Shopping for a wedding dress can be the most exciting phase of wedding planning.
If you jump in headlong without a plan and without backup, though, it can also be the most overwhelming, stressful, and emotionally taxing part of the whole process.
If you're not careful, and even if you are, you might find that minor differences of opinion with your parents or future parents-in-law over vision or theme turn into full scale brou-ha-ha when it comes down to ball gown vs.
mermaid, strapless vs.
long sleeved, modest vs.
va-va-va voom, and white vs...
any other color.
How can you structure your dress search to be an enjoyable process that you look back on with a smile, rather than one that you look back on and say "thank God that's over!"? Plan, baby, plan.
The first place I am going to send you is to your closet.
I want you to take a look at your go to feel good "I look awesome in this" dress.
What do you like about it? Is it the length? The cut? The neckline? We're not looking at specifics here, but at the bones of the thing.
You don't have one? What did you wear to your engagement party? Your first date? What are your best features? This is not the time to indulge in your negative body issues.
The question here is not what you want to hide, but what you want to accentuate.
It might be your collarbones or your complexion.
It might be your eyebrows or your cheekbones.
Heck, your favorite feature might be your ears.
I don't care.
Find the positives about yourself and make a list.
Keep these things in mind, the structure of the outfit you look best in and the features you want to accentuate, when you go to your next stop, your ideas binder.
Pull ideas pictures that emulate the lines of that "I look fabulous" outfit in your closet and/or that show off those must-see features.
Next, pull the inspiration photos that have must-have features for you.
If you know, for example, that you have to have sleeves, or that you want a tea length gown, or that you simply must have a pillbox hat with an eye-length Swarovsky crystal studded veil-let rather than a traditional veil, pull those photos, too.
Now that you've picked your top contenders from your ideas binder and you have an idea of what you like and what you think might work well on your body, get dressed in a comfortable outfit that is easy to get in and out of (you're going to be trying on a lot of dresses here, after all!), and undergarments that fit well, are comfortable, and make you feel confident and even a little bit sexy, assemble your posse, and head to the store.
Whether you're headed to That Guy's Bridal, Fancy Shmancy Boutique Number Four, a designer creating a one of a kind dress just for you, or a friend making your dress as a favor/wedding gift, your prep up to this point is the same.
If you jump in headlong without a plan and without backup, though, it can also be the most overwhelming, stressful, and emotionally taxing part of the whole process.
If you're not careful, and even if you are, you might find that minor differences of opinion with your parents or future parents-in-law over vision or theme turn into full scale brou-ha-ha when it comes down to ball gown vs.
mermaid, strapless vs.
long sleeved, modest vs.
va-va-va voom, and white vs...
any other color.
How can you structure your dress search to be an enjoyable process that you look back on with a smile, rather than one that you look back on and say "thank God that's over!"? Plan, baby, plan.
The first place I am going to send you is to your closet.
I want you to take a look at your go to feel good "I look awesome in this" dress.
What do you like about it? Is it the length? The cut? The neckline? We're not looking at specifics here, but at the bones of the thing.
You don't have one? What did you wear to your engagement party? Your first date? What are your best features? This is not the time to indulge in your negative body issues.
The question here is not what you want to hide, but what you want to accentuate.
It might be your collarbones or your complexion.
It might be your eyebrows or your cheekbones.
Heck, your favorite feature might be your ears.
I don't care.
Find the positives about yourself and make a list.
Keep these things in mind, the structure of the outfit you look best in and the features you want to accentuate, when you go to your next stop, your ideas binder.
Pull ideas pictures that emulate the lines of that "I look fabulous" outfit in your closet and/or that show off those must-see features.
Next, pull the inspiration photos that have must-have features for you.
If you know, for example, that you have to have sleeves, or that you want a tea length gown, or that you simply must have a pillbox hat with an eye-length Swarovsky crystal studded veil-let rather than a traditional veil, pull those photos, too.
Now that you've picked your top contenders from your ideas binder and you have an idea of what you like and what you think might work well on your body, get dressed in a comfortable outfit that is easy to get in and out of (you're going to be trying on a lot of dresses here, after all!), and undergarments that fit well, are comfortable, and make you feel confident and even a little bit sexy, assemble your posse, and head to the store.
Whether you're headed to That Guy's Bridal, Fancy Shmancy Boutique Number Four, a designer creating a one of a kind dress just for you, or a friend making your dress as a favor/wedding gift, your prep up to this point is the same.
SHARE
