How to pick your Wedding Dress….First thoughts!
So you are engaged a while and the engagement parties have stopped. The date is set and the where and when has been sorted. The next big question on most brides minds is how do I pick my wedding dress.
Believe it or not if you ask yourself some simple questions first a lot of answers can be gained on narrowing the choice down. For example, What time of year is it, Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter, venue location, religious requirements, casual or formal affair? All of these make a significant impact on your decisions. Then after what is good to consider is the general feel of the wedding you would like as a bride. Creating a pinterest board to reflect your ideas is a great way to do this.
I have met with thousands of brides and helped them choose a dress and in doing so also helped them choose one to suit both their body shape, and venue and for the climate. I can’t stress how important it is on your big day to look amazing from every angle. If you have a large bust you will need good support in your gown, If you are a pear shape and have larger hips you may want to go more A-line and show off your waist. Or you may even want to go full on hour-glass and go all in! There should always be a feature to show off. But and I can’t stress this enough, your dress should be an extension of you and and it should be ‘YOU’ that everyone sees first. The dress should be a fabulous frame for you and not the other way round overpowering you.
Choosing the shops you visit it is helpful to consider the above information. Lots of shops and designers have a ‘look’ and some are more varied. The majority of shops offer dresses to order in your nearest size. If you go direct to a designer they will either do this or make you one exactly to your specific measurements. Most shops stocking many designers will have an in house seamstress who alters gowns to fit better. When you go direct to a designer’s shop they can tweek designs to fit or design and make you a one off creation to your exact measurements. There is an enormous difference in what a designer then can do for the client and the fitting standard achieved. Of course all of these options vary in cost and it is definitely worth asking what the range of gowns is that you are potentially going to see. It is terrible going to see something that looks amazing that you can’t afford.
Well trained bridal consultants are experts at often picking out the perfect dress for you after a little initial chat. If they don’t chat to you, to find out a bit about your wedding and venue etc then steer clear as I would say they are not focused on your dream dress.
Real bride Joy Isaacs. Bespoke Sharon Cunningham
Dressmakers are great too but the downside is that you will not see the design made up beforehand and they often work from domestic patterns available online. Designers create their own patterns and spend an inordinate amount of time perfecting the shape and finish of a dress often to the millimetre to achieve the most amazing silhouette and finish. They use their own often exclusive fabrics to totally custom make bespoke gowns. That’s why they look so amazing.
Comfort is important no matter what your budget and should be well made and not have uncomfortable, beading, embroidery, internal boning making you sore or digging in. Having boning digging in or beads scraping you can ruin your day. The photos and memories of your Wedding Day will be seen and remembered for many years to come so let them be fabulous ones!
So for now, hope you enjoyed my starting point on how to pick your wedding dress!
Sharon x