How did you choose your dress??

Plankton1

I've tried on lots of dresses now at this stage and they were all amazing. I felt beautiful in all of them. I REALLY like about 4 of them...but they're all completely different styles and I don't know if any of them have the wow factor for me. Do people actually cry and have a big reaction when they find their dress? Or how do you know it's 'the one?'. I feel like I'm never going to be able to choose!

jellybear

Awh I know that feeling!! I tried on over 60 dresses and really thought I'd never pick one!
I narrowed it down to 2 and tried them on on the same day. I was very lucky in that a good friend of mine worked in a bridal shop for years so I brought her along for her advice. It was a unanimous decision in the end- all 3 ladies I brought loved the one I chose in the end.

I'd definitely recommend only bringing 2/3 people you trust and who's opinion you value as they will tell you honestly which one looks better.

I loved the back of mine and I think that's a huge part of what sold it to me. I could have had the back of the other dress I liked filled in with lace, which is what I wanted, but it was so much easier being able to see it on my dress then having to envision it.

Best of luck with your choice. I'm sure one thing at least will jump out at you, the same way it did for me. Ps. I didn't have the whole floods of tears moment!!! My mam and sister did though!!!

scarepanda

I was lucky in that I found my dress in the first place I went to. I didn't really know what shape I wanted, but did have a preference to a particular upper body design and I wanted ivory.

The lady in the shop was very good and gave me a number of styles to try on. I'd say i tried on may be 12/15 dresses that she had.

Anyways, when I tried on my dress I instantly fell in love with it. I didn't tear up it anything, I was just so comfortable in it and didn't want to take it off! I fell in love with the detail on the train and I couldn't stop walking around in it and looking behind me at the train! My mother loved another dress, and I was partial to a third dress, the same style as the one I got. So I narrowed it down to the three, tried the other two on, picked my favorite between them and then tried on the one I eventually got and made my decision based on that. But tbh my mind was already made up.

The dress I ended up getting is the total and utter complete opposite to what I ever thought I would go for. It's not even close to the original style I was partial to.

Have you tried on a variety of dresses/styles/cuts? The two dresses I liked we're technically the same style, but had different cuts if that makes sense. Do you know what you do and don't like about the dress you have currently narrowed it down to? I made a mental list of what I did and didn't like about all the dress I tried on and looked for what I did like in the next dress.

Plankton1

I have two dresses in one shop that I really like - both totally different to each other.
Then I have another dress in another shop that is totally different again, and a final dress in the 3rd shop which is COMPLETELY different to the others!! I had a whole vision in my head and none completely fit it - it's like elements of all of them fit my vision but none of them combine it all!

Neyite

I narrowed it down by style and shade first - shape/ neckline that sort of thing. Then it came down to two dresses and one was in a shade that suited me much better than the other and it felt so good on.

The shop assistant told me to be certain there was nothing I disliked about the dress because if there was, then between placing the order and it arriving in the shop you'll be full of doubts about it and might go off it. So things like detatchable straps or sashes are fine - those wont affect the dress, but if you liked it but wanted sleeves or it was in a scoop neck but a V was your preference - those kind of things if you overlook it, they'll play on your mind.

Is there one of them that you can't stop thinking about? Or one that you thought of first the next day? That might help you narrow it down?

scarepanda

Which dress sticks in your mind the most? Is there anything about the other dresses that you liked that can be added to the one that you remember the most? For example, my dress has a shallow neckline, but I will get it made a bit deeper when I'm getting it altered, as this was a feature I liked and suited me better from another dress. I originally wanted a dress with shoulders, which mine doesn't have, but could be added. If you like a dress with lots of layers in the skirt, but think it's a bit too much sometimes a layer can be removed to tame it down a bit. There are options to alter the dress in certain ways to either add or remove something to make it what you want.

Plankton1

Thanks guys! the search continues for now...going to go to one more shop, just in case 'the one' is in there, and if not I will go back for round 2 with the other dresses!

meeeeh

I knew I didn't want traditional wedding dress. I googled a bit and found a dress I liked. I had to send it back and get a bigger size but all in all I tried on one type of dress. It will be harder to find jacket or a cover for it and shoes that work with it because it's slightly unusual color.

GingerLily

Another thing to think about is what dress will be most comfortable on the day?

I saw a bride at the weekend who had a reception in a Dublin pub and her skirt had a hoop for shape, the poor thing had to tilt the hoop vertically to get around the place, it looked VERY awkward.

Plankton1

That's a good point GingerLily, I think one of the things making me unsure is that one dress is amazing and looks beautiful on, but it doesn't really fit the vibe of the day (laid back, outdoorsy, this dress is super glam).
Another dress is gorgeous too and pretty and floaty, so would fit the surroundings, but I nearly feel it's not glam ENOUGH....it is your wedding day after all, you want to feel special! Ahhhhhh head is melted haha!!

GingerLily

Plankton1 wrote: »

That's a good point GingerLily, I think one of the things making me unsure is that one dress is amazing and looks beautiful on, but it doesn't really fit the vibe of the day (laid back, outdoorsy, this dress is super glam).
Another dress is gorgeous too and pretty and floaty, so would fit the surroundings, but I nearly feel it's not glam ENOUGH....it is your wedding day after all, you want to feel special! Ahhhhhh head is melted haha!!

What would look best in the photos in your venue?
Are they easy to sit down and enjoy your meal?
Are they suitable for getting around?
Also would one date more than the other?
What dress makes you look best i.e. your face and features, you want to make sure the dress doesn't wear you!

Plankton1

Thanks GingerLily! Your list of questions has made me realise the second one might tick more boxes...! Giving myself one more bridal shop and if I don't see anything there, I'm going to try them on again and make my decision

optogirl

Saw a dress I liked online - bought it! 140 quid.

GingerLily

Plankton1 wrote: »

Thanks GingerLily! Your list of questions has made me realise the second one might tick more boxes...! Giving myself one more bridal shop and if I don't see anything there, I'm going to try them on again and make my decision

The groom and my photographer gave me a joint lecture about the practicalities in buying a dress!

I tried on a Vera Wang (Davids Bridal so £900-£1500 price range), and I looked amazing in it, but it was far too big and it would dwarf the groom in photos, I genuinely still love that dress but it's too much work.
The dress I have is more more subtle and I won't he burdened with trying to navigate in it the whole day, you want to be stress-free on your wedding day.

I'm sure you'll look amazing in whatever dress you choose

mcgiggles

GingerLily wrote:

What would look best in the photos in your venue? Are they easy to sit down and enjoy your meal? Are they suitable for getting around? Also would one date more than the other? What dress makes you look best i.e. your face and features, you want to make sure the dress doesn't wear you!

Yes to all this!
I had a deposit on a dress that I was lost in! All you saw was the dress.. got so upset! Don't know what possessed me to "say yes"! I cancelled the order and when I went back weeks later to try more dresses (after chilling out for a while and not thinking about any dresses) I tried that one on again and it was instantly a NO!
Only one dress made me cry, I think it was the first time I felt like a bride or something! I was lost in most of the other dresses I tried! (Didn't get that one as a matter of interest!)
The "ONE" I got when I put it on I just kept staring and turning around looking at myself! It sounds so cliche but I could actually "see myself walking down the aisle" in it! It was like a huge weight was taken off my shoulders! I wanted comfortable, and not too heavy, and it was spot on! Still grin when i think about it and i got it last summer and weddings not till the end of the year!

ChewChew

I knew in my head what I'd like. Went to loads of shops and kept going back to my original style dress and felt lost comfortable in. I wanted somehing tea length, light enough that I didn't need to carry it around and easy to pee in

Decided on what I wanted after trying all shapes and styles and bought my dress online then.

scarepanda

ChewChew wrote:

...and easy to pee in

This is something I don't think my dress will accommodate to well :-0!!! But I read somewhere that the easiest way to pee in a wedding dress is to sit on the toilet backwards...... I'll check back in in November on that one!

miamee

scarepanda wrote: »

This is something I don't think my dress will accommodate to well :-0!!! But I read somewhere that the easiest way to pee in a wedding dress is to sit on the toilet backwards...... I'll check back in in November on that one!

This is what bridesmaids are for - holding up your dress :pac:

eviltwin

I bought mine online, just happened to see a nice one on ebay that looked nice and clicked on it. I hate shopping in general and tend to buy most things like that. Probably easier as I didn't go for something that was a typical bride dress.

LirW

eviltwin wrote: »

I bought mine online, just happened to see a nice one on ebay that looked nice and clicked on it. I hate shopping in general and tend to buy most things like that. Probably easier as I didn't go for something that was a typical bride dress.

Pretty much like this. Saw it online, it's a veeery simple dress that was 30$, but looked so good and not tacky. Now it's just waiting for the day to happen, but we do it very small and low key. Personally I just can't justify spending hundreds on a dress I'm gonna wear once.

Toots

I saw a dress that I liked on a website of a shop. I really wanted something with sleeves because I don't like my upper arms. On the main page of the website, they had a picture of the interior of the shop and there was a mannequin with a blush pink coloured dress on it. I thought it looked awful and me and my Mum were cracking up laughing at it.

Anyhoo, we went to the shop and I tried on the dress I'd liked, but it actually ended being something that would suit an older bride. So the two ladies that worked there were pulling out a selection of different dresses for me to try on and they asked me would I like to try the one from the mannequin - I said I would, intending for it to be purely for the laugh. I tried it on and absolutely LOVED it. It looked totally different on a person as opposed to on the mannequin, and it messed with my head a bit because we'd laughed at it so much. It ended up being down to that dress and another lovely one (neither of which had sleeves, incidentally) but when I went home, I couldn't stop thinking about the blush pink dress and after a couple of weeks I went back to try it on and brought my bridesmaids with me and when I put it on again I knew for sure it was the one I wanted.

mcgiggles

Omg Toots kinda had a moment like that.. every shop I went into (4 i think) I asked to try on their biggest ballgown (cos when am I EVER gona get to try one on again!) And in one shop they had a blush ballgown with sweetheart neck and lace bodice i was like *omg cupcake* trying it on and i walked out in it and was dumbfounded! I didn't get it cos it was too much dress for me (i find it hard to cool down when I get warm so id have been a ball of sweat!) But it was GORGEOUS and I actually totally could have worn it! On that note my actual dress couldn't be more different to what I *thought* I wanted.. like the complete opposite in every way! :-)

GingerLily

If you can get photos do, my dress looks great in photos, much nicer then you'd think in the hanger anyway! There was another dress that was similar and looked as nice in person but it didn't look at all well in pics, the difference was actually mental!
I know not all bridal places allow you to but I would see if you can get someone to take some sneaky ones.

Malari

I looked for alternative inspiration online. I bought a jumpsuit first, then saw a picture of a skirt I liked, so bought something similar. A few weeks later I bought a top for it. I've worn the jumpsuit and top several times since the wedding. Not the skirt yet, but I'm sure I'll have an occasion at some point. :pac:

I did go into a bridal shop, just for the sake of it, but hated everything I tried on. They all seemed so generic.

Plankton1

I hate when they don't allow pics because they really help afterwards when you compare a few different dresses. Toots that's gas about the blush dress....I am in a similar situation with one of my 'maybe' dresses! I have a tiny chest so never wanted anything low cut, but tried on a ballgown with a deep V neck for the craic and loved how it looked on me, weirdly!

Neyite

The no-photos a ridiculously outdated rule.

I get that years decades ago before the internet they got time-wasters trying on dresses, taking photos to get their aunt or their nan to run up a lookalike on the family sewing machine in the kitchen.

But the price of fabric and lace these days means that if you made your dress at home like that, chances are it would cost you more or less what you are paying in a shop for it, if not more. Even a cheap (polyester!) satin is going to set you back between €10 - €15 a metre. Lace starts at about double that. Organza & Natural silk very expensive too. Then you need meters of the bloody stuff - your basic strapless mermaid dress with a small puddle train needs about 5m each of fabric, lace overlay, and lining fabric plus thread, boning, zip, interfacing, buttons, border lace for hem... Your outlay for all of that would be well up there with the cost of the gown - especially if you are also paying a dressmaker an hourly rate to make it.

And its not because we would only try on dresses then order online, because you don't need a photo of you for that - you need the make and model of dress.

GingerLily

David's Bridal allow photos (UK), for any brides to be, made a massive difference to picking my dress!

I like looking at the dress when I'm getting stressed about the wedding, help's me to visualise the actual wedding rather then focusing on the planning / budget

Toots

The place I got mine had no problems with me taking photos, which I was quite surprised about. Some of my favourite 'wedding' photos are the ones we took at the various fittings. I've a great one of my mum trying on my veil which was so long it was like a dress on her :pac:

ShaShaBear

I went to a local place that stocked designer dresses as they had just announced a sale and my self-imposed budget was very low (I HATE dresses, and had piled on weight so hated them even more! ) and was very unimpressed with all I was offered bar one. It looked lovely on me, it fitted well, was very slimming but it was pure white, and I felt very washed out by it.
We went to a pet shop to get food for my dog a fortnight later and happened upon a bridal store, so we thought we'd chance our arm. The owner wasn't originally going to let us in as it was appointment only, but when she realised we had travelled, she took us upstairs. Asked me what I wanted and I said "not white, lace but not too much and no mermaid tails. She came back with an off-white "sack" that I was not impressed by. Until I stood on the pedestal and opened my eyes
There was tears, then my mother cried, then my sister cried, then the owner started to cry :pac: It was stunning, it really helped create a flattering shape, distracted from my lumps and bumps and made me feel more beautiful than I had in years! I don't think everyone will cry, but I do think you'll know the right dress when you try it on. Even if you "keep options open", it'll always be "that" dress