For many women, the vision of what their wedding gown will look
like has been in their head from the time they were a little girl.
For other women, choosing a gown is a thought they’ve dreaded.
Here is some help to tread the wedding gown waters.
The biggest thing you want in a wedding gown is something that will reflect your
style and personality.
If you fancy yourself a girly girl who prefers lace and ruffles, begin your
wedding gown
quest with gowns that are more elaborate in design.
If a sleek sophisticated look is more your style, a form fitted, simply
decorated gown might fit you perfectly
If you normally do not favor a sleeveless dress, you may not want to begin
your search with sleeveless gowns.
Another thing you must consider is the type of wedding you plan on having. If
your heart is set on a traditional, formal Church wedding,
let your gown reflect the elegant and formal atmosphere by choosing a floor
length gown with a train.
Maybe the wedding of your dreams is a simple backyard affair surrounded by
immediately family and close friends.
Then you might want to look at a dress that is made of a lighter fabric,
something shorter, or something with little or no beading.
Before heading out to the bridal shop, look through magazines and check websites
to find gowns that appeal to you.
Do you think you prefer white or ivory or something more colorful? Are you drawn
more to dresses with heavy beading and richer fabrics
or do you find that less is more in terms of what catches your eye? The
silhouette is what you will need when you go into the bridal salon.
Determine if you prefer an A-line type gown or a ball gown. Maybe it’s an empire
waist gown that best suits you,
or you may be drawn to the simple sheath.Armed with photos and a basic idea of
what you like will make it easier when you get to a bridal shop to
weed through the hundreds of gowns you may find there.
In choosing a bridal shop, ask friends and family members for recommendations
and ask them to recount their own experiences.
Get opinions on the gown selection, the length of time it takes to order a
dress, how long alterations take,
how much alterations cost, and what other services are offered at the
shop. Do phone ahead to the shops you are interested in
and make an appointment so that you will have a dedicated sales person working
with you.
When you go to the bridal shops, take someone you trust with you. It will be
very helpful to have along your mother or your maid of honor.
Not only will you want someone to give you their honest opinion on how you look
in the gowns you try on, but you may also need someone
to remind you of the gowns you like. Many bridal shops will not allow you to
take pictures of yourself in the gowns,
and if you don’t decide at the shop which dress you want, having another person
remind you of which dresses you liked will be helpful.
Upon arriving at the shop, you will soon realize that the gowns do not come in
your size. Most bridal shops have sample gowns for you to try on,
and in nearly every case, the sample will be too large or too small. This
is where it will come in handy to have done your homework.
If you know that the A-line gown is most flattering to your figure and the
type of dress you find most appealing, it will help you to
decide if the A-line gown you have on is what you want, even if you can’t
get a clear picture in a sample that is too small.
And bridal gowns are altered to fit you from head to toe. The gown will
fit you like a glove when the alterations are completed,
but in order to get a custom fit, you may have to order a gown that seems like
it may be too big.
No matter what your budget, you will find gowns in price ranges from the
hundreds of dollars to the tens of thousands of dollars.
You might also find that a local dressmaker will recreate the out of your budget
dress of your
dreams for a fraction of what a large design house charges.
At the end of the day, the most important thing will be how your gown makes you
look and feel. Be comfortable in the dress, and make
sure you can dance in it, sit in it, and not be sorry at the end of your long
wedding day that this was the dress you chose.
Your gown should make you feel like the princess you are on your wedding day.
Don’t settle for anything less!