Finding the right wedding dress if one of those moment brides look forward to; if it ever happens.  Trust me, it does always happen but not without tears and tantrums.  Here are some tips on how to find the right dress as soon as you can and leaving stress at the door.

1. Find a bridal shop you are comfortable in. Quite often you’ll know if the staff is on a par with you and if you are comfortable with what they are selling.  Talk to them and use their expertise; good staff will know straight away what your style is. 

2. There are no rules about shape and size.  Although a dress can be stunning it may also be completely unflattering.  However it is always your decision which dress you want to go for.  Quite often larger ladies feel comfortable in slinky sexy dresses but slimmer ladies like to be covered up; it’s a personal choice.

3. Have snippets saved.  Collect images from magazines as well as any ideas you have on the dress you want.  If you go to a bridal shop with a description like, ‘white, long’ then it could take forever.  Cut out pieces you like and show the bridal shop team how your hair and your make up will be or even prepare yourself for the fittings. 

4. Stop looking when you have made the decision.  Because there will always be something else that you like the look off – if you don’t call off the search at some point you could be looking forever (a bit like with your husband to be!).

5. Believe in your decision.  Many brides choose the blandest things possible; wedding dressings, wedding rings, engagement rings, wedding cakes, invitations because they are afraid that what they choose isn’t classic and will date.  The fact is, everything to an extent will date and that is not the most important thing.  It’s better though to choose something with character and something you absolutely love in that moment that have something bland for the sake of what other people think. 

6. The dress is wonderful and great, but it is only one thing, not the most important thing. Don’t forget that the dress is on you, you are the important things and not the dress.  So minor disruptions will occur and it’s not the end of the world.  Don’t choose something that will detract from you on the big day.

When choosing your wedding dress, you will be inundated with choice.  A wedding dress is not just a white dress – it varies in fabric, style, embellishing, and drape – without a clear idea in mind of how you want to look, the process can seem very daunting indeed. 

A great place to start when tying to choose a dress, apart form looking through all the wedding magazines is to choose a shape – that way you will narrow down your choices.

The classic wedding dress shape is the A-line.  The A-line is slimming and as you can imagine, lies like an ‘A’ shape.  A-lines can also be tiered or layered to add bulk to skinny girls or to add a fashionable edge; a lot of ruffled dresses are this shape. 

Then there is the empress line, think of Jane Austen style dresses, nipped in under the bust and flowing.  These dresses are great for flat chested girls as they add emphasis on the breasts and the flowing bottom hides big bums and hips; this is a great style if you are pregnant too. 

Then there is the princess dress; yes the classic meringue.  This style is not to be laughed at though; it screams of glamour and classic princess-ness; this gives a real sense of grandeur and suits all figures. 

The fishtail is another glamourous dress.  This one nips in at the waist and comes out at the bottom creating a fishtail shape.  The result is accentuated curves think Dita Von Teese!  This looks extremely luxurious and glamourous in white satin and looks great work with a fur bolero.  This looks best on slimmer, tall girls and it is also a difficult dress to walk on so bear this in mind.

The prom dress is a funky, young style of dress.  This is strapless with a shorter finish, and a full netted bottom.  This is great for a summer wedding and for a young girl.  With a funky headpiece the feel is very 60s.  This can fit all kinds of figures too.

Then there is the sheath which is a simple, sleek fitting silk or satin dress.  It drapes beautifully and looks slinky but like a silk night dress it is forgiving to those with lumps and bumps.  This dress works best with waif-like women who don’t need the assistance of bras or big pants since everything will show up under this tight fitting number.

Love her or hate her, mum is quite often a pivotal figure at your wedding.  Whilst some mothers are a dream to work with others are more stubborn.  What is the best way to make sure mum looks the part at your wedding whilst being dignified?

• Some mothers will naturally let the daughter decide what they should wear – others are more stubborn and like what they like.  You should know what the mother is like!  It isn’t wrong for you to suggest an outfit or a colour scheme – she should respect some of your wishes at least.

• The mother of the bride like the mother of the groom should pay for their own outfit.

• According to etiquette, the mother of the bride should choose an outfit before the mother of the groom.  The mother of the groom should choose a dress to complement the mother of the brides dress.  So if the mother of the bride chooses green, the mother of the groom shouldn’t choose red as there will be an obvious clash in the photographs.

• If there are any step parents then it is important that they respect the mother of the bride’s choice of outfit first.

• Ideally the mother of the brides dress shouldn’t wear black.  Although guests do sometimes wear this colour, it is still related to funerals and death.

• And even more important, they shouldn’t wear anything resembling cream or white.  No one should look like a bride except for the bride and there’s no exception for the mother of the bride!

• The mother of the bride’s outfit should suit the occasion.  At a formal event they should wear a long full length gown and hat.  At a casual event a shorter dress is acceptable.

• Something age appropriate is preferable at a wedding.  Some mothers look fantastic for their age and have great figures and like to wear skimpier outfits.  You should politely ask you mother to wear a shawl or cardigan to keep arms covered, and wear a dress or skirt that is below the knee.
The most important thing is that everyone is happy when choosing an outfit for the mother of the bride.  Be honest and clear about what you do and don’t want.  Be just as clear with the mother of the groom so there are no fights afterwards!

The wedding dress may be the one thing that will drive a bride to despair.  No matter how early you start looking, sometimes it feels like you just can’t find “the one”.  Nevertheless, you would be surprised that with some simple preplanning you can get your head together and choose the right wedding dress for you.  Here are some things to remember;

1. Look for what you like - Some of us girls even have pictures of dresses saved before we get a proposal!  Looking in wedding magazines is always the useful first step to getting an idea of what you want.  Also use the internet as a resource.  Keep these clippings.

2. Look early - This means looking at around 9 months ahead if possible.  Say you have a proposal, set a date – ideally you can start looking then.  If you are ordering a custom dress then this can take months to make and if you need alterations as the majority of women do this will also take time.  A good seamstress is often booked up.

3. Set a budget - Why does there have to be a budget?!  Well, it’s easy to go overboard with a dress – but it is unfair to spend a huge proportion of the budget on a dress if it means your guests have to eat bread rolls all night.  So be fair, and remember you can find stunning gowns for a few hundred pounds.  Also remember alterations could cost a few hundred.  Some boutiques will do the alterations in store for you.

4. How to pay - Instead of using a cash deposit, use a credit card.  Why?  To protect your purchase in case everything goes wrong.  This also means you have to -

5. Set deadlines - From the point you buy your dress you need to give the seamstress deadline for delivering alterations.

6. Take a friend - Or someone you trust.  Someone who has a style you like – this may not be your mum and it may not be your best friend.  As much as you may like the look of a dress if it is unflattering one day you will regret wearing it if it makes your stomach looks five times bigger than it is.   Remember to keep things appropriate; a grand wedding calls for a classic and grand dress not a short white number.  A semi formal ceremony means you can wear a coloured dress or even something modern and funky.

Finding the perfect wedding dress is very important for every bride to be. Most girls want to feel like a princess as they walk down the aisle to their prince charming! For a lot of people, the wedding dress is one place where there will be no cost savings. But it doesn’t have to be that way - you can look like a princess without spending a few months wages on your dress!

First off, there is the old chestnut of wearing your mother’s or even your grandmother’s dress – assuming they still have them. Can you imagine the pride on their faces as they watch you stroll down the aisle toward your future husband wearing the very gown they wore doing the same thing? The problem with this, of course, is that they style of the gown is likely to be out-of-date. This problem is easily solved, by employing a seamstress to update the cut a bit. A quick search in the Yellow Pages should find you someone who will only charge a couple of hundred quid, which is much less than the cost of a brand new dress.

There’s also the option of a second-hand wedding dress. It’s probably only been worn once and you can often get an expensive dress for less that half the original price. One of the best places to find great deals is at www.eBay.co.uk. Again, don’t forget that you can find a seamstress to do some alterations, so it needn’t be a perfect fit.

Another option is to rent your wedding dress for the day. You can rent some some stunning top-end dresses for a few hundred quid. OK, so you don’t get to keep it once it’s all over, but how many people do you know who actually take their wedding dress out of storage once they’ve stored it away in a vacuum-sealed box?

Increasingly, a number of discount wedding stores are appearing online. They generally sell dresses that they have acquired through liquidation sales from all over the country and they can be a great source for a bargain. You won’t get the pampering you do at a more traditional bridal shop, but you can save up to 40% by going this route! And, of course, you can have the dress altered locally if it doesn’t fit perfectly.

Finally, it is possible to realize incredible savings by picking out your dream designer wedding dress and then asking a local seamstress to copy the design for you. This option is still going to cost you, but it will be possible to get a designer copy for about half the price you would pay to get it directly from the designer. If you find a good seamstress, they should be able to copy the design for a significant savings.