Wedding Dress Appointment Tips

Let's face it shopping for your wedding dress is the most fun thing about planning a wedding! Here are a few tips to help make the whole experience amazing!

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Bring a friend

If you have someone that you can bring along with you not only does it make the appointment more fun, it's also great to have an honest opinion of a friend or family member. Be sure to ask the bridal shop before bringing a troop of bridesmaids though as some places only allow a certain amount of people to attend your appointment.

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Have an open mind

It is so often the case that a bride will end up falling in love with a dress that was completely different to what she had asked to try on. Trust your bridal consultant and let them give you other options as well as the gowns you wish to try.

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Be on time

If you are booked in for an appointment at a bridal shop you will most likely be booked in for a certain amount of time as they get very busy, especially at weekends so if you are late this will often result in a shorter appointment for yourself.

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Be honest

It will take a whole lot longer to find your dress if you are too polite! Be honest to your bridal consultant about what you like and more importantly what you don't like. You don't want to waste your appointment time trying on dresses that you think are ugly because you don't want to offend!

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Bring some shoes

Everyone forgets this and although it is not the be all and end all it will save you from being on tip toes for a few hours! You probably wont have picked a pair of shoes at this point as you don't know what dress you are wearing but just bring along a pair of shoes with roughly the same size heel that you want to get married in - this way you will know how the dress will sit and if any alterations will need to be made to the hem which is important when working to a budget.

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Bring an extra bra

It's crazy what a difference a well fitting bra can make to how a dress will look and feel. Wear a bra but also bring along a strapless bra as well (even if you don't plan on getting a strapless dress you may find one that you love and find a bolero/straps/sleeves to go with it). Also, wear pants/underwear that you are not embarrassed for your bridal consultant to see you in, there is a lot of wiggling and hoisting involved in getting the dress to fit perfectly so it is important to be comfortable and at ease.

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Understand that a size is just a number

Wedding dress sizes are often ridiculous and so far removed from the size you would normally wear. In most cases a women will be at least one size bigger in a wedding dress compared to their normal dress size. Often a bride will need 2 or even 3 sizes bigger, there really is no standard formula to what size you will fit, it varies so much from designer to designer and from person to person. No one will ever know what size the dress is.

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Check if taking photos is ok

Most bridal shops will flat out refuse to let you take photos of yourself in a dress, consider asking about this before you book an appointment. It can be an important part of the decision making process to look over the photos at the end of an appointment or even a few weeks later after visiting several bridal shops to compare how the dresses look. You will be trying on so many gowns that it is easy to forget.

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