Choosing THE dress

Come dress yourself in love, let the journey begin - Francesca da Rimini

Yay, you're engaged to the love of your life. The film reel of the perfect wedding you've planned for yourself starts to roll. You've got the venue, the groom, the scenery, ambiance ...... now to find the perfect dress. Like any other thing in life, you shouldn't just run to a store and buy the first dress that fits neither should you wait till a week before the wedding to pick your dress either. Selecting the dress should be planned and is an experience that should be enjoyed. Here's what you need to do:

Do your research: Start planning early. Six months to the wedding is ample time, if its earlier then better. Buy wedding magazines, join wedding websites online, check out designer dresses. Search, search and search. Keep an open mind. Learn the lingo, types of silhouettes, fabrics, train lengths e.t.c. From all of your searching, build a picture of the kind of dress you want. Envision your wedding and what you see yourself wearing. Write down these details in a notebook that should be taken along with you when you eventually decide to hit the shops.

Decide on a silhouette: Knowing your body shape will help you know the kind of silhouette that will flatter you the most. Remember flaunt your assets and down-play the imperfections. The common silhouettes wedding dresses are made in are ball gowns, sheaths, A-line and empire waist. These will be discussed in details in another post.

Wedding style: Is your wedding a formal or informal affair? If its formal, the dress usually is long and has a long train while for informal weddings a short dress will do just fine. Do you want the traditional white dress or you want a dress in your favorite colour? Will the weather be hot or cold? This is to determine the kind of fabric you want your dress to come in. When all this have been decided, the next thing is to look at your budget.

The cost: Like i said in my first post, before starting any form of planning the first thing to do is to have a budget. Once you've decided all the details you want your wedding dress to have, check your budget and see how much has been set aside for the dress, veil, shoes and accessories. This costs should guide you when you go shopping. 

When going to the shops remember, buy a dress that you're comfortable in and makes you feel beautiful. Next stop, how to shop for a wedding dress.