Finding The Perfect Dress

Finding the perfect wedding dress can be stressful for a bride. There are hundreds of thousands of styles, colors, fabrics, and brand combinations … and that’s before you get into accessorizing.

Here at Lansing Bridal, your journey as a bride is important to us. We’ve accumulated some tips for dress shopping to put your mind at ease and make the dress hunt fun!

Tip #1: Have your first outing looking at dresses.

Ignore the budget, ignore the time constraints, gather some trusted friends for brunch and a dress appointment and HAVE FUN. Look at all the dresses that catch your eye, try on a few for your friends, and try to enjoy it as much as possible. The hard part can come later. Go ahead, try that crazy dress!

Tip #2: Once that’s done, set your budget and your time frame.

Now that you’ve enjoyed dressing up in some new wedding fashions, it’s time to start narrowing the parameters. Set a budget for yourself and stick to the budget. You also have to think about how long you have until the wedding, keeping in mind you may have to make some alterations to the dress you buy.

Tip #3: Make another appointment, this time with a plan.

Take along one or two of your trusted advisors, and make sure they know the rules. Don’t say anything until you’ve had your first words about the dress, and make sure they are supportive of your choices. Nothing can be more stressful for a bride than having too many opinions overrunning her own. Now that you’ve got your budget, timeframe, and maybe a couple ideas about what you want, it’s your time to find the best possible match.

Tip #4: Keep track of what you try.

Have your friends take notes on your phone and take pictures (if the shop allows) so you can narrow down the choices based on what you like or don’t like about a dress.

Tip #5: When it’s the one, it’s the one.

The moment you find your perfect dress, you’ll know. You’ll feel it. Once you know it’s the perfect dress, don’t let anyone talk you out of it. Always have a backup plan in case the one you fall in love with doesn’t fit your plan (too expensive, too much time for alterations, out of stock, etc.) but keep the one that makes you feel absolutely magical. Your friends and family are there to give opinions, but they won’t be the ones wearing it down the aisle. Once you find your dress, the rest of the wedding is a piece of cake!

If you’re a bride that doesn’t know yet what she wants, try making a Pinterest board for your wedding. You can save pictures of what catches your eye to show to the shop staff, who can find similar dresses in stock. Don’t be afraid to utilize communication with the shop staff, they are there to help you find the dress of your dreams.

Many bridal apparel vendors will be available at the Lansing Bridal Show, coming to the Lansing Center on Oct. 7, 2018. Get your questions answered and book dress appointments with your favorite shops, and don’t forget to check out the fashion show put on Pierre’s Bridal – our vendor award winner of 2018!