Finding the perfect wedding dress is probably the most important thing on a bride’s list of things to do. It’s your special day and you want a special dress to celebrate the occasion. Shopping for the perfect wedding dress can be a chore, but should be treated as a fun event.
I ended up doing most of my wedding planning by myself, as my mom was busy taking care of my grandmother, who had been diagnosed with cancer not long after my engagement. My grandmother lived almost two hours away and my mom ended up staying at her house most of the time to provide care.
There was one thing that I didn’t want to do by myself or with another girlfriend. That was going shopping for my wedding dress. I knew my mom had different tastes from me and we probably wouldn’t agree on a whole lot of dresses, but I wanted that special shopping day to be shared with my mom. I also thought that if we did agree on a dress, that it would be “that special one.”
After all, a wedding is supposed to be a one-time event and I wanted to share it with my mom, who would always be in my life. Friends may come and go, but family is always family. We managed to get a weekend together cleared for my mom to be at home and planned a day of shopping that Saturday.
My mom and I visited the largest bridal boutique in town first, as we both thought the best selection would be there. It turned out that they didn’t have any dresses that I both liked and could afford, so we went to a couple other stores before ending up at the mall at Dillard’s Bridal Department.
After trying on dress after dress all day long, I finally found a dress at Dillard’s that met my approval. It had all the details I wanted, a sweetheart neckline, beaded pearls and embroidery on the bodice and skirt, a long train and was under $1,000. Sold!
A few tips I learned from shopping for a wedding dress were:
1. Have an idea of what you want before you start your shopping adventure.
2. Be open to other styles and designs. What you think you like and want from seeing pictures in bridal magazines may not look well on you or your body type-that is unless you have a perfect body like the models in the photos.
3. Bring along your best critique for the shopping trip, whether it is your mom, future mother in law, friend or sister. Limit two guests shopping with you because of limited time and space. You want someone who will give you their honest opinion. More than two, just makes for a difficult time focusing on what you are doing and wastes time. Besides, you don’t want to purchase a dress just to please them; this one is all about YOU!
4. Bring pictures and/or bridal magazines with you shopping so you can show the consultants which styles you like and prefer. This makes their job much easier in finding what you want.
5. Try it on! Even if you don’t think you like it! Dresses take on a whole new look when you have them on. So if the sales clerk/friend/mom suggests a dress to you that you don’t like, try it anyway! It may compliment your features better than what you have in mind and actually be a better choice.
6. Stay within budget. There is no reason to pay a fortune for a wedding dress. You only wear it once! Keep shopping or find a seamstress in your area that can make the dress you want at an affordable price!
7. Don’t settle for a dress you don’t really like. This dress is for your special day and you shouldn’t have to compromise.
Source:
Personal experience