Bridal shopping can be an overwhelming and exhausting experience; especially when you’re not prepared. Finding your perfect gown should be a fun and enjoyable experience and knowing what traps to avoid will help make it an easy breezy journey for you. It’s very common for brides to receive the wrong advice from online articles and friends, thus creating many misconceptions that tend to make bridal shopping even more difficult. Before you grab your bridal tribe and head to the boutiques, it’s important to do some research to better prepare yourself. Become familiar with the time-frame, prices and different dress styles. Read blogs and ‘real bride’ experiences on various reputable bridal directories so you have a good idea of what to expect. Real Bride stories tend to be a fantastic and honest reflection of the dress-hunting process and can help eliminate any confusion or misconceptions of finding a gown.
1.EVERYONE PRESENT SHOULD AGREE
Quite often brides feel pressure to please their closest family and friends when hunting for a dress. It’s important to ensure you are happy with your gown and know that your entourage will support your choice no matter what. We always advise bringing along family and friends to your appointment as it can often be a scary and overwhelming experience without the support of your close ones. However, it’s important that you don’t bring a large audience as this can often end in mixed opinions and great confusion. Don’t feel pressure to invite only a couple people from your bridal party. Just because they’re part of the crew doesn’t mean they should all come along. It’s important that you bring along people you can trust and people that you know have your best interest at heart.
Designer: Cushnie
2.YOU HAVE TO TRY ON EVERY DRESS IN THE STORE FIRST
Don’t feel like you need to try on every single dress from multiple stores. It’s important that you try on quality over quantity. Try on a ball gown, A-line, Fit and flare and once you know which style you like more you can try on a few more options in that range. The more you try on, the more confused and overwhelmed you will become. For brides that aren’t sure what style is suitable, chat to your bridal consultant or designer for guidance. It’s important to trust in the professionals as they will know what styles, shapes and features will be most flattering on you. If you’ve already tried on a heap of dresses and you’re feeling lost and confused, it’s best to take a step back from dress shopping for a while and start fresh with only 2-3 styles.
Designer: Yumi Katsura
3.IT’S SUPER EXPENSIVE
Custom-made isn’t as expensive as you may think!! Unlike an off-the-rack gown, when creating a gown from scratch you will have a lot more flexibility to adjust the price. This can be achieved through selecting alternate fabrics, opting for a shorter train, removing unnecessary corsetry and slightly modifying the style without sacrificing the appearance you love. It’s also important to remember that when you buy a dress off-the-rack, alterations can often cost an additional $500-$1000. If you know your style and budget, chat to a designer about what you’re after to receive a quote. There is no harm in enquiring about the custom-made route.
Designer: Balint Sara
4.YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME
This is definitely one of the most common misconceptions about bridal gown shopping. Creating a gown from scratch is time-consuming and needs to be done in a number of step by step stages. Getting in early is the key to having the best quality fabrics and the most experienced dressmaker for your style gown. Whilst the time-frame will vary from label to label, it’s always advised to give at least 6 months’ notice to ensure you can get exactly what you’re after.
At d’Italia we work 12-18 months in advance!!
Designer: Zuhair Murad
5.YOU NEED TO ATTEND HEAPS OF FITTINGS
Many brides tend to be concerned about committing to lots of fittings when getting a gown custom-made. Reality is, you don’t need to attend too many fittings at all.
At most custom-couture places, you will be provided with an unlimited number of fittings but generally brides only need 3-5 fittings. If you tend to be indecisive and are known to change your mind a lot, then it’s important to note that this may increase the number of fittings you require as your dressmaker will continue to modify the dress until you are completely satisfied with the fit and finish. For brides who live inter-state or cannot commit to fittings due to work or travel, chat to your dressmaker about creating an organized and well-planned schedule to limit and reduce the number of fittings you need to attend.
Designer: Ralph and Russo
6.YOU SHOULD CRY WHEN YOU FIND ‘THE ONE’
Just because you don’t shed a tear doesn’t mean it’s not the perfect gown for you. It’s completely normal to not get emotional when you find the perfect one. In fact, it is a lot more common for brides to jump with joy when they’ve found the dress of their dreams. In some cases, it could even be a feeling of hesitation and anxiousness. Committing to one dress is a challenging decision….and an expensive one too. It’s important that you feel comfortable and love the way it makes you feel when saying ‘yes to the dress’; that’s when you know it’s the right one for you.
Designer: Jesus Peiro
Contact d’Italia for any enquiry to start your dream wedding dress today.
