Its Wedding Dress Week on Styledbyroz...
After 7 1/2 years of dating, Matt and I are FINALLY getting married! I couldn't be more excited! Planning a wedding has been such a new experience, for obvious reasons, but also because it has been humbling. I am typically Ms. Opinionated about all things fashion. I never have difficulty making a decisions on what to wear but finding a wedding dress has been a different story.
First of all, I have not been planning my wedding since my childhood! I only started thinking about what style of wedding dress I might like about 2 years ago when I went shopping with my best friend for her wedding dress. To be clear I was not the asshole friend that attempted to try on wedding dresses while my engaged friend was BUT as we narrowed down the style she liked I definitely made notes of the styles I liked and would want to try on when it was my time.
I never imagined how hard it would be! Especially for me, when I shop and try on clothes I know almost immediately if the item works and if I like it. When I started shopping for a wedding dress it seemed like an impossible task. To begin I couldn't even figure out if I was a romantic bride, a modern bride, a high-fashion bride, a traditional bride, a princess bride, a hippie bride, etc.
Therefore, I have come up with a few tips....
My Tips for finding a YOUR WEDDING DRESS...
#1. Bring SPANX no matter how tiny you are!
You are basically naked in that dressing room with a perfectly respectable stranger. You are being squeezed, tucked, pulled into numerous dresses and you may break a sweat. Especially, when you look at that price tag.
Spanx will keep those lines under the dress smooth and boost your confidence into this fun but possibly trying day.
#2. Take care of yourself first.
I.E. EAT some food before! No one needs you to be suffering from low blood sugar, while trying on dresses. You need strength, lol!
Also, put on make-up, do your hair. Not every store has great lighting and nothing is worse then not feeling beautiful when you most likely look beautiful in that future wedding dress.
#3. Don't watch too many "SAY Yes to the Dress" episodes.
The show is edited! Unless you are the most easy going bride in the world or one that doesn't have any qualms about spending that kind of money, you probably are not going to find your dress in that first appointment. You may not even find the dress after trying on three. It always seems like on that show they only try on three dresses and poof the third one is the charm.
Of course their is always someone who is the exception to the rule, but few and far between!
#4. Choose wisely with who you bring to the appointment
First, you are going to be dealing with money and Money makes people funny. Are you comfortable with discussing that number in front of your friends, or other attending guest?
Nothing is worse then walking out of any dressing room and loving yourself in something and than your friend, the sales person, whomever responds with a negative comment about it. The majority of us, will immediately reject our inner feelings and adopt the other person's negative feelings about the dress. This can REALLY confuse the process in finding YOUR wedding dress. Remember to listen to yourself first..... You are going to be really angry with that friend, person, whomever when you get home with the dress they envisioned for your wedding and not what you envisioned. Especially when you think of the price tag and the fact that you are not satisfied.
I made a rule for my mother and bridesmaids that I brought to my four wedding dress shopping trips. No one is allowed to say anything about the dress until they read my body language, or hear what I say about it first. Then they can raise a concern and only if they think that their concern will out weigh my feelings on the dress. I am sure at that moment, my friends thought I was headed straight towards being a bridezilla. But I think they understood once the process started why I made up this rule. And this kept everyone focused on what I wanted and NOT on what they thought I should look like.
#5. Just try it on!
Last but certainly not least.... Just Try It ON! THis was the biggest lesson I learned and I found it humorous, since it is my rule when styling or personal shopping for a client.
Don't rule it out until you try it on. If you hate it, you can immediately take it off and not show it to anyone. I mean when are you going to have the chance to try on wedding dress ever again. I hope for everyone sake, that it is only this once!
I tried on way too many dresses (hence why I wrote this post in hopes to help you out). I found my dress during the last 20 minutes of my fourth wedding dress shopping appointment. I had been trying to convince myself that this beautiful dress that I kept on gravitating toward was the one for me. For some reason I could not fully commit to it. While it was beautiful, I just couldn't imagine myself walking down the isle in this dress but then again, I didn't even know what that was supposed to look like so the confusion continued.
Finally my Matron of Honor, Cali took me back in the dressing room and asked me, "do you feel like this is the dress.... did you have that moment". I had not had "the moment" and was not a believer that I would actually have "the moment". I thought, I am not that girl who is going to cry about a dress, blah blah...
Cali grabbed a dress, that she and my mom had asked me to try on earlier but I didn't want to, and DEMANDED that I just try it on. I was taken by surprise with the force, gentle but strong ask to try on this dress. Why not, I thought...
The second I slipped into it and even before I turned around to see myself in the mirror I had "the moment". I even let them say, "I told you so" to me after. LOL!
So do yourself a favor and just try it on! Oh and Have FUN!
Happy Shopping!
