It’s very important to do some of your own research before starting your wedding gown search. While you could definitely just show up at a bridal shop with no vision and no ideas, wedding dress shopping is already insanely stressful, overwhelming, and exhausting. To take some of the burden off yourself, doing some research ahead of time can make the process a little easier.
1. Consider Your Venue/The Weather
Most brides want to be comfortable on their wedding days so it’s important that you consider how comfortable you actually want to be. Some brides are ready and willing to traverse some extra harsh conditions for their picture perfect wedding but if that’s not you then this is something to think about. If you’re someone who actively doesn’t want to be drenched in sweat on your wedding day, maybe don’t pick a heavy ballgown for a summer wedding outdoors.
As far as the aesthetics aspect goes, consider what kind of look you want your wedding photos to have. Venues can absolutely lend themselves towards specific styles and designs so consider what kind of vibe your venue has. However, you don’t want to fully limit your search to gowns that would look good because you’re not fully limited to only taking wedding photos on your specific wedding day.
2. Consider Your Budget
While everybody wants their dream wedding gown it’s important to be realistic and honest with your budget. You don’t want to go searching for wedding gowns that you fall in love with but know you aren’t prepared to purchase. You can absolutely redistribute your budget to allow for some more of the wedding cost to go towards your gown, but even that amount that you’re willing to redistribute needs to be calculated. It’s best to be honest with yourself, your stylists, and your loved ones when it comes to what you’re able to spend on your wedding dress.
You also want to be sure to consider the fact that alterations are a separate cost from the wedding gown itself and pretty much every bride needs something altered. Even if it’s just a hem and a bustle, that will cost extra. However, the nice thing is that with enough time you can space apart the cost of the gown and cost of alterations so it’s not such a huge amount at once.
3. Consider Who’s Opinion You Want
Bridal appointments can be a fun part of the wedding process but they can quickly get overwhelming either cause of the sheer number of appointments you attend or because of how many different opinions you have. I know it can be hard to not include certain people in the dress shopping process but when you can, try to limit your group to the people who’s opinion really matters to you.
You also want to have people who will build you up and not beat you down, especially when you seem to have found a gown that you love. Negative comments can quickly take a gown that you love into something that you actively hate. Weddings are ultimately supposed to be a happy experience so try to keep the people that make you happy with you during this process.
There is also no shame in just wanting to shop on your own. You will have plenty of other opportunities to include people in the process such as your dress try on appointment, your alterations appointment, shopping for accessories, and deciding on hair and makeup.