1. Do Research to Find What You Like
Create a visual file of your favorite dresses. Rip pages out of magazines, click through bridal boutiques online, explore on Pinterest, and check out what celebrity brides are wearing. Look for a connecting theme — are they all very embellished? Lacy? Voluminous? Have open backs? Find a couple commonalities of styles you like and bring your ideas when you start dress shopping.
2. Be Open
Keep an open mind to finding a dream dress that you didn’t know would be your dream dress. Bridal consultants will tell you that they constantly see women come in with a set idea of what they want for a gown, then try it on and don’t actually love it — and instead, fall for something completely different that they’d never considered.
3. Brace Yourself for Bridal Sizing
Bridal sizing means your gown’s number will often be one to two sizes higher than for your regular clothes. Even if going bigger sounds horrifying, remember that no one will know the number but you and your consultant.
4. Shop True to Your Size
Even if you plan on losing weight before the big day, shop for dresses in your current size rather than going smaller. It’s much easier to take a dress in than trying to work with one that’s way too snug.
5. Shop Early
Many gowns take four to eight months to be produced, and once it arrives, you still have to factor in more time for alterations and accessorizing. If you’re having a long engagement and immediately start shopping for gowns, the one you end up buying might be out of style by the time your wedding comes around, or you might find one you like even better closer to the date.
6. Figure out Your Budget
Before your first appointment, figure out who is paying for the gown (your family, the groom, you?). If someone else is paying, get the hard numbers on your limit, so you can choose to stay within that budget or pay the difference yourself to get the dress you want. Check out our Wedding Budget Tips.
Be sure to include non-obvious costs in your budget. If your dress budget is $2,000 — do not buy a $2,000 dress. You need to factor in for tailoring, accessories (your veil, jewelry, and shoes) and cleaning and preserving the gown after the wedding if you want it to be a keepsake.
7. Know Your Wedding Theme Beforehand
Before you start dress shopping, decide whether you want a casual garden party-themed wedding or a formal, romantic affair. Always keep the venue and theme in mind as you browse gowns, because the last thing you want is for your dress to clash with your overall wedding style.
8. Find a Great Bridal Salon
Do your homework before you start making appointments, since you don’t want to waste time at a shop that doesn’t carry dresses you like or has terrible customer service. Get referrals from married friends and check online reviews to find shops with solid reputations. Call Ahead
Don’t waste your time shopping at a store that doesn’t have the style, designer, or price range you had in mind. Call the boutique or salon ahead of time to get the low down on their inventory before you make a visit.
9. Start Inexpensive and Work Your Way Up
Make your first appointment with the least-expensive bridal shop and keep scaling up if you don’t find anything. Same goes for trying on dresses during your appointments — try on the most affordable one first, and work your way up to the bank-breaker; you may fall in love before then!
10. Pick 3 Adjectives to Describe Your Dream Dress
Whether you want to feel classic, vintage, and comfortable or romantic, glamorous, and beautiful, go into dress shopping with a clear vision of how you want to look on the big day. Choosing three specific words to describe your dream vibe can help narrow down your dress selections.
Perhaps you’re more the type who wants to look classic and timeless on your wedding day — think lace. Or maybe you’re a fashionista who loves being up-to-the-minute.
11. Shop on a Weekday
Bridal salons are packed on the weekends, meaning you may get less personal attention or that the dress you love is being tried on by someone else. It’s worth using some personal time from work to have your appointment on a weekday.
12. Make Shopping a Whole-Day Affair
It’s surprisingly time-consuming to put one wedding gown on and off, let alone three or four, and you definitely don’t want to feel rushed to make a decision. Instead of making plans for brunch after your appointment or trying to fit it in between other errands, leave a few hours so you can take your time browsing and trying on dresses.
13. Choose Your Crew Wisely for Appointments
Yes, you love your mom, your sister, your sister-in-law, your maid of honor, and your six bridesmaids — but if you’ve ever tried to get a crowd to agree on where to go for dinner, you can only imagine how hard it will be to find consensus on a gown. Narrow the group down to the two or three people whose opinions matter most to you.
14. Bring the Right Undergarments
It can be hard to take in how a strapless dress really looks when your leopard bra straps are sticking out, or how a curve-hugging gown would fit once your hips are smoothed. For your appointments, wear a nude thong and strapless bra, and bring Spanx.
15. Pick Your Silhouette
Your ideal gown’s shape is partly based on the style you like, the venue and mood of your wedding, and also what flatters your body most. A fit-n-flare is both contemporary and traditional and works on many body types, whereas a simple sheath is best on tall, willowy brides. A voluminous ballgown adds drama, but can overwhelm a petite frame. Mermaid styles show off curves like your favorite pencil skirt.
16. Keep Travel Arrangements in Mind
If you’re flying to your wedding destination, look into airline regulations beforehand. You don’t want to fall in love with a ball gown style dress, only to have it exceed airport size specifications come travel time.
17. Pay Attention to Fabric
In addition to silhouette, color, and embellishments, fabric makes a big difference on how a gown will look on you. A heavier, more structured material (think silk shantung, taffeta, or guipure lace) will hold its shape and smooth your figure. Less flattering for those with curves are unstructured silk or filmy chiffon.
18. Wear Heels to the Appointment
Some bridal salons have communal high heels you can borrow, but that’s a little icky, and a dress will look a lot different with flip-flops than stilettos. Be prepared by bringing heels of the same height you think you’ll likely wear for your big day, so you’ll have a better idea of how the dress will look.
19. Bring Dress Photos for Inspiration
Whether it’s printouts of dream dresses from your secret wedding Pinterest board or a page from a magazine, come armed with a photo collage of the wedding dress styles you like best while shopping.
20. Believe Your Consultant that a Gown Looks Better “On”
Wedding dresses often have heavy details that can make it sag on a hanger. The dress will look entirely different on your body.
21. Don’t Try on Gowns Above Your Budget
If you can’t afford it, DO NOT TRY IT ON! — you’re just torturing yourself and making a standard that no dress you can actually have will live up to.
22. Consider Shopping Online
Is online shopping the only retail therapy you know? It’s ok to buy your dress online if you’re an avid online shopper, 18% of brides in the US do. If you can try the dress on in person that’s great. If not, check the return policy — especially if you’re ordering a few to try on and consider — to make sure you’re entitled to a full refund if it doesn’t look as dreamy in person.
23. If You’re Plus Size, Call Ahead
Nothing is worse than getting to a bridal salon and finding they only stock samples to size 10 (unfortunately, that’s the case for many, even though they sell sizes up to 26), and you have nothing to actually try on. Call ahead to make sure your shop has plus-size samples for the style and designer you want to try on, or if not, whether they can get some in before your appointment.
24. Be Prepared to Try on a Lot of Gowns
Unfortunately, unless you’re really lucky, the first wedding gown you try on probably isn’t going to be “The One.” But, don’t get frustrated if you’ve tried on dress after dress to no avail. Stay patient and keep an open mind until you’re sure you’ve tried on the perfect dress. It might even take multiple shopping trips until you’re fully 100% sure. Make sure you stick to a few gowns per appointment/shopping trip. It is possible to try on too many wedding dresses and feel overwhelmed with options. If you’ve hit this point, take a break from shopping and sleep on your favorite choices.
25. Stay True to What You Love
It’s easy, especially for people-pleasing brides, to bend in the moment to what gown your mom, sister, or maid of honor loves on you. But it’s crucial that you go with what you love and what feels like your dream dress, regardless of other people’s expectations.
26. Try on a Non-White Gown
That might mean subtle eggshell or ivory, romantic blush, or even a bold red. It may not be right for you, but a survey showed 14 percent of brides would wear a colored wedding dress. Don’t be afraid to be unique!
27. Bring Family Heirlooms Shopping With You
If you want to incorporate a family pass down into your wedding day look, like a relative’s veil or an heirloom piece of jewelry, bring it to all your shopping appointments to find the perfect matching gown.
28. Be 100 Percent Sure Before You Say Yes
“All brides need to know it’s her dress before she says yes! When I work with a bride and sense that she is unsure, I encourage her to sleep on it,” says Hall.
29. Pose for Photos in Various Angles
For a true testament to how you’ll look in your wedding dress on the big day, have a friend or family member take pictures and videos of you while trying dresses on. Make sure that they capture all angles of each dress you’re considering, from the back and sides to shots of you sitting down in the gown from the top up.
30. Know That Mirrors Can Be Deceiving
Every mirror, mirror, on the wall can make you look different, so that’s why it’s even more important that you rely on photos and videos to get an authentic sneak peek of what you’ll look like in your wedding dress.
31. Consider How You Feel in the Dress
The gown that makes you feel the most beautiful is the gown you should choose. Even if a gown checks off all of your criteria, keying in on feelings can help you decide between dresses and lead to that magical moment when you’ve finally found “The One.”
32. Shop Sales
Take advantage of end of season sales and closeouts. Your perfect dress could be on sale rack or maybe you can find your almost perfect dress and use the savings to personalize it and make it one of a kind.
33. Walk Away if You Feel Pressure
A salesperson should never put the heat on you to make a decision on the spot if you’re unsure. A wedding gown is a very emotional purchase and a lifetime memory being created, so if you need more time to decide, take it — guilt-free.
34. Order Early to Avoid Rush Fees
“Since gowns take so long to be produced, placing your order 8-12 months in advance means you will avoid rush fees, which can run as much as 30 percent of the price of the dress,” says Hall.
35. Have a Professional Take Your Measurements
Even if you’re ordering online, have a seamstress take your measurements — this is not the time for DIY, since putting the measuring tape even an inch up or down from the industry standard can throw off your results.
36. Order Too Big Rather Than Too Small
Most gowns can be altered down one or two sizes and, depending on the seam allowance, up one size, so it’s better to order too big and take it in than be stuck with a zipper that won’t close.
37. Test to Make Sure You Can Move
No wedding gown is going to be as comfortable as your pajamas, but you don’t want to be pulling it up or constricted by it all night, so bust out some moves in the dressing room. If you’re planning a church wedding where you may need to kneel or sit during the ceremony, practice doing that in the gown. If you’re planning to drop it like it’s hot on the dance floor, try it out to make sure you can move how you want.
38. Come Prepared with a Similar Beauty Look
If you go dress shopping with messy locks and no makeup, you’re obviously not going to feel your most beautiful as you try on wedding frocks. To get the full effect, try to mimic your ideal wedding beauty look as closely as possible. You don’t have to go all out, but dab on some makeup and wear your hair up or down, depending on how you plan to sport it on the big day.
39. Be Sure You Love It Before You Buy
If you decide you no longer want the dress after you order it, you’ll most likely lose all of the money you put down, whether that’s a deposit or the full amount.
40. Personalize With a Tailor You Trust
“Couture” or “cut to measure” dresses are pricier because they’re created just for you. It’s far less expensive to buy off the rack and spend some money on a good tailor, and you’ll still have it perfectly altered for your body.
41. Or Try a Bridal Superstore
Chains like David’s Bridal have a wide price range, meaning you may be able to snag a dress for as little as $300. Plus, you can usually try on dresses in your size, not a sample size, which is good news for brides who fall above or below a size 8 or 10, the usual sample sizes.
42. Shop Vintage
Pre-owned vintage gowns can get a bad rep because they’ve been worn previously, but you can slash costs and find a totally unique, timeless style for your wedding dress. Shopping at vintage boutiques is a win-win.
43. Be Open with Your Bridal Consultant
If you’re shopping with a consultant at a bridal boutique or salon, don’t hold back when letting him or her know exactly what you’re looking for. Be as honest and open as possible. The more information you give about your likes and dislikes, the easier it will be for the consultant for pick out your dream gown
44. Keep the Season in Mind
If your wedding is in the Caribbean in August, go for lightweight fabrics in breezy styles, whereas if your wedding is in the winter in Minnesota, it’s all about snow-like sparkle and heavier, lush fabrics like satin or taffeta.
45. Pay Attention to the Top of the Dress
You should love every aspect of your wedding dress, but keep in mind that the top of the gown will appear most in wedding photographs, especially while you’re seated at dinner or dancing with your nearest and dearest. Make sure the gown fits comfortably when you’re sitting down and that the neckline won’t require adjusting throughout the big day.
46. If You Don’t Love It, Don’t Panic — You Can Salvage It
If the dress arrives and you’re iffy on it, you don’t need to scrap it. Gather your trusted style advisers and try different accessories, like a belt or a cape. If that doesn’t help, have your a seamstress change the look by shortening it, changing the neckline, taking off sleeves, or adding sleeves.
47. If You Must Start Over, Save Some Cash
Say you really can’t fall back in love with the dress, but you can’t afford to scrap it and start from scratch buying a second one. Re-sell it online, emphasizing that the dress is brand new and unworn.
48. Decide Your Dress Preview Policy in Advance
Make a rule before you start sending pics of the gown of how widely you’ll share — just with the people at the appointment? Just with the bridal party? If you don’t set the rule in advance, you could feel trapped later into showing everyone, and lose some of the magic of the reveal on the big day.
49. Keep the Dress Away From Home
Ask a relative or very trusted friend (perhaps someone you’d want to bring with you when you take the gown for tailoring appointments) if they’ll let you keep the dress at their place until the big day. Plus, if it’s not in your closet, you won’t be tempted to wear it every day until the wedding.
50. Relax and Stop Looking
Now that you’ve found your dream gown, stop shopping — it will only make you crazy if you keep looking. Your dress is perfect! Now just look forward to showing everyone on the big day.
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