Take time to find your perfect wedding dress.
Learn from the experience of others…the following is a list of top tips compiled by past Brides to help you choose the perfect wedding dress for your wedding abroad.
25 Points to consider
1) Research
Do some research and collect pictures of the styles you like. You will find Pinterest a great tool for this and it easily allows you to have your ideas to hand when shopping for your perfect wedding dress.
2) Advice
Take the advice of the professionals, they do this for a living and have helped hundreds of brides before you.
3) Experiment
Don’t be afraid to try on something completely different to what you have in mind. If for nothing else it gives you an idea of what you don’t want.
4) Less is Best
Less can often be best. Too much detail and too many accessories can make you look overdone.
5) Budget
Stick to your budget and don’t try on dresses that fall outside of this. It may only end in disappointment.
6) Time of Year
Keep in mind the season you will be married in and ensure the fabric and style of your dress will be appropriate.
7) Setting
Keep in mind the setting and style of your wedding. Are you having a traditional wedding or a more relaxed and casual affair?
8) Don’t Hurry
Take time to find your perfect wedding dress. Rome wasn’t built in a day!
9) Fabric Swatch
Once you have chosen your “perfect wedding dress” ask for a swatch of material. You will need to have the exact colour to match other elements of your wedding (shoes, flowers).
10) Guests View
Look at the back of your wedding dress too, this is what all your guests will be seeing as you say your vows.
11) Trends
Don’t be too concerned about trends when choosing your perfect wedding dress. Choose a dress that is comfortable and flattering to you, the style may be out in five years anyway!
12) Use a Professional
You get what you pay for! Always use experienced and professional dressmakers and couturiers. Although this doesn’t mean that a more expensive dress is necessarily better, it means you should use someone with experience.
13) Fittings
Wear the lingerie and take the shoes that you will be wearing when you go along for your fittings. They are required to make sure that the length and fit of the dress is just right.
14) Final Fitting
Have your final fitting a few weeks before the day and pick it up at least a week prior.
15) Storage
Ask how your dress should be stored (flat or hanging) and if it can be ironed (at what setting).
16) Transportation
Ask how you should transport your wedding dress abroad. Should you transport it in a dress cover, storage box or suitcase.
17) Creasing
If your dress gets creased in transportation, ask the best way to get the creases out. E.g. should you get it pressed, steamed or will the creases fall out naturally if you hang it up.
18) Off the Rack
If buying an ‘off the rack’ dress remember that any required alterations involve extra time and cost.
19) Dress Rehersal
Give yourself a full dress rehearsal and practice moving about. Also remember to wear your wedding shoes before your wedding day.
20) Weight Loss
Don’t go on a drastic weight loss program once you have started your fittings.
21) Alterations
The dress will lose it’s style and shape if taken in too many times and your dressmaker may be ready to shoot you!
22) Shopping
Shopping for your dress should be a pleasant experience. Take your mother, bridesmaids or friends with you and squeeze in some lunch and a glass of wine!
23) Accessories
The wrong accessories may spoil the whole effect of your wedding dress. Ensure that they match your dress and the look you are aiming to achieve.
24) Buying Fabric
If buying your own fabric, be prepared to purchase a large amount of material, underlays and linings. A lot of material is required to make those large and full skirts and they don’t hold their shape without lots of petticoats and linings underneath.
25) Storage
Never store your gown in plastic after the wedding as it gives off gases that can yellow your dress. Buy a special wedding dress storage box.
Real Experiences!
For further inspiration to help you choose your perfect wedding dress, have a look at the photographs of the dresses that the real brides featured on Weddings Abroad Guide wore on their wedding day.
Best of luck choosing your dress, I am quite certain that you will find your perfect wedding dress and feel fabulous in it on your wedding day. If you have any additional hints and tips on choosing the perfect wedding dress, please contact me, I would love to hear from you.
Destination Wedding Dress Advice
The following pages have been designed to provide you with further assistance to help you choose the perfect wedding gown for a destination wedding.
