How to Buy a Wedding Dress

Tips for Buying a Wedding Dress

1. Assess your budget: It is important to decide how much you can spend on your dress before you start shopping. Many wedding dresses cost more than a thousand dollars (not including alternations and accessories!), so as soon as you get engaged, start putting away money for your dress!

1. Know your wedding date: Before you buy your wedding dress, you need to know the date of your wedding. Why? Most wedding dresses are custom made and can take several months to arrive from the time you place your order. Then, once your dress arrives you need to have a fitting and have any final alterations and customizations done. Custom designed dresses can take even longer, so if you have your heart set on an original, you may need up to six months. If your wedding is soon, you need to either purchase a dress off the rack or find a wedding dress vendor who can do a "rush" that will accomodate your schedule.

1. Determine your style: Figure out what you want in a wedding dress. How do you do this? Research! There are many bridal magazines available at any newsstand or bookstore and they are filled with pictures of wedding dresses. (Modern Bride,Bride's, and Elegant Bride magazines are good ones to start with) and look for dress designs that you find appealing.

4.Get professional help: Once you know what kind of designs you like, meet with the professional consultants at bridal salons. They can help you pick the best dress for your taste and budget. Of course, it is always a good idea to take a trusted friend or family member to weigh in on your choice, too.

Eventually you're going to have to settle on a design. Most bridal salons provide you with your own personal consultant to help you pick the best possible design, but you should also bring along a friend or loved one whose opinion you trust. If you know what color, length, silhouette and overall style you want before you visit the salon, you will probably be more successful and less overwhelmed by all of the choices. Feel free to take pictures of your favorites with you.

Wedding Accessories

Once you have completed the difficult task of choosing your wedding dress, you are not done. You still need to pick all of the accessories for your special day. You may want a veil, hat or tiara, gloves (optional), shoes, lingerie and jewelry. Don't forget to allow yourself the time and budget to buy these items.

Where to Buy

Here are some terrific web resources for further research and ideas on wedding dresses:

The Knot: Wedding Gowns Allows you to search for dresses by designer, silhouette, neckline, and price range. Also find selecting tips and a section on wedding trends.

WeddingChannel.com: Gowns & Dresses Wedding Channel is another research tool for finding the perfect wedding dress; the site also has dress recommendations and ideas for bridesmaids and flower girls dresses.

House of Brides is a good place to shop for wedding dresses of all styles. You can also select from special pages meant for different states in the USA.