Bridal Tip #5

Ok, so this week's Bridal Tip will be a little less heated than the last! But although I may not show as much passion about this one...... it's still VERY important!

Bridal Tip #5........ Be Careful Who You Bring With You!

Now, you may think in the beginning, 'Oh I definitely want all my bridesmaids to come dress shopping with me, and my Mum and Nan and it would be quite nice for my future Mother in Law to come too'

Really?!?!?!

No!

PLEASE don't do this...... to yourself mostly, and then to the boutique!

Bringing lot's of people with you will make it a fun girly day out, but you can go to a spa for that! Making your dress shopping experience a 'fun girly day out' will result in lots of things..... but usually finding your dream dress isn't one of them!

So let's say you have a 1 hour appointment booked at your local boutique and you arrange to meet up there....... you all arrive and not everyone has seen each other for a while or even know each other at all, so you do a quick intro and it's hugs and kisses all around and lot's of excitement........ there's 10 minutes gone already! (I added this bit by accident, but it's true.... this happens!)

You pick out some dresses you'd like to try on and your bride tribe pick out some for you too. You then go in to a changing room with a complete stranger (me!) and take all your clothes off and put a wedding dress on for the first time.... this can be a little daunting but trust me you get used to it real quick!

Now, if the boutique is like ours..... there's no mirror in the changing room, meaning your first impression of the dress is going to be your bridal parties reaction when you walk out in it...... and so for this reason (and other reasons too!) make sure those people are the ones whose opinions you value the most.

Don't bring Moaning Myrtle, who will pick a fault with even the most perfect of dresses because she's secretly envious of your upcoming wedding and doesn't really care what you wear as long as you don't look amazing! (we get this more regularly than you'd think!)

Don't bring the girl who CONSTANTLY keeps referring to her own wedding and how she felt and what she did etc, like " When I was dress shopping........" if she says this more than twice....... Do not take her to another appointment, this is YOUR wedding day and YOUR experience, everyone is completely different..... which is why I love my job so much...... but more on that another day!

Don't bring the uptight Mother-In Law to be if she is expecting you to have nothing on show except your face! So when you walk out in a gorgeous fishtail gown with a keyhole back she isn't going to require CPR because she genuinely see's her boy as the son of God and anything other than full sleeve and a high neck is the work of the Devil! This won't be good for moral and similarly don't bring your own Mother if she has a habit of reminding you you need to 'lose a few pounds' before the big day...... that is not what you want to hear when you are trying sample dresses on that will almost definitely not be in the correct size anyway.

Who you DO need to bring.........

- People who know you well..... very well, and have a fair understanding of what usually looks good on you and will control your urge to opt for something 'radical' on the big day because you don't want to be predictable...... Your wedding day is NOT the day to be radical!

- People who will give you CONSTRUCTIVE criticism...... not just say 'No, I don't like it' but they don't know what they don't like about it, they're just making sure YOU now don't like it!

You want to hear things like 'I'm not sure that's the shape for you, maybe try a fuller skirt' or 'Hmmmm I love the dress but maybe try it in a different fabric' and you most definitely want to bring people who WILL say 'Holy S**t , you look incredible in that one' ! Because ultimately that's what we're aiming for here!

- People who are ultimately happy for you to be in this position, this is a wonderfully exciting time and you only want people with you who feel the same, not Downer Deirdre's!

Too many opinions can ultimately result in you buying a dress to please everyone else and not yourself...... remember how you feel in each dress and what YOU love about each one.... yes they can have their opinion but that's all it is.... they aren't wearing the dress and in all honesty they probably won't even remember the dress after the wedding..... give it 6 months and I doubt they will even be able to describe it!

You need to be sure you've picked the right dress for YOU AND YOUR WEDDING DAY! Sometimes it is hard to unhear some of the comments they may make on a dress you love and you start to second guess what you loved about it.

A common thing more recently is usually the older ladies in the bridal party can't get past the fact that some of the dresses aren't white or ivory, if say the bride has fallen in love with a champagne dress or a silver gown, they just can't hide their distaste because they believe the bride should be in white! (or ivory!) and therefore making comments they don't realise will either upset the bride or ultimately lead her to choose a dress she doesn't like as much...... which in my opinion is totally unfair, every bride should be entitled to wear whatever she wants on her wedding day.

And so the moral of this Bridal Tip is......... choose your shopping party wisely! and if you find in the first appointment someone is being annoying or rude with their comments or is just not showing any interest...... bin them off for the next appointment!

Well, that escalated a little more than I thought it would! I thought this would be a short Bridal Tip! hahaha oops! Thank you for popping by again to read my latest installment

Until Next Time........ Enjoy The Wedding Planning!