Wedding Dress Shopping | Dallas Wedding Photographer

Do’s and Don’ts for Wedding Dress Shopping

You’ve watched a million hours of TLC. You’ve perused Pinterest for hours and flipped through every bridal magazine you can get your hands on. Now it’s time to go wedding dress shopping. If you’re ready to find the perfect wedding dress, you could be feeling lots of emotions—excited, eager, and possibly terrified. 

Finding a wedding dress is a major day in the wedding planning process, and it sometimes gets built up to an enormous fantasy that can never live up to expectations. So take a deep breath, do your hair and makeup that morning, accept a glass of bubbly, and follow this guide for some easy do’s and don’ts of wedding dress shopping. 

Do: Find a gown you’re comfortable in. This is Rule Number One for beautiful wedding photos. Your photographer can fix random wrinkles or wedding-day acne. What she can’t fix is your comfort level. If you find a dress you think is stunning, but leaves you feeling slightly out of sorts because of the plunging neckline, itchy lace, or huge train, hang it back up. You want a dress that makes you look like the best version of yourself. Your wedding day is a long day, and you want to not only look, but feel your best. 

Don’t: Bring an enormous entourage. Yes, we’ve all seen the reality shows where brides-to-be waltz into the salon with everyone from their grandmother’s sister to their childhood neighbor. We’ve all seen the drama that follows! When you go dress shopping, choose a select few guests—three or four. Choose people who love you and want you to feel beautiful, not people who will give extra-blunt opinions or try to push you into a certain cut or style. 

Do: Conduct research beforehand. Going in with a rough idea of the dress shapes you’re interested in is great. Show your stylist photos of gowns you love and explain the feel you’re going for. 

Don’t: Be inflexible. You may go in with the idea of a Cinderella ballgown, but chances are, you’ve never tried one on before! If you aren’t loving the fit of something, don’t feel bad about going outside of the vision you’ve had since you were a little girl. You never know what could look amazing. Trust your stylist, too—she’s done this many times, and may pick out something you never dreamed about but end up loving. 

Do:  Know your venue beforehand. If you’re having a traditional church wedding, your gown will probably look different than for a barnyard bash. Knowing your venue can help you find a gown that matches your overall wedding day aesthetic. 

Don’t: Try on dresses outside of your price range. It’s practically a law. Trying on that dress $3,000 higher than your price range? You will fall in love, you will compare every other dress to it, and you will either a) spend way money more than you can afford or b) feel bad that you didn’t get your “dream dress”. Just leave it on the rack, and don’t let any salespeople try to talk you into it!

Do: Have fun! Trying on wedding dresses can be one of the most fun parts of wedding planning. Choose a day, make some appointments and go find that perfect gown! 

P.S. Don’t forget to bring a pretty hanger on your wedding day so your dress photos look even better!