long dreamed of being able to enjoy a perfect wedding with just the right bridal gown to wear, there is good news because there are many wonderful wedding dresses to choose from to help make the dream a reality. In fact, it is true that there’s never been a greater selection of bridal gowns and this makes it easier to find the absolute perfect wedding dress for that special day.

When beginning a search for a wedding gown, it is a good idea to tap into the considerable resources that are available on the internet and also through the many bridal magazines and books available. It is easy to find stunning pictures of designer wedding dresses that will very quickly give you an idea of what you will find when you set foot inside a wedding dress shop.

Many of today’s brides enjoy putting technology to work for them and scouting the internet for various bridal gown styles they think might suite them. But before making a decision, it is strongly suggested that you step away from the computer and get out to at least a few wedding dress shops so that you can try on your special gown first. Even though there are plenty of people who buy many articles of clothing online or from catalogs, that’s really not the best way to go for a wedding dress.

One of the biggest problems that brides encounter when they are shopping for their wedding gown is choosing the right style that best flatters them. While it is easy to fall in love with a designer wedding gown in a magazine that is draped over the frame of a model, it is often disheartening when that same dress, even in the correct size, does not have the same look at all when the bride tries it on. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to set aside enough time for trying on many different wedding gown styles before buying.

There are two major reasons for being very careful and selective about the choice of the wedding gown. First of all, the bridal dress is probably going to be the most expensive item of clothing that the bride has ever purchased. And secondly, and most important, is that for her wedding day the bride wants to feel her most confident and sexy and having the perfect wedding dress for her body shape and size is essential for that to happen.

A bridal dress can be found in just about any style that one can imagine. Styles range from ultra-formal to moderately formal and even to semi-casual. The formality of the wedding dress should reflect and match the overall style and tone that is being set for the wedding and should also match with the groom’s attire for the day.

When planning the overall schedule, there should always be extra time allowed to be able to carry out some minor alterations to the gown. This is to be expected, regardless of whether the dress was custom made or if it was bought off the rack. There are always some minor adjustments to be made to make sure that the bridal gown is perfect for the occasion.

Top 6 Tips for Finding Your Perfect Wedding Dress

Selecting the right wedding dress is one of the most important decisions you will make in planning your wedding. It can be more than a little daunting, as you know all eyes are going to be on you – and your dress – on the big day and you want to make sure that you are looking your best. It’s enough to drive some brides to despair. But with a little pre-planning it’s easy to get organized and on the right track to finding “the one”. Here are 6 top tips to help you find the perfect wedding dress for you:

1. Look for what you like – Some of us girls even have pictures of dresses saved from before we got our proposal! Looking in wedding magazines is always the useful first step to getting an idea of what you want – it’s fun too. Also use the internet as a resource. Keep these clippings and bookmark sites in your web browser. Top Tip: Use Google’s Image Search function to quickly browse through pictures of dresses (go to the Google homepage and click on the text that says ‘Images’ in the top left hand corner. Then search as normal for ‘wedding dresses’ – the results will be images instead of text).

2. Look early – This means looking at around 9 months ahead if possible. Say you have a proposal, set a date – ideally you can start looking then. If you are ordering a custom dress then this can take months to make and if you need alterations – as the majority of women do – this will also take time. A good seamstress is often booked up far in advance, so getting in early is essential.

3. Set a budget – Why does there have to be a budget?! Well, it’s way too easy to go overboard with the dress – but it is unfair to spend a huge proportion of the budget on a dress if it means your guests have to eat bread rolls all night! It’s important to strike a balance and setting a budget in advance can help you focus. And remember you can find stunning gowns for a few hundred pounds if you know where to look (check out our site below for more on this). Also remember alterations could cost a few hundred pounds, although some boutiques will do the alterations in store for you, if you negotiate with them.

4. How to pay – Instead of using a cash deposit, use a credit card. Why? To protect your purchase in case something goes wrong. This happened to my sister-in-Law… the dress shop went out of business a few weeks before her wedding day. Thankfully it was covered by the credit card company.

5. Set deadlines – From the point you buy your dress you need to give the seamstress specific deadlines for delivering the required alterations. It’s probably a good idea to allow for a bit of leeway and set deadlines that have a 1 – 2 week contingency built in.

6. Take a friend – Or someone you trust. Someone who has a style you like – this may not be your mum and it may not be your best friend. As much as you may like the look of a dress, a good second opinion is an essential sanity check. Remember to keep things appropriate – a grand wedding probably calls for a classic wedding dress and not a short white number. A semi-formal ceremony means you can wear a coloured dress or even something more modern and funky.