4 "DON'Ts" to keep in mind when shopping for your wedding dress (and what to do instead)

Every bride has their own ideas about what would be the best plan of action when finding her wedding dress. Sometimes the expectations and presumptions regarding the wedding dress shopping process can confuse and overwhelm the bride when she's in the middle of it all. Here are some pointers to help you find your dream dress as easily as possible. To balance the DON’Ts, I’ve listed my recommended DOs below as well.

Don’t visit too many bridal shops

Limit the number of bridal shops and showrooms you visit. If you’ve visited three boutiques and found a few dresses you love in each of them, that’s enough. You have your shortlist. This is to prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed by too many wedding dresses.

It might sound like a good idea to visit all your favourite bridal shops and showrooms in one day, but believe me, trying on that many wedding dresses is not a walk in the park. I recommend max three appointments a day (two would be ideal). You’ll be knackered after the third appointment. Also, remember to eat well and drink water to prevent getting a bit woozy because of the excitement (and the bubbly!). 

DO: To make sure you’ll visit the right bridal shops, do your research online or enquire via phone or email. Make sure you know their price range, the brands or the styles they carry and the turnaround time they require. We recommend you pick a maximum of three boutiques and visit them.

Don’t chase the tears

When you then find a wedding dress that you love, don’t expect to burst into tears like the brides on telly do. We all know the shows like “Say Yes To The Dress” where often the bride bursts into happy tears when she finds “the one”. This rarely happens in our showroom. Often brides find several dresses from our rails that they would love to wear on their wedding day and make a choice between them. So if you don’t feel overwhelmingly happy and emotional when standing in front of the mirror wearing your wedding dress, please don’t feel disappointed. You could go on forever chasing the dress that brings up the tears and that might prolong the process and make you overwhelmed and disappointed in every dress you try on. Trust me, I’ve seen it many times.

DO: Make a short list of your favourite dresses. The ones you felt most beautiful and confident wearing and choose your wedding dress out of them. 

Don’t bring too many guests

It’s good to have family and/or friends with you as they know you the best. But having too many guests might mean too much fuss. You might be overwhelmed with their opinions (especially if they differ from each other and from your own opinions). It’s your day after all and you are the one who decides what you will wear on your wedding day.

DO: Do bring three of your closest family and friend’s whose opinion you value.  

Don’t be too set on a certain style

Keep an open mind. You might have a clear idea of the dress you’d love to wear on your wedding day, but over the years, I have learned that this initial idea quite often changes into something completely different. You might have been thinking of getting a plain silk dress without a train when you stepped in our showroom and ended up placing an order for a full lace wedding dress with a train. 

DO: Try on a few "wild cards" as well and you might be surprised. You can ask your bridal consultant if she could recommend a few dresses for you to try on.

I hope that my advice will help you make the most of your wedding dress shopping experience. Remember to do your research and pick your preferred bridal shops, keep the number of your guests small and have an open mind regarding the style. Also, and most importantly, don't put too much pressure on yourself when trying on wedding dresses. 

Read the FAQ for further information about appointments at Indiebride London.

Miina

xx