10 Mistakes You Can Avoid When Choosing a Wedding Dress

Planning a wedding is not an easy task. There are so many details that you have to take into account, but there is one in particular that is the most important: the dress! It is one of the fundamental pieces of the event and the item that all eyes will be focused on, besides it will be the most important garment of your life. But when it comes to choosing it, you may feel lost among the many options and pressured to pick the perfect one for you.

But do not stress beforehand, at Bright Side we tell you what some of the mistakes are that you should avoid when choosing a dress. At the end of the article, we have a bonus with some advice that we think every bride should hear at some point.

1. Looking for your dress either too soon or too late

It is advisable to select it 6 months in advance since modifications and adjustments take time. If you are too eager and choose your dress as soon as you commit, you will probably run into other designs that you may like better than the dress you already ordered.

But if you’re more relaxed and wait too long, with the wedding on your heels, you could end up choosing something quick and impersonal, and you may even be charged more because arrangements and modifications have to be done quickly.

2. Bringing too many people when choosing a dress

Although you probably want to have the approval of your mother, sisters, friends, aunts, etc., the wedding dress is not about whether others like it, it’s about your likes and dislikes. If you are going to choose it with a lot of people, you will be influenced by many different opinions and you may lose track of what you were looking for.

At Kleinfeld Bridal, a famous dress store, they recommend that you come with up to 4 people who can give you positive advice and not take the focus off what is really important: you!

3. Not being realistic regarding your budget

One thing that can happen to you when you find your perfect dress, is that you might not be able to afford it. Trying on something that is far beyond what you can afford will only cause disappointment and frustration. That’s why it’s best to adapt to viable options, although you shouldn’t blindly stick to a price or settle for an offer.

Remember that the best dress is not the most expensive — the most important thing is that you love it.

4. Not taking into account the rest of the accessories

Even if the main piece of your big day outfit is your dress, when choosing it you should keep in mind the rest of the accessories you will wear, since they will complement your look. Likewise, it is advisable that you choose them after you have already decided on your dress.

But if you want to wear grandma’s earrings that have been passed down from generation to generation, or the pair of shoes you bought on a trip to Paris, make sure you wear them when you look for the dress, so that professionals can advise you and combine them in the best possible way.

5. Being either too closed or open-minded about a style

If you’ve been looking at pictures of dresses or have been planning on a certain dress since you were a child and dreamed of this day, this is a good sign, since you’ll be focusing on one style and won’t be so lost in the thousands of options that stores have to offer. But you shouldn’t hold on to that idea, since your dream dress may not look the same on you as it did in the magazine — because we’re all different.

“90% of our brides leave with something completely different than what they had in mind,” said Cristina DeMarco, vice president of Bridal Reflections, a New York store. That’s why it’s important to listen to the advisors and give them a chance to give you new and different choices that will make you look great.

6. Buying without the wedding’s context in mind

All weddings are unique and different, so it is not the same party at night as it is during the day, nor in the summer as it is in the winter. The dress should also be adapted to the situation, you don’t want to be out of place in a bright and pompous dress at a country wedding, or go unnoticed in a discreet dress amidst the lights of a ballroom.

Taking into account the characteristics of your event when selecting the dress is important so that it blends perfectly with the occasion’s ambiance and aesthetics.

7. Trying on too many dresses

Doing this will probably cause more confusion than certainty since you will get lost in the thousands of options and forget what you were looking for in the beginning. It is recommended that you try out some styles and when you have found the right one for you, go in that direction to find the perfect one. Once you fall in love with one, don’t hesitate to buy it before you start to doubt yourself.

8. Sacrificing your personal style

Even though tradition dictates that a white dress is what you should wear to walk down the aisle, it’s useless if you’re not happy with it. If you want, you can break the mold and opt for another type of garment, color, or style, after all, it’s the big day for you and your partner. The important thing is that you are comfortable and feel at ease.

9. Buying a dress which you don’t totally love

Even if not all of you have that “moment” as a bride, when the tears are flowing and you feel like you’ve found your dream dress, you should never settle for anything you don’t totally love. Remember that this is a memorable day in your life that will live on in your memories and photos, and we don’t think you want to have a bad memory just because you weren’t happy with the way you looked.

Search, let yourself be advised by positive opinions, and don’t settle for the first thing you see or something that others try to impose on you.

10. Conforming to what the store wants to sell you

Even if the store workers give you advice and tell you what looks best on the basis of their experience and professionalism, they are also salespeople and, at the end of the day, one of their goals is to make a sale. So, if you are not completely sure, don’t be fooled by marketing tricks and always follow your intuition, it will let you know when you have found your perfect dress.

Bonus: You have to know yourself.

You need to know what parts of your body you want to highlight along with any that you prefer to hide. But this isn’t just about physical appearance. Fenoli advises that your starting point is your story — what do you want to say with your wedding, and what do you want your dress to say about you?

There are as many dresses as there are bodies and personalities, and there will always be one that is perfect for you. It’s not about giving up or settling — all that matters is letting your instinct and heart guide you, just like you did when you decided to take this big step with your partner.

If you plan to get married someday, how would you like to look? If you already did, tell us how you chose your dress in the comments.