When a girl thinks about her wedding, the first thing her mind will immediately turn to has to be how she feels about it and how she’ll look on her special. And of course, how to choose a wedding dress. But oh, we wish it is that simple to go into a store and pluck the fanciest and most beautiful gown off the rack.
Wedding dress hunting can be as challenging as planning the whole event. And if your special day is approaching, here are a few pieces of advice on how to choose a wedding dress.
How to Choose a Wedding Dress
Looking for the perfect wedding dress is an easy feat, not to mention confusing shop appointments, sample dresses that don’t fit, rude shop assistants, seemingly perfect dresses that don’t suit you, or unsolicited opinions from friends and family members.
For soon-to-be brides, make sure to give yourself enough time to look for the perfect wedding dress. If you are not comfortable with a particular shop and its attendants, walk away and don’t stress yourself about their service.
If you want a specific wedding dress but find it doesn’t suit you once you’ve tried it on, don’t worry because there are hundreds more out there. One that will surely fit and suit you more.
Finalize location and time
Knowing the location and time of your wedding will help you narrow down your options. Daytime ceremony on the beach? Cross out ball gowns, long trains, and dramatic designs. If you are getting married in the cathedral, look for something more romantic, more elegant, and less revealing.
Most wedding dresses are made with fabrics that can be used all year round but if you are getting married during the warmer weather, ideal fabrics are linen and organdy while velvet and brocade are best for winter weddings.
Set a budget
The most important thing in any ‘how to choose a wedding dress’ article has to be a bride’s budget.
Before shopping for a wedding dress, first, decide how much you are willing to spend on it. A wedding gown, including the veil, undergarments, and accessories, is about 10% to 15% of the total wedding costs. There are also some extras like alterations, shipping fees, professional pressing, or steaming, that’ll cost a few more hundreds of thousands.
Let your salesperson know that you are strictly on a budget or if you are a bit flexible so she’ll know which gowns to take out for you to see.
Bring a few, not a lot
In picking a wedding dress, it is important to bring a few people with you for opinion. It is best to bring your mom, sister, best friend, or even your brother if he has stylish input. However, don’t bring a lot of people so you don’t get overwhelmed with too many opinions on how to choose a wedding dress.
Narrow down the people to bring during fitting to 2 to 3 people whom you trust, like close friends and family members.
Keep an open mind
We all have our dream wedding dresses and as much as possible, we want to stick to the ones we want. However, bridal consultants and shop assistants will always ask brides-to-be to keep an open mind when it comes to trying on wedding dresses.
There are certain designs and styles of wedding gowns that don’t look good on hangers but look and fit fantastic when worn. Shop assistants are also experts in assessing your body type and what kind of wedding dress suits your figure the most.
So if you are not particularly fond of the A-line dress but multiple consultants urge you to try, it doesn’t hurt to try one that is recommended by these salespeople, who knows how to choose a wedding dress.
On the other hand, don’t give in to persuasive talks and purchase a gown you are not 100% in love with.
Plan. Plan. Plan
A wedding is months and months of preparation. And so is looking for the perfect wedding gown. If you are having your gown made, start 6 to 9 months before the wedding. This is so you have enough time to order the dress, for alterations, and shipping. You wouldn’t want to have a massive frame in your living room with a wedding gown that you are not in love with.
Before going out for the day, decide where you want to go and call the stores in advance. You can always ask them for the price range of their dresses, if they include accessories, or if they provide alterations. Certain stores also require that you schedule an appointment so make sure to call first before walking in and finding out they won’t be able to cater to you.
Limit yourself to 2 to 3 stores a day so you don’t overwhelm yourself and end up forgetting the styles of the gowns you’ve seen. You can also jot down details if there’s a particular dress that you’d like but you want to check other stores out first.
