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In the sea of stress that is wedding planning, there a ton of things to worry about. One of the biggest stresses on the list is picking out your perfect wedding dress. When looking for the perfect dress, there are certain things to keep in mind, before you go into the store, while you're there, and after you've made your purchase.
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Research
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The ladies at the idal shop are there to help you pick your dress, but you can help them before you even get there. By researching what you like and giving them an idea, they can help to steer you in the right direction and narrow down your search. Coming in with an idea, versus no idea at all, can be the difference between finding your perfect dress on the first day and facing weeks and weeks of searching.
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Start Early
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Because most idal shops provide made to order dresses, you want to start looking between six and nine months before your wedding day. (You need time to try on the dress, have it ordered, made, and shipped, have multiple fittings, have alterations done...) There are a lot of steps between walking in the idal shop and walking down the aisle. If you don't leave yourself enough time to get all the steps done, you may not feel the wow factor when you walk down the aisle.
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Budget
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Your wedding dress will take up a large portion of your wedding budget, but you don't want to take too much away from the rest of the wedding. Be sure to not only make a budget ahead of time, but also stick to it when the time comes. It can be easy to think that stretching the budget is worth it for the absolute dream dress, but don't forget all of the other parts of the wedding that also need your attention.
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Fit Over Size
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Bridal wear often runs smaller than what you'll pull off the rack at the department store, so don't panic when your normal size four doesn't fit you quite right. It's okay, go for the bigger size! You'll get a better fit in your dress if you buy the bigger size and have the alterations done to fit your body specifically. But when thinking of alterations, don't go into the idal salon and say that you want your normal size four and will lose the weight to fit. It is much easier to take a dress in than to let it out.
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Location
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Where and when you're having your wedding will be a deciding factor to what kind of dress you pick. If you're having a winter wedding in a cathedral, you'll want to go for something heavier and more conservative; whereas if you're having a summer beach wedding, something lighter and strapless will do the trick. The number one is to be appropriate to the setting and the season.
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