Has the time come for you to pick a dress and you just don't know what to expect?
We know how daunted a bride-to-be can feel when it comes to choosing her wedding dress. But seriously, you have nothing to feel anxious about! Whether you’ve dreamed about this moment since being a little girl, or you’re the ultimate anti-bride, we have compiled our guide of what we think you should know about choosing your wedding dress.
1. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you love trying wedding dresses on
We know how worried our brides get before their appointment, but honestly you have nothing to worry about. Trying on wedding dresses is fun! That’s why you’ll alway find pics on our social media of the staff trying them on. We’re a really laidback bunch here at Bridal Emporium which puts a lot of people at ease too. We’ve had the most reluctant brides get really into their appointment, with their inner princess coming out.
2. Bring as many people as you want to see you try on dresses! There's no right or wrong way to do your appointment
Want to bring your great aunt's sister-in law? Go ahead! The more the merrier is our motto! But in all seriousness, it’s completely up to you how many people you would like to bring along to your appointment. We have brides with their bridesmaids, friends and family in tow or brides who prefer to come on their own and have a good ol’ time with the bridal stylists. We’ll have fizz at the ready either way!
3. Nine out of Ten brides choose a completely different style to the one they envisioned and that’s okay!
This is sooooooo common ladies. Obviously the first thing you’re gonna wanna do is find your favourite wedding dresses on Pinterest. Then start picturing your big day wearing those gorgeous gowns, right? But here’s the thing, it’s hard to know if the silhouette, shade etc will suit you from a picture alone.
That’s why we arrange our wedding dresses in the shop by style and not designer. There are just so many shapes out there! From tea length, to column, fishtail, a-line and princess how on earth are you going to know which one is for you without an appointment???
When a bride walks into the shop for an appointment at Bridal Emporium, we get you to peg upto 6 dresses. If it’s your first appointment, we strongly encourage you to try the different styles on before ruling them out. Then it’s wild card time! Once your bridal stylist has got a feel for what she thinks is working on you, she’ll pick out a couple of dresses for you to try too. It’s so easy to dismiss a dress because of how it looks on the hanger, but trust us when we say they can look completely different on!!! It’s amazing how many brides say yes to their wildcard dress.
Don’t get us wrong, there are brides who know EXACTLY the wedding dress style (and even the specific dress name) that’s for them. They try it on and bam it’s the one! But in our experience many brides come out of the shop super surprised by their final choice.
4. Wedding dress samples never fit
Bridal boutiques generally have 1 size in each sample dress ready for their customers to try. When we purchase samples from designers, we try to think ‘hmmm what sizes are we missing on the floor’. So our sample wedding dresses in the shop are all in a variety of sizes, ranging from 6 - 26.
During an appointment you’ll try on the sample dress and we’ll pin it in or out, to help you decide if you like the style. This can take a little bit of imagination from you though! You then order your chosen dress in your size, new from the designer. Alternatively, you can choose to purchase the actual sample wedding dress off the shopfloor. This is called buying ‘off-the-peg’.
If you have ordered a new dress, when your actual wedding dress arrives it still won't fit exactly. Sorry ladies but that's the truth! It’s going to need alterations, for example the length might need taking up in line with your chosen shoe heel height, the waist bringing in and a hitch adding. So be prepared to see your finished dress a few weeks before the big day!
5. Hardly anyone cries
So don’t feel bad if you come out in your favourite dress and no-one sheds a tear! Some people might even cry at a dress that isn’t the one for you. It happens! At the end of the day, all that matters is that YOU love the wedding dress and feel comfortable. It’s your big day! Everyone just wants you to feel your best.
There you have it, our top 5 things to expect when choosing your wedding dress! We hope it's helped and any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.