How to Choose the Perfect Wedding Gown

From designer labels to discount brands, wedding dresses come in a variety of styles and prices. Indeed, there are hundreds of wedding dresses to choose from and these days, in a variety of colors as well. But how can you determine just the right dress for you from color to style to price tag that will assure you stay within your budget.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Decide on whether you will have a daytime or a nighttime wedding ceremony. This will determine the style of your wedding gown and the feel of your wedding. Nighttime weddings are usually dressier and can include wedding gowns that are backless and sleeveless. Ball gowns with off-the-shoulder necklines create a princess effect, sheer chiffon sleeves add a feminine touch, low cut V-necklines in front or in back make a dramatic appearance as you enter and form-fitting satin gowns with beaded spaghetti straps turns heads too.

2. Make calls to those wedding gown shops that you know carry your favorite gown or that has been recommended to you. Make an appointment to come in to try on the gowns and determine the style that is right for you.

3. Begin looking for your dress as soon as you are engaged as this will offer you more choices and more time. Check with consignment shops as designer names can often be found for as little as $200 in these shops.

4. The color of your wedding gown does not have to be white anymore. In fact, many brides are choosing to be different and going with some color even if it means accents as simple as pink, lilac or baby blue for just the right touch.

5. Think about the veil you will choose. The long ones are for formal and elegant weddings and the shorter for all others.

6. Wedding dress trains are another piece of the wedding dress that the bride-to-be should take careful consideration in choosing. There are two things to consider when choosing a train; the length and the style. The three popular lengths are the sweep, the chapel and the cathedral. The sweep train barely touches the floor, the chapel train trails up to four feet and the cathedral train is the long one fit for a princess.

7. Don’t buy a wedding gown unless you love it. Settling for something because it is only 99% right is never a good idea and you will regret it forever. Always choose something that flatters, for example in the case of a semi-formal wedding think about a tea-length dress or a floor length affair.

Tips & Warnings

• Begin shopping for your wedding gown as soon as possible and bring along those people who will honestly give you a second opinion worth hearing.
• Don’t buy the dress in a smaller size thinking you will lose weight, this puts too much pressure on you.
• Don’t buy something you don’t absolutely love.