Finding the perfect wedding dress is one of the hardest parts of planning a wedding.
One of the hardest, but one of the most exciting.
It can seem super intimidating to start with – what style do I like? What on earth is a fit and flare? What is an A-line dress?
Try to put all of this terminology to one side and just simply think – what do I like?
Your dress needs to suit your venue and the style of your wedding. Which should essentially come down to your own style. The first step is to start booking appointments in boutiques which look like they stock designers and dresses that suit your style. This should be around a year before the wedding date.
Some dresses can take up to nine months to arrive after being ordered and you will need additional time for any alterations. A year will give you plenty of time to start your search and find the dress of your dreams. It is better to have more than enough time, than having to put through a rush order that will come with a high cost.
When booking appointments make sure to check with the boutique as most only allow two guests per appointment. This is enough people to give their honest opinion (and you need honesty!). More than two people will mean that you have too many opinions. We recommend that you choose the two people that are closest to you. They need to know you well enough to make this decision and will not sway you to pick something you don’t love.
Whilst planning my own wedding I looked through many magazines and many websites. I had seen quite a few dresses that I liked bits of, but nothing that I completely loved.
Then one day I came across Pergola by Pronovias and I knew I had to try it on.
I had never pictured myself in a ballgown, but this dress just felt right.
I found the dress in a local boutique, and would you know it, it was in the sample sale! Once I tried the dress on, I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, the sample was about five sizes too big, so I tried the dress on in another boutique in the correct size.
Trying the dress in my size made all the difference. I could see exactly what I would look like on the day, rather than having to imagine it fitting well.
After being tempted by other beautiful dresses in the second boutique, I ultimately knew that the Pergola was the one for me and the one I had immediately fallen in love with.
Now, here’s a Nicole & Charlotte Events tip for you – remember to always shop around! I went back to the first wedding shop (with the large sample) and they were willing to honor the sample sale price in ordering me a new dress and they threw in a free veil too (and not just any veil, the matching Pronovias veil!) This was around £1000 less than it would have been ordering from the second boutique.
However, try not to be swayed by discounted dresses. I knew I wanted this dress and would have paid full price for it. It was just amazing luck for me that I was able to get it at such a good price.
Sample sales are amazing but do remember that these dresses have been tried on hundreds of times and may often need repairs and many alterations.
Once you have found the dress of your dreams, we suggest ordering it in the size you are at the moment you decide to purchase. This means that if you intend to lose weight the dress can be taken in to fit you. But you can’t add more to the dress if you don’t get to your target weight!
I ordered mine in the correct size and when it came to alterations, I needed four inches taking out overall. It was not an issue and the dress looked amazing. I had worked so hard in the gym to get to this size! It was a very proud moment.
Now, my case was very straight forward. I believe I only tried on five dresses in total and I only visited two boutiques. This is quite uncommon; some brides can try on up to twenty dresses and visit as many boutiques as it takes.
The key thing is to not try on so many dresses that it becomes too confusing, and you cannot choose between the ones you have seen. We recommend ten dresses as a maximum amount.
Keep in mind that most brides walk away with a style they didn’t have in mind when they started shopping for their dress. Even if you have a certain style in mind, it may not be everything you imagined once you try it on.
You should be aware of what works for your body and what suits your shape.
When you find ‘the one’, it may not be that birds are singing, wind is swirling, and everyone is crying just like the films suggest. You just need to know that you love the dress and you want to wear it on your big day.
We hope you have an amazing time choosing your dress!
Remember to enjoy the journey, it doesn’t need to be stressful. Make it fun!
Love Nicole x
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