Choosing a Wedding Dress

For those who love their fashion (and lets face it, many of you do!) choosing the wedding dress should be one of the most enjoyable parts of planning your wedding. As a result it is often one of the first steps in the planning process for many newly engaged women.

There are an enormous number of online websites out there selling wedding dresses at highly competitive prices, so taking the online route may be a wise move for those on a strict budget. However, for some brides-to-be, trying on wedding dresses in front of your bridesmaids and friends is a key life experience not to be missed for the sake of a discount. Furthermore, the fitting advise of an in-store sales assistant can be indispensable. Having said this, as with so many things in life, there is a cheeky third way for those who really want to save a few pounds: You could try all the dresses in-store, select a favourite and then try to find it for less online. It does seem a dis-service to the shop owner, but I leave it to your conscience to guide you!

As with choosing a wedding ring, when choosing a wedding dress it is important to go for a timeless design above cutting-edge fashion trends that may look very dated in the wedding photographs when you look back at them in a decade's time. Also, don't get too attached to any style before you have tried it on and decided whether that style really suits you and your body shape. It might also be worth considering whether that style would suit your husband to be too. (Not him wearing it of course!) If he is a very svelte man, and you choose a very frilly design, he may end up looking a bit dwarfed when standing next to you.

When you are trying on dresses make sure that you get to see how the rear of the dress suits you too (either by having a friend photograph the back, or by using two mirrors. When you are facing forward into a mirror it is all too easy to forget that the back of the dress is just as important! During the wedding ceremony, reciting your vows whilst facing your celebrant, it is the rear of the dress that will be visible to your guests and the wedding photographer.

Remember that your wedding will be a long day, and it is quite possible that you will be in your dress for 10-12 hours! Most likely the day will be so fantastic that it will seem to go by very quickly. What you do not want is for the day to drag along because you are in constant discomfort due to your wedding dress. Sometimes women suffer for fashion, however your wedding day is not a good day to do it!