How to: Buy a Wedding Dress

If you’re like most women, shopping for dresses can feel like a daunting experience. It's okay to be a little scared. The end result will be worth it.

Start trying on dresses about 12 - 9 months before your wedding as it can take up to 6 months for your chosen dress to come in and to then get it altered. I know. I was shocked to learn that too.
Shopping for a dress may take a while and can take up a lot of your energy, patience and time. Start browsing now and make it fun. Do your research and start with a large boutique that carries a wide variety of styles, silhouettes and sizes. 

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Before your appointment, do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable in your body. That can include putting on self tanner a couple days in advance or doing your hair and makeup (or maybe even getting a hair and makeup trial before your fitting). Put on clothes that you feel confident when you walk into the store and schedule activities before and after visiting a boutique that make you feel good about yourself and your body such as a yoga class or a workout, a coffee date with a friend, a nice dinner, a walk in the sun, a pedicure or a massage. 

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Bring along people who make you feel good but don’t bring too many people. The larger your entourage, the more opinions you’ll get which won’t make the decision any easier. I would suggest bringing 1 - 3 of your most supportive friends or family members.

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When at the store, begin by trying on a variety of different dresses. You may have your eyes set on a very specific style but you may be surprised to fall in love with a totally different gown after trying it on. Keep your mind open, especially when you just started looking for the right dress. 

And heads up: Sizing for bridal dresses is often way different from your day to day clothes size. You’re likely going to be two or so sizes larger in your wedding dress and that’s okay. It’s just a number. Trust your bridal consultant more than the number on the tag. Or even ask them not to show you or tell you the size at first. Because it really doesn’t matter as long as it fits.

 
On that note, bridal wear always requires alterations. A lot of wedding dresses are made for women who are 5’9” wearing 3” heels with measurement ratios that are not the North American norm. It will be a lot easier to fall in love with a dress when you go shopping with the expectation that things will need to be altered.
Also, don’t look too closely at the photos of models wearing the dress. Photoshop plays a huge role in the marketing of bridal fashion and unfortunately a lot of the wedding dress marketing materials still use models with bodies that adhere to conventional beauty standards. Models spend hours getting their hair and makeup on and posing for that perfect picture in that perfect lighting.

‍You will likely not look just like the model when you’re first trying on the dress but you will still look beautiful. 

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Diet culture plays a huge role in wedding dress shopping. You may feel like your body needs to be different in order to fully pull off the dress but your goal when dress shopping should be to find a dress that you feel beautiful in NOW. You may lose weight before your wedding or you may not. But it’s always easier to take the dress in later in the process than to have a dress that’s too small and make it bigger. Your bridal consultant will be the expert on this topic though so tell them about your plans (and be real with yourself and realistic about the chances of success) and see what they would suggest. 

And generally be honest with your consultant. Is there a part of your body that you’re not feeling so great about? A scar or tattoo that you’d like to hide? Something you’d like to emphasize? Tell them and they can make suggestions based on your feedback. Don’t be shy to tell them if you don’t like a specific dress, colour or comment.

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And lastly, smile at yourself in the mirror when you try on dresses. You’re beautiful and the people invited to your wedding love you just the way you are. Your fiance loves you just like you are and probably thinks you’re the most beautiful person in the world, especially when you're smiling. You’re going to look stunning on your wedding day no matter which dress you choose. Don’t be too hard on yourself :) 

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