When it comes to planning your wedding, finding the perfect dress will require that you spend more than just one day shopping. There will be as many as two or three ‘fishing’ trips. Once you locate the dress you want, there will be fittings to be done, accessories to be shopped for and bride’s maid dresses to be picked out as well.
Whether you are planning a wedding for a daughter or for yourself, you want it to be a perfect experience with the perfect dress. Your taste may run to Cinderella fantasy or black gown evening classic. So here’s a plan to help you, the bride or both have a good time while finding the perfect dress for the perfect day.
Step One
The bride, her bride’s maids and her mother (if she wants) should spend a day to hunt their options. Plan to make this the ultimate window-shopping adventure. Make it a rule to spend no money nor order any single dress.
Check out everything, look at everything and try on anything you want. Enjoy yourself and whether you like a dress or not, try it on anyway. Don’t look at the price tags, don’t look at the accessories; instead your job is to find the dress that makes you feel like the bride you’ve always wanted to be.
Visit big stores, little stores, boutiques and specialty stores.
Step Two
When you are ready to make a final decision, the bride should shop with only one trusted advisor. She’ll have had the benefit of multiple opinions in step one and by paring the list down with just one trusted friend, she will get the dress she wants instead of the dress varied opinions convinces her to get.
Try to take along a pair of shoes that are similar to what you plan to wear. Whether you are planning to wear strap sandals, heels or tennis shoes – it’s important to get a feel for how thy got with the dress. Once you’ve made your final decision on a dress, you can take the bridesmaids back out for step three – accessories and bridesmaid dress shopping!