3 Do’s and Dont's of finding a wedding dress

For most brides, her wedding gown is considered as the most important and most expensive dress she’ll ever buy.  Choosing the dress to wear for your wedding can be quite a challenging task.  The goal is to find the wedding dress that will fit into your budget and would also look flattering at the same time.  You want to find a wedding dress that will be appropriate for the type of wedding ceremony that you have planned for.

Here are some tips to help aid in your search for that perfect wedding dress:

Start looking for your wedding dress about five to six months before the wedding – It will give you a better idea of the different fabrics and styles that would look great on you as well as one that would fit into your budget.  Also, you can avoid the stress that is associated with waiting too soon before the wedding to buy your dress by shopping up to six months prior.

It gives you time to find your “best wedding dress” without any pressure.  If you are thinking about having your wedding dress made, it is especially important to start early since wedding dresses that are custom made takes about six months or more to create.

It is not advisable to look for a dress with a cathedral length train if you are planning on having an outdoor afternoon wedding ceremony.  The length of the gown's train and veil establish how formal the dress is and should coordinate with the type of the wedding ceremony that you have planned for.

Traditionally, a long cathedral length train is considered to be formal and is best suited for a grand and fancy 'evening type' wedding ceremony.  An outdoor, daytime, or afternoon wedding is usually less formal and a sweep train or shorter chapel is more suited for the occasion. 

You also need to find a dress that is appropriate for the time of year that you are having your wedding, especially if you are having the ceremony outdoors.  An 'off the shoulder' wedding gown in January or a 'long sleeves gown' in August would probably not be too comfortable.

Wear gloves when wearing a sleeveless gown.  Elbow length gloves are best suited for short sleeves or a sleeveless dress.  Short gloves are worn for more lengthy sleeves.  This also applies to the maid of honor and bridesmaids.  With long gloves you can split the seam of the left glove for your ring finger for the exchanging of rings, whereas with short gloves, you can just take off the left glove during this part of the ceremony.