According to a recent survey, the top wedding dress dilemmas include dresses not being sexy enough, brides feeling faint at the price tag, pushy and unhelpful mothers and too-short hemlines! We believe that there is a wedding dress for every bride - and there are ways to make your search a lot less stressful! Sometimes wedding dress shopping can be difficult and at times, overwhelming, but if you plan carefully, have a good idea of what you're looking for, and most of all have an open mind, you should be able to avoid these common dilemmas.
In our experience, the top wedding dress dilemmas are:
Indecision: Brides who start wedding dress shopping without a clear idea of a) what dress style suit their body shape, or b) what they are looking for, often struggle at first.
There's also a problem when a bride ends up falling in love with more than one dress - which one to choose?! Be open to the suggestions of others, and learn when to let go if a beloved style just doesn't suit your body shape. Usually our brides just know when they've found THE dress, but other times it can be more of a difficult decision - this is when the opinions of trusted friends and family can come in handy... but beware, as this leads us onto our next dilemma...Too Many Opinions: Interestingly, many brides-to-be have the most problems with their mothers and mothers-in-law rather than the actual dress! Be aware of how much your taste may vary compared to your mum's, or your bridesmaids', and try to stay cool if no one can agree with each other! One way of avoiding this situation is to spend some time before you go shopping doing some research into dress styles with whoever you plan on taking with you - that way you'll know if your opinions are going to differ wildly.
Try to bring someone whose opinion you really trust, and listen to the bridal store staff; they have many years of experience and will give you an impartial view. Another approach is to visit bridalwear stores alone at first, and bring in your friends and family to help you choose when you've narrowed your choices down to just one or two. That way they have less leeway to make your life difficult!Adrenaline/Feeling Overwhelmed: Treat your wedding dress expedition like an endurance event! Make sure you're well rested, well fed, have drunk enough water and if you start to feel faint or woozy, sit down immediately. Sometimes the tightness of the dresses, the adrenaline of trying on something so special and general feeling of being overwhelmed by the situation can lead to low blood sugar and faintness. Look after yourself - unless you're getting married tomorrow there's no rush! Take your time to find the right dress and spread your shopping expeditions over several visits so you are able to fit in trying on as many dresses as possible.
Too Rigid Ideas: Unless you're prepared (and can afford) to have your wedding dress made completely bespoke to your specific visions, you must be prepared to compromise slightly on your choice of dress. You may have a particular style in mind, but you have to allow for the possibility that certain dresses just won't suit your body shape. Sometimes you have to let those ones go.... and find an even more fabulous wedding dress instead! It's good to have clear ideas of what you're looking for, but don't prevent yourself from being pleasantly surprised by something that you never normally would have chosen.