Wedding Update: Wedding Dress Shopping

After hemming and hawing about dress shopping I finally bought my wedding dress yesterday. There's only about 8 months until our wedding and, according to some bridal stores, I'm cutting it pretty close purchasing the dress only now. I didn't really know what kind of dress I wanted at first and my initial appointment decisions were heavily influenced by the bridal styles I was seeing on Instagram, which was a such a big mistake! My first appointment was at a boutique bridal store in Vancouver and while the customer service was stellar and the dresses were beautiful, they only had 3 dresses that fit my budget and none of the dresses really fit my body type. I ended up cancelling an appointment at a similar boutique bridal shop. I went to a few more traditional bridal stores and finally found my dress at the last store I visited. Beyond what I think are the two most important rules of not trying on dresses outside of your budget and giving yourself enough time, here are a couple more tips that helped me finalize my dress decision.

1. Know what looks good on your body type.
I know a lot of people don't believe in body type categories, but believe me it helps SO MUCH when dress shopping. I'm an "inverted triangle", with wide shoulders and narrow hips. I'm also SO lucky in that I'm short and have a large bust (my body type is the worst UGH). I insisted on trying on a mermaid style dress, but I felt so unattractive in it because of my body type. As you can see from the image at the top of this post, the best dresses for me are the ones that start flaring out at the waist so it balances out my wide shoulders. I felt so much better trying on a-line and ballgown type dresses instead since they make my waist look tiny. However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't be open to suggestions. The dress I ended up buying was actually one that I didn't even bother to look at, but was recommended by my consultant.

2. Don't get caught up in trends.
I mean this kind of works for your entire wardrobe, but more-so for your wedding dress as you're probably only going to get once chance to wear one! Like I said before, I ended up trying wedding dresses that didn't look great on my body because they were on trend. I saw so many girls with mermaid/trumpet style dresses (they looked great in them!) at the bridal stores that I felt a little strange trying on something "old fashioned" compared to the sexy, lacy styles that were on trend now. However, I realized that, even though I'm not super girly and my everyday style is more modern minimal, I DID want a big princess looking dress. When I tried on the ballgown dresses, I actually felt like a bride.

3. STOP looking after you've found your dress.
If you're anything like me, you've been stuck a couple dozen times in a Pinterest vortex of trying to find and pin your way to the perfect wedding (pro tip: look up "iliza shlesinger pinterest" and you'll know what I mean). I think one of the biggest ways I sabotaged myself with wedding dress shopping is that I pinned so many perfect princess wedding gowns. I kept comparing every dress that were in my budget to all those pinned dresses. How could I win when all those perfect dresses were WAY out of my budget (I mean literally tens of thousands of dollars over)? Even as I'm writing this, I'm having a bit of "dress regret". I still feel like maybe if I had gone to one more store I could've found an even more perfect dress. I haven't solved this particular problem yet, but I think it helps that I deleted my Pinterest board with all those dresses!

4. Check your ego
I know a lot of brides don't want to be labeled a bridezilla, but it's something that you probably won't notice you're turning into. Yes, you should feel special on your wedding day, but it doesn't mean people need to bow down at your feet or that you can be rude and demanding to people trying their best. I had a great time at all the bridal stores I visited, because I was relaxed and "CHILL" about the whole process. Some of the stores I visited had some pretty horrible reviews, but I'm now realizing that maybe some people wouldn't have had such bad experiences if they were more prepared and less demanding. I'm not denying that some people did have legitimately bad experiences, but you can really reduce the severity of a bad experience if you change your attitude. :)

When it all comes down to it, regardless of trends, body types, and other people's opinions, whatever dress you choose will look good if you're confident and feel good in it!