When it comes to wedding gown buying, there are a slew of frequent blunders that brides make, often because they are unprepared or reluctant to think beyond their ideal picture. However, wedding gown buying does not have to be stressful, futile, or time-consuming. Here are the top 10 mistakes we see brides make when shopping for a wedding gown; if you can avoid them, you’ll be great!
1. They are unaware of their financial situation.
Unless you have an infinite budget, you should have a rough sense of what you can spend. Obviously, if you look for affordable wedding dresses at a factory outlet or a discount designer boutique, your budget will stretch a lot farther, but you still need to know how much you can spend.
2. Ignoring additional expenditures
When you’re planning your wardrobe, keep in mind that you’ll be wearing more than a dress! You should think about your shoes, underwear, a veil if you’re going to wear one, any new jewellery (I’m thinking most of us didn’t have a tiara before we got married! ), and even your hair and make-up.
3. Bringing an excessive number of people
You should absolutely bring someone with you. Many people bring their mother, sibling, or close friend with them. Whoever you choose should be individuals you can trust to give you an honest assessment but also not trying to get you to buy a dress they like instead of one you like! If you have more than two people, you’ll wind up with too many diverse points of view, which might be confusing. Besides, you want as many people as possible to be surprised by your wedding gown on the big day!
4. Getting ready to go dress shopping for a bridal gown
Okay, shopping for a wedding gown is more special than regular shopping, but there’s no need to get all dolled up for us! If you’ll need more support under your wedding gown, make sure you’re wearing a well-fitting bra, but otherwise, casual is OK. In fact, we’d prefer that you didn’t wear any make-up that could smudge the outfits.
5. Getting up too early (or too late!) to go shopping
Shopping at wedding dress factory outlets, for example, is less of a concern because these dresses don’t need to be produced from scratch for you, but you should still allow enough time for any changes. When it comes to shopping too early, you should at the very least have the wedding date set, as well as the venue, as all of these factors will impact the style of dress you select. Also, if you aren’t ready to buy, you can fall in love with a dress that isn’t available when you have the funds.
6. Not doing any preliminary research
It’s fine to keep your options open when it comes to dress styles, but you should have some concept of what you enjoy. Knowing your venue will help (beach weddings have a completely different dress code than church weddings! ), but spend some time to look at some photos and see what you like. Perhaps you prefer a removable train than a built-in one, or plainer gowns to more intricate ones. Looking at all the wedding dresses on the rails might be a little befuddling if you don’t know where to start!
7. Only try on one style at a time
Being insistent that you would only try on white strapless ballgowns, on the other hand, may mean you lose out on a dress that would suit you better, as well as limiting your options.
8. Attempting to purchase a smaller size under the guise of “I’ll lose weight before the wedding.”
It’s easy to say, but not so easy to do, and although we’re not suggesting you won’t lose weight before your big day, keep in mind that most gowns can be taken in up to four sizes without losing their design. It’s considerably more difficult to let a dress out, and even if you can, you’ll only be able to do so by one size. So pick a dress that fits right now and get it altered when you lose weight!
9. Forgetting that they had to wear the dress for the entire day
This may seem self-evident, yet many individuals will try on a dress and decide to buy it without even sitting in it. Consider how comfortable your wedding gown will be to wear when sitting down, eating, and even dancing in. This is especially critical with corset-style bodices, which can be confining, and fishtail dresses, which, if excessively tight, can prevent you from sitting at all!
10. Buying a dress that you don’t like.
It’s YOUR outfit. It should be the dress to which you compare all other gowns (I still do this four years later, and I still love my wedding gown more than any other!). Choosing a gown because it made your mother cry, or because it has a colour trim that matches the bridesmaids’ gowns, is not a good idea. You’re not going to do this again, so make sure you get the wedding gown of your dreams.
