Finding the perfect wedding dress for your big day is a major part of your wedding planning and many aspects come into play when making that final decision.
With endless, gorgeous styles and designs to choose from, it can seem like an impossible task to settle on just one but if you know all the things you should consider on your hunt, it can make narrowing down those choices just that little bit easier.
From your bridal hair and makeup to your wedding venue, everything plays a part is selecting that dream dress.
Here are 5 things to help you choose your perfect wedding dress:
The Venue
One of the biggest mistakes people make when shopping for their wedding dress is to do so before they have settled on a venue. The backdrop for your wedding day will have a huge impact on what you’ll feel comfortable wearing – you’re not going to make the same fashion choices for a beach wedding as you would for saying your ‘I dos’ in a Scottish castle.
It’s understandable that you’ll be more than keen to get going with your hunt for your wedding dress and by all means, start browsing and figuring out styles that suit you from the get-go, but leave the serious shopping until you’ve secured your venue. Once you’ve got that sorted, you’ll be able to have much clearer idea in mind of how you would like to look.
Your Hair & Makeup
Most brides-to-be will leave figuring out their hair and makeup until after they’ve chosen a dress, so that they can take into account the style and shape of the gown when coming up with the best possible look to complement. However, if you’re a bride with a very distinct style when it comes to hair and makeup in life, whether that’s bold Pinup Rockabilly or barely there natural, this may well influence your dress choices.
If you know that you won’t be without all-out glamour in your hair and makeup for your wedding day, that might help you decide that perhaps a Boho style wedding dress isn’t the one for you. Likewise, if you’re more of a natural beauty kind of girl, that might not work so well with a huge ball gown. There are no hard and fast rules here and of course, it’s your prerogative to mix it up and bit, but if you have your heart set on a hair and makeup look it doesn’t hurt to bear this in mind when wedding dress shopping.
The Groom
The Groom has more of an impact on your wedding dress decision than you might think! Wedding dresses come in all shapes and sizes, as do husbands, and the stature of your man could well affect your wedding dress choice.
If there isn’t much difference in height between you and your fiancé and you know that he would rather appear taller, you might want to consider going for a dress that isn’t too big and also one that doesn’t beg for heels to be worn with it.
Wedding Theme
Your wedding theme will of course come into play when choosing your wedding dress, so if you think you might like to celebrate your big day in an unusual style, try to figure this out (at least loosely) before buying that dress.
Booking your venue in could be what it takes for you to envision your theme, so this might come once you’ve made that choice. If your wedding them is ticking away in the back of your mind but you haven’t made any official decisions yet, try to at least get a rough idea before choosing your wedding dress – the last thing you want is to feel as though you stick out like a sore thumb!
Time of Year
It may seem like an obvious one, but it’s definitely worth a mention! Do not buy a wedding dress before your have set the date. You might think that you’re going to wear a certain style dress, whatever the weather, but think about this logically. Comfort is key for your wedding day and whilst, of course, you want to look absolutely gorgeous don’t go for this at the expense of being able to actually enjoy yourself!
If you’re having a summer wedding or a wedding abroad in warmer climes, you’ll probably want to avoid very big, heavy gowns. If you’re getting married when the weather tends to be cooler, you don’t have to skip the slinky dresses but you may want to think about some layering or sleeve options.