The dress! Some of us have dreamt about our wedding dress from being little girls, I spent so much time designing wedding dresses with my Fashion Wheel in the 80's, you can imagine, all huge frills, bows and puffy sleeves.
Once the engagement is announced and the date is set, for a Bride-to-be, it becomes ‘all about the dress’ but selecting a wedding gown is not like the usual dress shopping experience and nine times out of ten the designs you’ve pinned on your mood board or the styles created in your mind are nothing like the dress you walk down the aisle in. There is an art to finding the perfect wedding dress. There are four important elements; silhouette, shade and fabric, with the biggest consideration being comfort. When making your plans the first rule is to ensure the focus is on fun and to give yourself plenty of time, definitely more than one day for the search; you hopefully only get the one wedding dress so don’t put any pressure on yourself and I’d always recommend making it the most spectacular experience you can. It’s really surprising how many Brides select the first dress they try on or settle on a dress because of the anxiety they have built up.
I always plan three days for wedding dress shopping into the schedule. The first day I book appointments in three to four boutiques and request a range of dresses in the different silhouettes, shades and fabric. All the glitz and gloss at this stage is irrelevant. There is a golden rule to adhere to; your hair colour and skin tone must be the same on the search days as it will be on your wedding day otherwise you may fall in love with a dress that doesn’t compliment your new look come wedding day. Also, take into consideration if you wish to lose or gain weight between the two dates, if your body is going to change shape drastically this will have a huge impact on the effect of the dress; what flatters one body shape and size won’t suit another. Working out the perfect combination that really showcases your beauty is the key to you feeling incredible and truly special; the princess effect. It took me ages to find my dress so do not panic. It took me a whole day to figure out the shape and whether to wear a full dress or bodice with skirt, then finding the right colour that suited my skin tone and made eyes sparkle took much longer.
The key ingredient is comfort. If you are not comfortable the dress is not right for you, you may love the beauty of the dress but if it’s wearing you, it will show. Remember you need to be able to move in it, eat, drink, be merry and throw your awesome booty on the dance floor; your partner can’t sweep you off your feet if you’re trapped in your dress! I’ve had to rescue a few brides out of their dresses during their wedding day who forgot all about comfort and ended up having panic attacks, asthma attacks and anger attacks, all because of the dress and the discomfort it created. You want to radiate elegance and beauty not look like a slow cooker about to go off.
Most importantly have fun, include bubbles and fun with frolics in your experience. You and your family and friends will cry and giggle your way through the adventure so plenty of tissues and lots of photos. When will you know which wedding gown is the one, believe me, you’ll know, it’s the most incredible moment; enjoy the magic!