Trying on wedding dresses, especially for the first time, can be a bit of a daunting feat. Trust me, I know. No one writes a manual for this stuff! And it can be a bit of a minefield, especially knowing where to begin… All that being said, it is genuinely a lovely, lovely experience, and is genuinely nothing to feel worried about – and to reinforce that thought, I decided to put together a little post of five simple, but essential tips that I’ve taken from my own experience…
Don’t worry if you have no idea of what you want yet – that’s what the process is for! For my first try on session, I literally just booked in at a random shop that I thought had a nice Instagram feed, and kind of hoped I’d come out of the session a little bit more clued up and on the right track… and that’s absolutely what happened. The staff working in Bridal shops know their stuff, and will deal with an array of women day in day out, many of whom have no clue what they are doing either. After all, it’s a first time experience for everyone – so we are all in the same boat. These people are trained up and will have a very good idea of what might work for you, and what won’t – and that’s what they’re there for, to help and guide you. So go along, relax, and enjoy the experience.
Make sure you try on an array of different styles and shapes – the above being said, some people will have an exact idea of what they want and what they are looking for (thank you Pinterest!). But that doesn’t mean that it may necessarily come to life the same way as it does on your vision board, in reality. There may be another style or shape that will look even more incredible on you, and you don’t want to miss out on that wow factor, just because you got blind sighted by someone else in a beautiful dress. Go with an open mind, and be prepared to try lots of different options. You’ll very quickly get an idea of what works for you and what doesn’t, and may just discover that hidden gem.
Understand that wedding dress sizes are not the same as high street sizes – I’ve had this confirmed, bridal sizes are much smaller. So you may well be one size on the high street, but more than likely you’ll be a size up, possibly two in a wedding dress. It’s the same for everyone – so please do not go in, and end up getting upset at this, as there is absolutely no need to. No one looks at someone else’s wedding dress and thinks “that’s a size xx”, that’s crazy! They just look at you, and how beautiful you look. So who really cares what size number is allocated to the dress. Your wedding dress try on is not about the number size at all, mine didn’t even get discussed. I was asked my size when I initially booked my appointment online, and then it was never mentioned again. As I said above, the staff are very well trained and will be able to get an idea of what will work, just by looking at you. Please don’t let silly numbers ruin your day. My best tip is to not even give that a second thought.
Take note of the colours that suit you the most – who knew there were so many different varieties of white? Certainly not me! Apparently, the shade that is going to suit my skin tone best, is a very crisp ivory. In all honesty, I just thought all the dresses were around about the same colour… but oh how wrong I was. There’s white, off white, grey white, bright ivory, ivory, it goes on. I was still baffled by it, until the shop assistant held up the crisp ivory dress (the second one I’d tried on) against my skin tone and compared it to another, then I realised what she meant – and oh does it make a difference. She, of course, had sussed this out by dress two, and then started basing her ideas around that… so the more we tried on, the more flattering the dresses were getting on me. It’s unlikely you’ll find the one on your first try on session, so if you do suss out your ideal shade, make note of it for your future trips, it will make all the difference.
Try and have an idea of the heel height you’ll be wearing on your big day – you don’t need to have your shoes picked out and purchased, but you could do with knowing if you’re going for a flat, mid heel or stiletto beforehand; as it will really help to be wearing a similar sized heel when trying dresses on. The shop I went to had a good few pairs of try on heels to aid the process – but it really does help to have a general idea before you pick “the one”.
