8 Tips For Picking The Perfect Wedding Dress
When little girls invest their math classes daydreaming of weddings (rather than winning the World Series -- not to say you can't do both), what do they dream of initial? The ideal wedding dress, of course: a gown in white satin having a bustle and sweeping train, the ideal embellishments, and also the ideal shoes.
There are couple of occasions in our modern world where a woman finds herself in a position to wear a no-holds-barred ball gown, a lot much less a crystal tiara, and all too many where she's known as on to wear to a neutral suit or uninspiring "biz-caz" combo. No wonder that with so many brides, their wedding plans begin with the dress.
Many of these brides are lucky. They might search high and low, braving chilly department stores and pushy bridal shops, but eventually they come face-to-face with The One. They know this is The One simply because they begin crying, or their mother or friends all begin crying at once. Suddenly the rest of the planning ... the theme, the tone, the right type of venues ... it all springs to life.
Other brides aren't as fortunate. They've searched just as hard, working their way via shops across three or four states, but they haven't discovered The One. Instead, they've discovered three or four Contenders, all of which are serviceable and nice, but not earth-shattering enough to tell them that now is definitely time to stop the searching and get on with the planning. These brides have it harder.
Even if you're the initial type of bride, buying the dress is such a momentous choice that you run a risk of falling into that wallet-skinning category referred to as the Two-Dress Bride. Here are some suggestions for picking the ideal dress and avoiding that awful fate.
1. Bring the entourage, but do not purchase. It is fun and helpful to bring your mother, friends or sisters on the dress-shopping expedition. It gives you a buffer against an overbearing sales staff, and it's fun to see if your impressions of perfection are shared by your loved ones, not to mention how they'll love being part of such an important choice. But no matter how enthusiastic everyone gets over a certain dress, do not purchase within the heat of the moment. Give yourself time to reconsider and purchase having a cool head later, alone. The vast majority of dresses are non-returnable, so when you have bought it, you have bought it.
2. Don't purchase too early unless you need to. Bridal gowns can take four to ten months to come from the manufacturer, but there's no reason to purchase over a year ahead of time, unless your chosen style is going to be discontinued. Give yourself some time to sit on your choice. Once you pick a gown, you will see a hundred others nearly like it. You'll become a walking encyclopedia on that style of gown. All the better in the event you still have room to select.
3. If you have bought "The One," stop shopping. Any more window-shopping at this point will only lead you down the road toward the dreary land of Two-Dress Brides. What you should do instead is remember that blissful feeling of having tried on The One. Go get The One out of the closet, put it on and stand in front of the mirror. You'll remember precisely why it's The One.
4. If you have bought "The One" and can't stop shopping, get a second opinion. Show your initial and second choices to other brides. Be honest -- tell them you have already remortgaged your condo for the initial dress, but you believe this second dress might be It. They'll be truthful, too -- the initial one was better. You'll feel reassured.
5. Don't tell yourself "I'll sell the old dress and select a new one." This old saw of the Two-Dress Bride just won't work. You'll by no means get more than a fraction of what you paid for your initial dress in the event you bought it new.
6. Don't be afraid to aim high -- no matter what your spending budget. Some brides knew from the begin they wanted a designer label, but life just didn't cooperate by making them heiresses. Yet all isn't lost if you're willing to shop courageously. At any given moment, a better-heeled bride is selling her once-used St. Pucchi or Ulla-Maija on eBay. She paid thousands upon thousands, but you, smart shopper, will pay half that or much less. To take this road, you need to shop earlier than other brides so you will have a choice of gowns. Always pay having a credit card so you will have recourse if the dress doesn't arrive in acceptable condition, and once more, shop early so you are able to purchase an additional if essential. Shop courageously, but not recklessly.
7. Shop on-line, but by no means send a check. Bridal gown businesses occasionally have a way of disappearing overnight. No matter what the proprietor tells you, by no means make a purchase as large as a wedding gown without the chargeback protection of a credit card. If they say they can't take plastic, move on.
8. Don't hold out forever for The One. Some brides by no means find The One. What they do find is a couple of dresses they look stunning in. If you're this bride, try starting your planning from the theme rather than the dress. You'll most likely eventually get sick to death of dress shopping. When that occurs, "good enough" truly will be good enough. Concentrate on other aspects of the wedding that mean a lot to you, like the venue, the food, or the inevitable adoration of your soon-to-be husband.
