I remember vividly stepping into the first wedding dress shop I was trying out in order to find my dream wedding dress. This type of dress isn’t something you can just pluck out randomly and when you get into the shop, it soon becomes apparent as to why.
THERE ARE SO MANY WEDDING DRESSES TO CHOOSE FROM. You’ve also only got so much time to try on as many dresses as possible and even then, you have the fear that you’re going to have missed out on your dream dress somewhere deep within the racks of wedding dresses available.
If this experience of overwhelming fear is something you’ve felt as you’ve shopped for your wedding dress or perhaps you’re about to shop for your dress for the first time, then never fear. I would think that most brides have all been in the same boat. There’s a lot of pressure to pick the right dress and to be sure that the dress you pick, is the right option for you. With so much selection and so many bridal shops to explore, it can be a challenging period of your wedding planning that you want to get right.
I never thought that I would go for the dress that I ended up wearing on the day. I had a completely different vision in my hand, especially as I’d tried on this type of dress at a wedding show before. However, it just goes to show, that your dream dress finds you, and often enough, it’s the one you never thought you’d wear. How do you pick your wedding dress? Well, hopefully, this guide will help you solve this problem. I mean, let’s be honest, it’s a good problem to have.
*This post may contain affiliate links.
*This post may contain affiliate links.Set yourself a budget
A budget is key, especially when it comes to a wedding dress. These dresses aren’t cheap and despite being on a budget ourselves, it could have easily been a case of needing to spend more. However, I was pretty strict with my budget, telling myself that even though my parents had offered to pay, I wouldn’t go above £1,500-£2,000. I’ve never understood the appeal of buying a £10,000 dress for the sake of just a dress. My plan with my wedding dress was to sell it afterward in order to treat me and Mum to something meaningful and memorable. After all, I made all the memories in the dress on the day.
With that being said, make sure you have a budget and ensure you’re vocal about this when speaking to the bridal consultant upon your arrival. They may ask you for your budget before so that they can pre-plan what to show you and which areas of the store to steer you clear from.
Look for inspiration online for designers
Somewhat surprisingly, despite having picked out a number of favourable designers for wedding dresses, I ended up going with none of them in the end. However, I still feel like browsing designers online was important in the dress shopping journey.
While a wedding dress for me was meaningful, I never allowed myself to get too stressed or to overthink the choice of the dress. Looking at designers online, helped me narrow my search into what type of dress I was after. Was it lace or chiffon material that I desired? What about the neckline? Sleeves or no sleeves?
Some designers are definitely more specific in their styles and the approach they take when designing wedding dresses. I certainly recommend you do some digging yourself into wedding dresses.
Shop both boutique and larger-scale bridal shops
There are a variety of bridal shops available and when I was looking, I wanted to try and do as much of it up where my parents live because that would just make it easier when it came to the bridal fittings and the collection of the dress. We didn’t have enough room here in our London flat to be able to keep it out of sight from my husband (fiance at the time).
My advice when picking out the wedding shops is to first check if they offer your style, budget choice, and any of the designers you’ve favourited. It’s also good to see what type of bridal shop they are. Some are more large-scale shops, whereas others offer a more boutique service. I visited two boutique shops and one large shop. The first boutique shop was a starting point to try on dresses and start whittling down what I was after. The second big shop helped me find two dresses that I would have happily worn on the day. The third and final boutique shop was where I found my dress and where I had that A-HA moment. For those who are interested, I got my dress from Caroline Bailey Bridal.
Take the right people with you
When it comes to shopping for such a key part of your wedding day and wedding day attire, you need to take the right people with you. If it were outside of COVID-19, I would have had my maid of honour at the first initial shop. However, I was limited at the time to my mum, nan, and Auntie.
For me, their opinions really mattered and it was a good balance of critiques that I thought I got when it came to trying on dresses. Most of the shops also allowed everyone to hunt out dresses and make their suggestions. I would highly recommend allowing anyone you bring with you, to pick out dresses for you too. It’s always good to get the perspective of others and what they envision you in.
Trust your gut and most importantly – YOUR initial reaction
Ok – so the feeling exists. If you don’t know what I mean, it’s that moment when you put on the dress and your initial first reaction is – ‘This is the dress‘.
I was worried that this feeling didn’t exist and that it just wasn’t something that was going to happen to me. In my mind, I felt that because I didn’t dream of my perfect wedding from a young age, that my emotions wouldn’t be that invested in finding the perfect wedding dress.
However, I couldn’t be more wrong. Trust your gut and more importantly, your initial reaction to putting on the dress. As soon as I hoisted it up into position and the wedding dress shop owner was zipping up the back, I knew that it was the dress I would walk down the aisle in.
Don’t be too disappointed if you don’t find it in the first shop
While there’s a lot of pressure for you to find your dress on the first visit, don’t be disappointed if it doesn’t happen. I think that’s an unrealistic perspective to have, especially if it’s in the very first shop you try. For me, I didn’t find my dress until the third shop and that was part of the second time shopping for a wedding dress. I know that I’m probably an early decision-maker in comparison to some other brides who visit many shops before finding their dress.
Try not to put on too much pressure or be too disheartened. I know it’s easy to do as I felt deflated after my first visit. However, I made sure it didn’t deter me or make my future shopping experiences even more pressure-loaded.
Only try on a veil if you are close to saying yes to the dress
The veil – if you choose to have one – is the part of the dress that’s like the cherry on top. It’s the accessory that completes the dress in my opinion and so it’s important to see it that way when choosing your dress. Ideally, you only want to try on your veil if you are close to saying yes to the dress. It’s important that you’re not doing it with every dress, otherwise, I feel like it would take the magic away. Most of the time, the dresser will only provide you with a veil or suggest a veil if they feel you are ready for it. Otherwise, they’ll wait for your request to try a veil on with the dress.
A veil is quite an emotionally-inducing garment too so you don’t want to be crying in every dress you try on.
Don’t be pressured to buy any extras beyond just the dress
There are many extras that the dresser might suggest to you but you should never feel pressured to buy everything and anything. For example, I bought the dress and the veil on the day. I then later bought the shoes and lastly the jewellery just one or two months before the big day. Even though it might feel like you have to buy everything with the dress on the day, that certainly isn’t the case.
Oh and make sure you say – yes to the dress!
It’s an obvious one and if it wasn’t for me and my Auntie’s obsession with the show – Say Yes To The Dress – I probably wouldn’t have made a big deal out of it. However, there’s something so fun about having your own reality tv moment, even if there are no cameras about it. It’s a great way to make confirmation that this is the dress and to celebrate with cuddles and kisses all around.
The dress that I ended up going for was from the brand LadyBird. I am intending to sell it, so if that’s something of interest, feel free to get in touch!
What experience did you have with your wedding dress shopping? Are you going shopping soon for your wedding dress? Let me know in the comments below.
