Congratulations on your engagement! One of the first things you
probably picture when envisioning your wedding is the dress. But
before you start shopping for a wedding dress, it’s a good idea to
know what you’re looking for.
Envision your wedding.
Picture yourself on your wedding day. What are you wearing? What
silhouette is your gown? What fabric? Are they embroidered or
beaded wedding dresses? What color is it? With so many
choices for the dress, it can be overwhelming to look through
hundreds or thousands of them. Some brides have said that after
looking through racks and racks of dresses, they all begin to look
the same. So before you even set out to try them on, envision your
wedding day and how your dress looks, and jot down a list of things
that describe the dress of your daydreams. You don’t have to know
all the wedding dress terms. Just write down a description of the
gown you’re envisioning. Example list: “
princess
seams wedding dresses,
tank
wedding dresses,
organza wedding dresses, some shade of white but not
pure white,
spaghetti straps wedding
dresses.”
Decide on a budget.
When deciding on your budget, you don’t need to set a very specific
price. Just make it a general range, such as $1000 - $1500, or even
$1000 - $2000. You can always break this rule later if you’re able
to and really want to, but it helps to have a general range. Some
experts suggest devoting 10% of the overall wedding budget to the
bride’s attire. Just be sure to remember that “attire” includes not
just the gown itself, but the other stuff: veil, shoes, slip,
jewelry, gloves, etc. All of these things are optional, of course
(except for the slip, which is usually necessary to keep the dress
from going between your legs when you walk). But you’ll have to
factor in the price of whatever items you decide to wear with your
gown.
