My sister and I couldn't be less alike in some ways. While I talk about, think about and design wedding dresses all day long, when she got married several years ago shopping for the dress was one of the most stressful parts of her wedding planning (Clearly if I had started my business things would have been different!) I asked her to pick some top tips for people who hate shopping.
Shopping for your wedding dress can be a really fun experience - you get to try on beautiful dresses and feel like a princess. Who wouldn't love that? Still, there are people who absolutely love going on shopping trips and then there are people like me who just want it all to end so we can go home and read a book. I've been dragged kicking and screaming to the shops in the past because I had completely run out of clothes. But I promise, even for people like me, buying your wedding dress can be something which you will remember fondly. This is how I made it fun:
- Take one or two trusted friends with you - not more
Going wedding dress shopping with a big group of people including your family and all your bridesmaids is great for some people and I'm not trying to say that they are wrong. But if you're the sort of person who finds shopping physically and mentally exhausting, the last thing you're going to want is loads of people bombarding you with opinions and options. Just keep it small. After having been dragged round several places unsuccessfully by my mum and sisters, I ended up taking just my husband-to-be and very quickly found a dress that we both loved. Everyone was scandalised that I had let him see the dress before the wedding but in the end, his opinion was most important to me and isn't that what matters at the end of the day?
- Have an idea in your head about what you want - but be open to other possibilities
I was clear from the beginning that I wanted an empire line dress that hung from the shoulders, but I did try on a variety of other styles before settling on one that I really loved. It's important to try out a few different shapes because you might find that something suits you really well that you would never have thought of. In the end I got an empire line dress that hung from the shoulders, but trying on other styles confirmed to me that I was making the right choice about that. And the neckline I ended up with was different from what I thought I wanted, because once I tried it on I discovered that I liked it better.
- Don't be afraid to be picky
I mentioned that my first dress shopping trip was unsuccessful. All the places I visited seemed to have a very limited variety of styles which they seemed to expect me to just fit into even though none of them were me at all. I didn't want a strapless dress but everything seemed to be strapless. You don't have to compromise on this - you want to feel completely comfortable with your dress on your big day, and it's perfectly ok not to just get one that's the best of a bad lot. Getting your dress made for you bespoke is a really good way of making sure you get the wedding dress of your dreams.
- And lastly, just relax and have fun! This only happens once!
