I got of the phone with my best friend yesterday, who is in
the process of planning a wedding and realized just how daunting planning an
off the beaten path wedding can be.
Personally I couldn’t handle it-thus the elopement. One of the most difficult parts about
planning your wedding is listening to other people’s opinions about your
wedding. Just mentioning the
wedding brings up all sorts of hysteria, preconceived notions, and protocols in
people’s minds. Most people have
no problem sharing their ideas with you and this is where you run into
problems, you begin to doubt what you want, what your planning, and your ideas. In my opinion this is why most weddings
and wedding dresses turn out pretty much the same. The hype over runs internal wants for individuality- but
enough of my philosophizing.
Finding a wedding gown is can be one of most difficult
parts of the wedding planning (at least it was for me). For a variety of reasons your brain can
get jumbled: you as a bride want to look beautiful, you don’t
get to buy expensive gowns everyday, you are overwhelmed with bridal marketing,
and most of all you have lots of ideas about how you want to look. Here is how
I would go about picking the perfect dress.
- Color: Start with a vision of what color you want to wear. Whatever color it is, run with it. If you want to wear red but still want a white gown, add red shoes or a red sash. Create a vision of the color you want to be in. Create a pinboard, or an evernote file
with dresses in the color story you like.
- Set a budget: Don’t look at
anything (anything at all) outside of that budget. You only wear the dress once so try not to get caught up in
a moment at a bridal store. Setting a budget means balancing what you want in
life with how much you are spending on your wedding. If you want to buy a house don’t spend your whole down payment
on a wedding. Using your budget
pick stores that carry dresses in that budget and set up appointments. If you can’t afford a Vera Wang gown
don’t look at them. If you don’t
want to spend a fortune, be creative and look at dresses not marketed as wedding
gowns.
- Shape: Forget the gown for a second,
review pictures of yourself and see what sort of clothing looks best on your
body shape. Think about your
favorite dress, why do you love it. Chances are you can quickly figure out what
shape dress, what sort of neckline, and even what length you should wear. I know everyone tells you be open, I
would agree with this, but know your body too. Styling clothing is all about fitting clothes to your
shape. If you have a tiny waist,
you should accentuate this in a dress.
If you have great shoulders, show them off. If you are petite, don’t wear a lot of fabric, it can eat
you!
- Get Help: Find a friend or family member who
you trust to tell you the truth and whose style you like. Discuss what you want with them and
make sure they are one board. Take
them with you to dress shop. Do
not take friends who love something you hate. We have all seen the “Say Yes to the Dress” where the maid
of honor hates the dress the bride loves.
- Ignore: Stop stressing and ignore what
other people say- you are going to look gorgeous regardless. It’s your wedding and you will be
glowing and deliriously happy, the dress is an accessory to YOU. Many people
will say oh your not wearing a ball gown, or white, or whatever. Just ignore it. Being a little different is hard but it’s
worth it in the end!
