You’ve said “Yes”. You’ve chosen a date. You’ve booked the ceremony and the venue and you’ve picked up Noreen Elizabeth’s bridal styling checklist. So what’s next? Shopping for ‘the dress’ of course…but where do you begin?
I’ve found and styled ‘the dress’ for many brides and I fully understand what’s involved when it comes to shopping for the most important dress you’ll ever buy. To make your wedding dress shopping experience all the more fun and successful, here are my 7 steps to shopping for your wedding dress.
It is advised you start looking for your wedding dress approximately 12-8 months before your wedding date. This gives you plenty of time to do some research, plan several shopping trips, order the dress (which usually takes about 6 months to make) and have an average of 2-3 fittings.
Choose a style and silhouette that is flattering for you. You may have an idea in your mind of what your ideal dress is, but this may not be the most flattering style for your frame. Be aware of your body shape and take time to consider what feels the most comfortable, most flattering and what makes you feel the most special.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the excitement of viewing dresses online, buying every bridal magazine available and spending hours window shopping at your local bridal boutiques. If you overload yourself with all of these options you will only begin to feel overwhelmed and confused and making a decision will become more difficult. Decide on a silhouette; look into designers who you think represent your style best and stay focused on exactly what you want from your dress.
4 Book an appointment
You’ve found the stores with the perfect dresses and you’re desperate to try them on. The average appointment lasts approximately two hours and the first time you try on the dresses is the most fun you can have in any shop, but it can be tiring. I recommend booking two appointments per day. Within each appointment you could try on up to 6 dresses, any more than twelve dresses and you’ll be exhausted and will struggle to remember what number 4 looked like and whether it was number 6 or 7 that you liked best?! It has to remain fun and exciting, so after your two appointments treat yourself to an afternoon off with your chosen ‘shopping buddy’ and have a chat about the dresses.
5 Your ‘shopping buddy’
Mum, sister(s), Grandmother, best friend, bridesmaids, aunty….check with the boutiques how many people they allow to visit at one time. I recommend you bring along the people who know you best, whose judgements you trust and who share your taste and style. My choice would be my Mum and my sister, they’ll know exactly what I’m looking for, what I like and I trust them to tell me if my backside looks big!
6 Get ready
Wear something comfortable that’s easy to change in and out of. A jersey dress is ideal with a pair of slip-ons rather than lace-up shoes. I’d advise against too much jewellery, you might be asked to remove it anyway as it could damage the delicate fabrics of the dresses.
The most important thing, and please, please, please don’t forget this ladies, is wear white or nude underwear, ideally a strapless bra. Believe me; a black bra with red polka dots will never look good with a white, strapless gown. The nude or white underwear will help to present a better picture of what the dresses could look like on the day. Full make-up and well-presented hair will do the same.
Remember to take along a pair of shoes that are the approximate height of what you think you would wear on the day. I think this is a very important point because, although many of the boutiques will have pedestals you can stand on to help the dresses fall better, the pedestals can be 6-8 inches high and present a very unrealistic picture of what the dress will look like. This is especially important if you’re petite.
7 On the day
You’ve completed all 6 steps and now you’re at your first appointment. The sales assistants will always be on hand to offer recommendations and alternatives to the dresses you have in mind. They deal with these dresses everyday so I’d recommend you take on board a few of their suggestions and try on some of styles they present to you.
Don't be pressurised into buying anything on the spot, unless you’re 100% sure you’ve found ‘the one’. Stores will offer "30% off if you buy today" and even tell you that "the line could be dropped at any time", but it’s a lot of money to spend without having a chance to think it over first. If there’s a dress you like, the assistant will be able to give you the full details and their contact number so you can take some time to consider your options before making a final decision.
To finish, celebrate the end of a hard shopping day with a glass of wine or coffee with your ‘shopping buddy’ or buddies and discuss your favourite dresses and eliminate the ‘not-so-sure’s’. Don’t panic if you don’t find your dress after your first or second shopping trip, it’s true what they say, you’ll know when it’s the one.
Noreen xx
