Finding the perfect dress for any occasion does not need to be difficult or painstaking. By setting a budget, keeping up with current fashion trends, and knowing what styles are most flattering to your body shape, you can choose and purchase the perfect apparel for that party, event, or wedding. You might think that these things do not apply if you are looking for a bridesmaid dress or wedding gown, but keep the following common bridal mistakes in mind so that you do not make them yourself as you begin shopping, whether you choose to shop in person or shop online.
Trying on dresses you can’t afford. Make sure to start with a budget, and ensure that that budget includes funds that are set aside for alterations, undergarments, and other things that may be required to make the dress fit and wear appropriately. While you may be inclined to try on the gorgeous dress on the mannequin you know you can’t afford, keep in mind it will be all the more difficult to settle for a cheaper dress if you end up loving it.
Seek to try on only those dresses with work comfortably within the funding allocation you have set aside so that you don’t end up having regrets after you leave the store or find that you have blown the entire wedding budget out of proportion. Work with your wedding consultant to ensure that she pulls only those dresses with comfortable price tags.
Making a choice based on steep discounts. The flip side of the first mistake, choosing a dress based solely on its discounted price, is equally inadvisable. While the miser in you may want to keep the wedding dress budget to a minimum, you will spend a lifetime looking at pictures of yourself in this bridal gown. Be sure to find one within your budget that you absolutely love and speaks to your personal style and sense of self.
No amount of discount can counter choosing a dress based on its price tag alone. Sample sales are extremely popular, especially if you are able to fit in a dress that can be purchased right off the rack, but make sure to check the dress from top to bottom, and don’t settle for it just because it’s on sale.
Making a choice based on public opinion. Most brides bring along those they feel will provide them with the best opinions regarding the dresses they try on. But remember that wedding-dress shopping is often an emotionally charged event, and the people who love you the most may not be the ones willing to tell you the honest truth about the dresses you claim to love the most. There are, after all, some people you should not take wedding dress shopping.
Make sure that, in the entourage of people you bring to the wedding dress shop, there is at least one voice of reason who can tell you the truth about how it looks, how it fits, or whether the style is really you. Additionally, bystanders in wedding shops may also be excessively complimentary, without really knowing who you are and if the dress is representative of what you are looking for. Keep a clear head and take all of these opinions with a grain of salt, but ultimately, make a decision based on the finding “the one” that makes you feel most like you.
Trying on too many dresses. While shopping can be enjoyable and wedding-dress shopping is often an event, trying on too many dresses can be a mistake. After a while, the specifics of what you were looking for may get lost in the dozens of past try-ons, and what you liked about each may become blurred. While there is no set number of wedding dresses you should try or wedding shops you should visit, a general rule of thumb is trying on somewhere between four and seven gowns at any given time; anything over ten is likely to lead to confusion in choosing and make narrowing your choices virtually impossible.
While many brides say that they have looked at bridal gowns online or perused wedding shops they want to visit, many wedding consultants and planners advise against buying your wedding dress online. In addition to the possibility of not getting what you ordered or the dress not fitting as you planned, you also risk purchasing cheap knockoffs that are not at all what they appear to be, creating a wedding nightmare most brides would prefer to avoid.
Do you have any advice for brides-to-be? Would you like to share your wedding dress shopping story? Feel free to comment below.