Choosing Your Wedding Gown: Bridal Shops

2008-05-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

Choosing the right shop is a crucial step toward purchasing your wedding gown. The reputation of the store owners and the duration of the time they have been in business usually prove to be of great significance. For that, at first asking around and visiting several shops without making an impulsive decision is a must.

A positive sign for any store is when the shop owner or a sales person is willing to tell you the types of policies they have concerning disasters like fires, weather mishaps, or bankruptcy that could shut down the store and force them not to deliver the dress on time. Many a wedding has been made less than 100 % perfect because of a bridal shop's failure to deliver.

The location of the store matters. A bride, with everything she has to do, does not want to travel long distances for the fittings, and remember that a bridal gown may require several fittings, no matter how perfect the torso of the bride may be.

The average price of the bridal gowns sold in a shop should be the first question to ask, since that will give an idea up front if that store is for you. Then, the next question should be if the alterations or wedding dress preservation are included in the price. Some establishments offer reasonably priced package deals that include fittings, alterations, dry cleaning, and preservation.

Bridal shops come in many sizes. Besides a selection of ready-made or made-to-order bridal gowns, most of them offer other services as well.

The expanse of the inventory and the quality of the merchandise carry a weight in giving the bride several options in sizes and styles. Whether the shop has veils or not is of essence. There are some high-end bridal shops that only sell the gown but not the veil. A bride needs to have her veil match her dress.

The condition of the shop is another consideration. An efficient bridal shop has to be clean and well-organized; it needs to have good lighting, several professionally angled mirrors, and lots space to move around for the bride to see herself in a gown from all sides while standing still and while in motion.

It is also imperative that the sales staff are informed enough to know the answers to the bride's questions. A pushy, rude, and patronizing sales person can turn the pleasant experience of choosing one's bridal gown into a nightmare.

Sales people should respect the bride and her time. When you are on time for your appointment and they make you wait for more than ten minutes, then it is a good idea to search for another place.

When the sales people steer the bride toward a style that flatters her figure the most, that store will be recommended by many people to others. When my niece opted for a slim-line gown and her mother insisted on a full skirt, the sales people came to their rescue with a designer slim-line gown and a full-skirt train that looked like a full skirt with a flowing rich train from the back, while its straight lines up front favored the bride's youthful shape. Since the train was removable for freer movement and dancing during the reception, the gown turned out to be practical as well as being elegant.

Searching for the perfect wedding gown is fun and it should be an enjoyable experience. A wedding dress is the most important dress you'll ever wear in your life, because in it, you'll take an oath to spend the rest of your life with the person who will be your mate.

Tips For Getting Your Dream Wedding Dress

2008-05-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

What is your once in a life-time decision on the eve of your marriage, except the selection of your life-partner? It is your wedding gown!

Many other important items such as wedding ring, wedding jewelry make the day special for you but the wedding dress that envelops your entire body is the most important thing. It gives you the appearance of an angel from the celestial world--that will be remembered, appreciated and quoted by all those guests who were present on the occasion.

No doubt, you have a fairly good knowledge about the wedding gowns. But when you actually go to finalize the purchase for your own wedding gown, you will be amazed and taken aback by the vast number of designs, the range of styles, shapes and colors available.

Do not have any pre-notions about your wedding gown. Go to the market with an open mind. The fashion market and the textile designs and qualities are changing so fast that the one of the most surprised and confused persons to take any decision on the wedding dress would turn out to be you.

Doesn't matter! It is a life-time opportunity! You are going to be bride, the VVIP of that auspicious day. The entire stock, the designs of the wedding gowns present at the store, are your slaves today. You can see and examine anything and everything. You are the monarch of all that you survey at the departmental store. Have patience. Select carefully, very, very carefully indeed!

No shopkeeper worth his profession would persuade you to take a hurried decision as far as selection of the wedding gown is concerned. He understands your difficulty and internal feelings!

Don't underestimate yourself. Think, you are the number one model of your country. Try various combinations and do all possible experiments. Match and experiment with your hair style particularly. Make generous use of the mirror in front of you.

Before you venture upon the adventure of the bridal shopping, you need to make a detailed and emphatic study of articles and photographs of some of the bridal magazines. Of course, your friends, some of them married would give you generous doses of advice! Understand the difference between the genuine and counterfeit advice and finally take your decision. Let it be your decision- no decision under pressure from any quarter.

The dress-specialists, with the first look at your figure and personality are able to make out what would be ideal for you. Listen to their advice but let the decision be yours. This is an opportunity for you to learn from him. But this is also the special opportunity to learn from your expectations. He may be right in his measurements, but you are not wrong in your dreams.

How To Match Your Wedding Hairstyle With Your Dress

2008-05-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

Being a bride means that you want everything to be just right. This usually takes a great deal of planning and special thought. In addition to all the other preparations, you must make sure that you are using the hairstyle that matches your wedding dress. You want your hairstyle, dress and makeup to be ideal and to all go well together.

One of the first steps you can do to find the right hairstyle for your wedding day is to look through numerous hairstyle books. You can take a number of bridal magazines and check out the fun hairstyles. Try to find the styles that will match your individuality and your dress type.

You should think about your hair type. You should select something that will work for the style and the length of your hair. Think about if you have thick or thin hair, long or short and curly or straight.

If you have straight hair and you would like to add some volume and height to it, you need to set it up in curlers the night before. If you want to have your hair straight, you need hair straightener and the right hair gels to help make it smooth and not frizzy.

Think about the weather as well. If it is a hot and humid day, you will need the right gel or hairspray that will make your hair look and feel better against the conditions. You can bring along a hair net or plastic hair bag if the weather is going to be a little wet.

You also need to match your hairstyle with your wedding dress. This is crucial and the two should compliment each other and not making the other look bad. For example, if you plan to wear an off the shoulder dress or any style of dress that has delicate beading on the top, you need to make sure that your dress is up off the material to ensure that everyone sees the great detail work on the dress.

Any low cut dress or strapless is better off with the hair pulled up with some hair falling in places. These places are around the ear or the back of the neck. You can use some soft and sweet curls around your face to soften the look up a little bit. This romantic and elegant look will look fantastic with just about any dress style.

You can always put your hair in the hands of a professional for your wedding day. Make an appointment with a hairstylist that you have confidence in. Spend a few days before the wedding and discover the hairstyle that will look best on your wedding day. The hairstylist will help you make a decision what will look better and you can try a few first before you make your final decision about the hairstyle that you want.

Keep in mind that your hairstyle needs to go great with your headpiece as well. You need something that will allow your headpiece or veil to fit comfortably on your head and still allow you to move and function in the way that you should. Make sure that your hair, headpiece and dress all coordinate and look great when they are all put together.

How To Find The Perfect Wedding Dress?

2008-05-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Wedding Dress

You want the perfect wedding dress, so you have made it a major focus of your pre-wedding planning. There are some things you need to find from the bridal shop, before you even look at your first gown. Do you need to make an appointment to visit the shop? Does the store carry dresses you can afford Can you browse the whole collection, or do you only get to see the dresses the sales person chooses for you? If this shop doesn't carry the dress you love, can it be ordered?

Once these questions have been answered and you find a dress or two that you like, there are still more questions you need to ask.

1. Can a particular dress be ordered with different sleeves, or neckline?
2. What alterations can be done and what will that cost?
3. Can you get a written estimate on the alterations?
4. If we order the bridesmaids dresses here, can we get a discount or free alterations?
5. Do you have headpieces and or veils that will go with my dress?
6. How much is the deposit and when is the balance due?
7. What are the cancellation and refund policies?
8. Can we get a Rush on this dress if necessary?

The Dress

Your Wedding Gown is probably the most important dress you will ever wear and you will find that everyone has an idea about what makes the perfect wedding dress. Don't be bullied by other peoples opinions: this is the one day when you can be as demure or as outrageous as you wish. Everyone will be on your side on the day anyway; just as everyone loves a new born, they will coo and simper at whatever you choose! So, put your hang-ups away and stop listening to other people's ideas of what constitutes a beautiful dress, ignore disparaging comments about Meringues, Bo-Peep and Ice Queens, and consider what you like and see if it will suit you. You will know when you find it - it will just feel fabulous.

As you go on your quest for the perfect dress, prepare by asking yourself a few questions:

* What do you want to emphasise, and what do you want to hide?
* Which tones suit your colouring? Think about your current wardrobe - do you feel great in white, or do you prefer creamier colours?
* Do you want to look shorter or taller?
* Do you want a plain and unadorned look, or an elaborately decorated look, or somewhere in between?
* Would you prefer a Contemporary look, a Vintage look (e.g. 1960s) or a Medieval look?

Picking a colour

Think about colours: Diamond White does not suit everyone, and there are many tones to soften the look from Ivory through to Buttermilk; there are tones of colour from pink blush, through apricot, lilac and blue. What colour jewellery do you wear, cool silver or warm gold? Will you be wearing pearls? Think about the dress decoration and make sure that you stick to a theme. Tie in colours and styles to the time of year that the wedding will be taking place; consider the venue and whether it will be indoors or outdoors.

Will you need a warm covering, if the weather is cool? If so, you can consider using a long jacket or a fur stole to go on top of the dress, and remove it when you're in the warm. Alternatively, will you need a lightweight dress for those hot days?

Selection:

Start shopping as soon as you set your date. Most designer wedding dresses need to be special ordered. It could take 3 to 6 months for special order or designer wedding dresses to arrive. Order at least six months prior to your reception. This will allow time for fittings, alterations, and coordination. If you decide to have your gown custom made, allow about 6 months since selection of style, fabric and details along with fittings takes time.

Shopping:

To make your day a pleasant and rewarding one, try not to visit too many bridal shops in the same day. When you are fresh, full of energy and enthusiasm, you will be able to make sound judgments. On the other hand, if you come to the store exhausted and unprepared, after trying a few styles you may be confused and find that all the gowns begin to look the same and you may come home toting one of the cheap wedding dresses simply because you were tired! Bring along pictures of wedding gowns you like and be open to discuss your plan and idea with a bridal consultant. It could happen that the gown you like in a picture doesn't look good on you. The bridal consultant will study your figure type and personality to help select the styles that flatter you and suit your budget. Try on all of the dresses the consultant shows you, even if it may not seem like "your style" of dress as most wedding dresses look much better, and different, on you than on the racks. You may want to bring a family member or friend along for a second opinion ..

Purchase

It seems there are now as many WAYS to purchase a bridal gown as there are bridal gowns! Full service salons, internet discounters, warehouses and more are all competing for your business. Regardless of where and how you order a gown, some- things are the same. A sales contract will be required, you will need to select your size, and more...

Overall tips:

Scout local thrift shops for excellent buys. Bridal gowns have been worn only once, so providing they've been professionally cleaned, there's no problem. Designer castoffs cost more, but you could find a real steal for under $100.

Common Wedding Dress Questions

2008-05-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

Q. Why do made to measure designer dresses cost so much?

There is a popular misconception that as with anything to do with weddings, brides ordering made to measure designer dresses are somehow being over charged. This is simply not true for the following reasons;

Firstly made to measure dresses are generally hand made in the UK and labour costs and overheads are obviously a lot higher than for dresses manufactured in China. Designer stores also offer a much higher level of service and have a major investment in sample dresses for brides to try.

Secondly brides are paying for the experience and expertise that designers have acquired over many years in the business. Dealing with designers who actually make their own dresses should give brides confidence that the dress will fit properly and be ready in time, which is not always the case with imported dresses.

Some brides decide to use a dress maker to copy a designer dress to save money. Dressmakers can often under cut designers on price, because they have much lower overheads. But brides considering this option would be well advised get references because this can often prove to be a disaster. NB: Not all dressmakers have the necessary skills or experience to manufacture a comparable dress for less money.

Q. What happens if I want to lose weight?

Brides are notorious for wanting to lose weight for their weddings. This is understandable and most stores will make some allowance for this in the fittings, provided the weight loss is not after the dress has already been altered to fit. As most brides will appreciate it is very difficult for bridal stores to hit a moving target. During the peak wedding summer months (June to August) bridal workrooms work to a very tight schedule, due to the number of dresses that they have to finish.

Q. What style of dress will suit me?

Once the potential bride has decided which stores she should make appointments to visit, the next problem is working out what style of dress will suit her figure and the type of wedding she is having??

Looking through bridal magazines will help, but the quickest way is to go and try dresses on. It is also helpful if the bride is able to get some professional advice on what styles suit her figure, her budget and her venue.

Thankfully, there are a reasonable number of reputable west end bridal designer stores, which offer a good selection of styles (at prices from £1500 to £10,000) These can often be off the peg, made to measure or couture dresses, depending on the bride's budget. Luckily for brides looking in London's West end there are a number of designer own label bridal stores, which offer a personal made to measure service on many of their designs, unlike the majority of stores outside London.

Bridal etiquette: Getting the best from your appointment.

Before proceeding it is worth noting that most reputable West End bridal establishments are busy and usually see brides on an appointment only basis.

Ideally one should make appointments at a number of these more reputable stores to try on styles and hopefully get some intelligent advice of what styles will suit the bride's figure, her style of venue and budget. It is best to be honest about how much you are prepared to spend. There is little point is trying on £3000 dresses, if your budget is £1500.

This advice is normally given for free, but brides should be aware that it is extremely frustrating for the bridal stores, (and unfair on other brides), when brides fail to show for their appointments.

The best bridal stores always have a waiting list for appointments and when brides do not bother to turn up or cancel, this effectively deprives other brides of that appointment slot. For this reason, many of the top designer bridal boutiques (including Johanna Hehir) charge a cancellation fee if you do NOT give them 48hrs notice of cancellation in writing.

Saturdays and week day evening appointments are generally in high demand for obvious reasons, so it pays to book well in advance.

Normally customers are asked to remove their shoes so as not to damage the carpets and request that brides wear gloves when trying on dresses, to help minimise soiling, from being over handled. Otherwise expensive wedding dress samples are ruined within weeks, by the sheer number of people trying them on. Most brides would understandably prefer not to try on shop soiled dresses.

Bearing in mind these small courtesies makes for a memorable and thoroughly enjoyable experience!

How To Choose A Wedding Dress For Brides

2008-05-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

The most common dilemma facing brides when looking for their wedding dress, is deciding what style of dress they want and where to get it from?. Unless they have done their homework, it can take considerable time to figure this out.

Brides don't particularly want to waste time going to the wrong stores and the bridal boutiques certainly do not want to waste time on brides, who are not really in their market. So the following advice should help brides decide on which stores to make appointments to visit.

Q. How much should I expect to pay for my dress?

Wedding dresses vary considerably in price from £500 to £50,000. (and also in terms of what you get for your money). For example, you can purchase a perfectly adequate off the peg dress, from bridal chains such as Pronuptia or Berkertex brides, for as little as £300. But you have to accept, that at this price, the dress is likely to be mass produced (ie: manufactured in the Far East), and is unlikely to be in silk fabrics or particularly unique.

On the other hand you can also buy famous New York designer dresses for £3000 or more (which are also manufactured in China and then altered to fit you) from top West end designer bridal stores such as Selfridges and Browns Bride. Admittedly the service is better and you should expect silk fabrics, but one could argue that if you are paying £3000 for an off the peg dress, then you are simply paying for the name.

If the bride is prepared to pay £3000 for her dress, it should (at the very least), be made to measure. For example, all Johanna Hehir's dresses can be made to measure for between £1800 and £4000 . This means the wedding dress is individually, hand made in England, to fit you.

At this point it is probably helpful to understand the difference between off the peg, made to measure and couture dresses.

The majority of UK bridal stores buy in the dresses they sell, from big bridal dress manufacturers (most of whom manufacture out of the Far East). These dresses are usually ordered for the customer in the closest standard size and then altered to fit the bride. This is not ideal fit wise, but it is the only way to keep prices low. This is commonly known as "off the peg" but unfortunately some bridal stores attempt to pass this off as "made to measure". Don't forget to ask if the price quoted includes alterations? As these are usually extra and can add several hundred pounds to the price of the dress, depending on what needs doing.

There are also a number of designers who mistakenly describe their dresses as "couture" when in fact they are made to measure. These are all rather cynical attempts to take advantage of the bride's lack of understanding and to persuade her that she is getting more for her money than she actually is.

Made to measure is where the bride chooses an existing design, that is then made up to fit her. The price quoted normally includes a number of fittings. Made to measure dresses typically start from £1500 upwards. In the ideal world, all brides would have their dresses made to measure, to ensure a perfect fit.

Couture is where the customer sits down with the designer and the dress is designed from scratch to the customer's specification. With couture, there is usually always a toile fitting, (to check the fit of the pattern), before the dress is cut and made up. Couture dresses typically start from £3000 upwards, as they are very time consuming and expensive to manufacture.

Cheap Wedding Dresses With High Quality

2008-05-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

Your wedding day is undoubtedly one of the most important days of your life, but it can also be one of the most expensive. For the bride perhaps the most important item on the shopping list will be her wedding dress and with an increasing number of high quality but relatively cheap wedding dresses on the market today it is possible to have the dress of your dreams without breaking the bank.

For many people a wedding dress should be a traditional full length white gown, symbolizing the bride's pure heart and innocence, complete with veil and train first popularized by Queen Victoria when she broke with the royal custom of marrying in silver and chose a white gown for her marriage to Prince Albert. This started a craze which continues today with many brides choosing white or a variation of white such as cream, eggshell or ivory.

Today however we see two major shifts taking place when it comes to weddings.

The first is a return to pre-Victorian days when brides married in simpler dresses of just about any color that took their fancy, except for black which was associated with mourning and red which was worn only by "ladies of the night". This also means often dispensing with the veil, which is said to symbolize virginity, and the train which is very much a trapping of royal weddings and emulates the peacock, which was formerly seen an a royal bird.

The second is a move away from the church wedding towards weddings held in a wide variety of venues, including the increasingly popular beach wedding.

As a result not only do brides now have a much wider choice of color for their wedding dress but, more importantly, dispensing with the veil and train and the need for a full length dress now means that brides can choose from a range of far more simple wedding dresses. For the cost conscious this is great as informal wedding dresses are also considerably cheaper than the full traditional white wedding outfit.

One other important point here is that the move away from the full white wedding gown also means that it is no longer necessary to purchase your dress from a specialist bridal outfitter who, not surprisingly, will charge a premium simply for the service that is provided or for the name or brand that you are buying. It's a bit like a pair of running shoes - you can buy two virtually identical pairs of shoes and pay ten times more for one pair than for the other simply because it carries a brand name.

There has never been a better time to shop for your wedding dress and the choice available to you today in terms of color, style and supplier is vast. It's no longer that difficult to find reasonably cheap wedding dresses and still end up looking like a million dollars in the dress of your dreams.