Wedding Dress: 5 Mistakes Brides Make When Shopping
07 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Wedding Tips
Posted by Hana on Tue, Oct 04, 2011@ 5:42 am
Looking for a wedding dress? Read this first! We’ve got a guest post by the smart girls at Smart Bride Boutique to help you avoid wedding dress pitfalls so many brides make. A must read if you’re shopping for your wedding dress!
Shopping for a wedding dress is supposed to be fun, right? It should be one of those quintessential experiences in life that you’ll never forget (uhhh, no pressure!) However, if you’re having trouble deciding, you don’t feel like you’ve found THE ONE, or you’re onto your 6th store, it can be a very overwhelming experience.
Anjolique 2053 Wedding Dress available on SmartBride Boutique.Photo by Jamyes Van HeesWhether you know EXACTLY the style of dress you want, or this is the first time you’ve gone shopping for a fancy dress, the experts at SmartBrideBoutique.com can help. They’ve compiled feedback from hundreds of brides, not to mention their own wedding dress shopping experiences, into their list of Top 5 Mistakes NOT to Make When Shopping For Your Wedding Dress
1. Don’t Take Too Many People!
We’ve heard so many horror stories about brides who dress shop with a serious entourage. Remember, there is such a thing as too many opinions, so choose your shopping assistants wisely. Make it clear they are providing their opinion on what looks good on you, not their own ideas of what you SHOULD be wearing. The most important thing is that you feel amazing. Don’t live out other people’s fantasies or fashions.
2. Don’t Be Close Minded.
You’ve probably poured over dresses in bridal magazines to get an idea of the style of dress you think you want. A word of caution: don’t get fixated on one style until you’ve tried a variety of silhouettes, necklines, textures (lace, beading etc) and shades of white!
Often times your dream dress from the magazine doesn’t flatter your body type. Try on several silhouettes first to determine what looks best on your body type, then move on to try different necklines, colors and textures.
3. Don’t Be Trigger Happy.
Before you fantasize too much about your wedding dress, determine the vision for your wedding – including venue, time of year and theme. If you buy before you’ve decided on these factors, you might wind up buying a second dress because the first one no longer fits. Trust us, it happens more than you think! For example, if you’re having a destination wedding on a beach somewhere, you likely don’t want a princess wedding dress.
Above all, remind yourself to slow down and enjoy the experience. Enlist a close friend whose opinion you trust. They’ll help you avoid pressure from sales people (and maybe your family) to “just buy something already!” Take your time to try on a variety of dresses so that you really know when you’ve found “the one”.
4. Don’t Continue to Shop after you’ve found “the one”.
While you don’t want to pull the trigger too fast and buy a dress you’ll regret later (see above), you also DO NOT want to continue to shop for your dress after you’ve purchased one. Continuing to look generally results in doubling your wedding dress budget, and might mean sacrificing in other areas of your wedding.
5. Don’t Go Over Budget (If you can help it!)
You likely already have an idea of what you want to pay for your dream dress. Whether your budget is $300 or $3000, try to stick to it! There is no sense going into a store and trying on dresses that are way out of your budget, it will only end in disappointment. Plus, remember to include extra costs like alterations when making your decision. Sample or once worn dresses may also require cleaning BEFORE the wedding.
If you do fall in love with a dress that’s slightly out of your budget, consider searching online. SmartBrideBoutique.com has thousands of sample wedding gowns and used wedding dresses that are 30 to 70% less than retail.
About SmartBride Boutique:
SmartBride Boutique is North America’s premium wedding classifieds website where brides can buy, sell and save on everything wedding. Find wedding dresses, bridesmaids’ dresses, accessories, decorations, and more for 50% off!
Wedding Republic is an online cash wedding registry. Tasteful, practical and fun! If you liked this post, be sure to subscribe!
Hi! I’m Hana, Co-founder & CEO of Wedding Republic. Be sure to peruse the blog, we aim to keep you amused, inspired and informed about all things wedding. And if you’re curious about what we do, check out www.weddingrepublic.com 
