September 16, 2015
The “Dress” is such a HUGE part of the wedding day. Some girls grow up DREAMING about the perfect dress they want… for me, I didn’t have a CLUE! When I went into the bridal boutique, this lady asked me if I wanted a “ball gown” or more of a “fit n’ flare” or an “A line” style dress…. umm… I had NO IDEA what I was looking for! There were so many options!! I knew I didn’t want a “mermaid fit” but I was a little overwhelmed with my other options. Thankfully, I have the most patient family who came with me time and time again as I tried on dress after dress, searching for that perfect one!
There is so much that goes into not only picking a dress, but SHOPPING for one also. Here are some OVERALL dress tips for all of you engaged girls out there! :
1. Make a day of it! Decide to devote one Saturday to “dress shopping” and invite the mom’s! If you’re closer to your future mother-in-law, she would probably love to be there too! It’s a fund day for the girls and it’s a great time to help parents feel included and a part of the planning process! If it gets overwhelming, just stop and find some coffee! I had decided to keep it family only (as I didn’t want too many people seeing my dress!) so I went with my mom and dad, mother-in-law and sister-in-laws! It was perfect and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
2. Call ahead and make an appointment. A lot of newly engaged brides don’t realize that you can’t just waltz into a dress shop and try on whatever you see… you have to make an appointment to stand in front of that mirror and be oohhed and ahhhed at!
3. Try styles that you didn’t originally think you would necessarily like! You may be surprised, and it never hurts to TRY! What I had originally thought I wanted in a dress, ended up being the complete opposite of my final choice!
5. Don’t give up! If you’re on round 3 or 4 or dress shopping… it’s okay!! You will find one!! Just keep going! I was definitely the bride that found her dream dress on my 6th trip to the boutique!!
6. Know the difference between White and Ivory dresses. It used to be weird for a bride to have an off-white dress. I am kind of glad that tradition is fading away because pure white dresses do not photograph as well as off-white dresses. My wedding dress was off-white but you can HARDLY tell. Sometimes pure white dresses photograph with a “blue” tint to them because they are SO white. Thankfully I can adjust my “blues” in my post processing to correct this for the most part.:) Having just a slightly off white dress can really make a HUGE difference in your images AND it’s so flattering for the skin!
7. Pick a dress that you’re COMFORTABLE in. If you feel like you’re poured into it an can’t really get a “full” breath…. you can’t buy that dress. Imagine getting nervous on the wedding day and trying to get some deep breaths to calm down…. but you can’t, because your wedding dress doesn’t fit correctly! ah! Not good!
8. Don’t be afraid to ALTER a dress. I’ve seen SO many cool things be added to dresses! It can look so natural and unique! My dress, although beautiful, was plain when I first tried it on! But I knew that I wanted to make the dress my own! So we added a belt with intricate crystals! And then my Mom found the most stunning straps I had ever seen! Seriously, if I could attach them to every dress I own, I would!! All it took was some creativity and a good seamstress!!
9. Make sure your MOH or Mom is with you for your final dress fitting…. someone NEEDS to know how to bustle that thing! I’ve had bustles take over 30 minutes sometimes either because of operator error or something BREAKING. So make sure your planner has some safety pins just in case! (Also, having some emergency “white chalk” can cover up any minor stains on the dress…. )
10. Enjoy this process….this is supposed to be FUN!!! Stop worrying about impressing others and enjoy shopping for the gown of YOUR dreams!!
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