Saying Yes to the Dress: 15 Tips to Getting it Right

• Set a budget. (Duh) but really, you’re only going to probably wear this wedding dress once so don’t feel like you have spend a ton of money on it just because you’ve seen unrealistic shows with brides with unlimited wedding dress budgets. Once you do, stick to this budget and your stylist should be able to keep you within it. Take into account alteration, and accessory costs. If you have a smaller budget, try checking out Facebook pages, or sample sales to help with costs. Look up trunk shows of the designers that you love. The retailers will usually have the top sellers in their newest collections and sometimes they offer discounts if you purchase your wedding gown that day or a few days after the trunk show. Note: don’t try dresses out of your budget.

• Save a ‘wedding dress’ folder on IG and Pinterest to bookmark any dreamy designers you come across and show this to your stylist to better assist the process.
• Research and pin style of wedding dresses that you think might suit your body best and keep that in mind BUT I also encourage you to try out something out of your comfort zone. Try on few different silhouettes. You might be surprised! I actually went with a wedding dress that wasn’t even on my list of styles to try on!!

• Make appointments (or assign your bridesmaid to) for all of your fittings and make a fun weekend out of it with your mom, mom in-law & MOH. Don’t forget to bring the bubbly & schedule some time for a lunch break. (We don’t want a hangry bridezilla trying on wedding dresses). But remember to choose your appointment guests wisely.
• Try not to have too many people at your appointments. Too many people is too many opinions and that gets confusing. Have a few people that you really trust. You want to feel as comfortable and confident as possible that day so invite people who will have a positive attitude. Make sure they’re supportive, uplifting and understand you and your style! Everyone will have their opinions so just do your best to focus on how you feel and your fiancé’s face when he sees you for the first time in your dream wedding dress.
• Be as specific as possible in the notes when scheduling your appointments so they can get an early impression of what you’re looking for and you can spend less time discussing and more time trying on the day of the appointment! Since they take time slots VERY seriously. If you’re set on a specific style, call prior to find out if they carry it so you’re not disappointed if they don’t.

• Bring your wedding shoes (or something similar height, any undies. spanx or bra you might be wearing that day).
• You may be tempted to wear a full face of makeup but a lot of salons have a no makeup rule so be sure to go over those prior to the appointments.
• Don’t get stuck on the sizing. Bridal sizing is smaller than street sizing. You will probably need alterations because almost no one will fit into a wedding gown perfectly. Calculate that time too, you need at LEAST 1 month for alterations to be completed. Safer bet is 2 months. I was in between a size 6 and 8 and went with the bigger option because even if I lost weight, it’s easier to alter a bigger dress than add to a smaller dress.
• Make sure you can walk, sit and more importantly dance in your wedding gown.

• Take pictures! Ask your guests to take pictures of you in the wedding dress contenders so you can have to refer back to later and compare to other dresses. (Check on the photo policy with the salon)
• Once you’ve found “the one” and you have purchased your wedding gown do not be tempted to try on other gowns. Most retailers require a non-refundable deposit or payment up front.
• Give yourself plenty of time to get your wedding gown. Gowns can take up to 6-10 months to make so the sooner you start looking, the better. Take into account shipping time multiple fittings and alteration. Find out when the new season arrives for your desired designer and if wearing last seasons dress matters to you, you may want to wait until the new season comes in if it’s close enough.

• Read your contract and get a copy! It has vital information about your dream wedding dress.
• Ultimately, trust your gut. IT’S YOUR DAY AND YOUR WEDDING DRESS so choose the one you love but also DON’T SETTLE! If you’re not overjoyed with it, it’s okay to move on and keep looking.
  Good luck wedding dress shopping angels x
  Salons I visited: Panache, Grace Loves Lace, BHLDN, Karoza and Blush.

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