Following on from my last blog post on 5 Groom Suit Styles for Every Wedding, I thought it only natural to follow this up with a post about choosing your wedding dress. I think it goes without saying that preparing your wedding can be one of the most stressful events of your life. Currently still living through this with my fiancé (thanks Covid-19!) we have found that the most challenging aspect is trying to stay calm and actually enjoy the process of creating our dream wedding.
A lot of what I will be talking about below has come from me picking the brain of my fiancé and what exactly she was considering when choosing her dress. Don't worry, I haven't seen the dress she chose for herself as she's very superstitious like that! One thing I did notice without any guidance from the better half, was that buying a wedding dress is one of the most exciting and challenging tasks that arises for the bride. On the one hand it can be the most expensive gown you will ever own, on the other hand – you have never worn this type of attire before and can be easily overwhelmed by the multitude of choice.
With a little help from my fiancé, we have laid out below some of the most important criteria to use as a guide when choosing a wedding dress for your special day!
Venue and Location
Before you start looking for that perfect dress, you should be considering your wedding venue or location, and of course the weather conditions. For example, if you were to have a beautifully themed wedding, your dress has to correspond with the circumstances. A glitzy embellished gown will look inappropriate at a country rustic style wedding, plus to top it off you will feel uncomfortable.
Be slightly practical and choose a wedding dress that will be suitable for the weather conditions. If you're tying the knot in a hot climate, then put down that ball gown wedding dress with full skirt and layers upon layers of fabric. If hot and sweaty on your wedding day isn't the look you are going for during a summer ceremony, then a silk material and a cut with open skin would be a good choice. For a winter wedding, an elegant and sophisticated gown with long sleeves will keep you warm for your special day.
Dress Shape and Body Shape
If we are honest with each other in this section I think we will be fine. Most brides will most certainly have a vision in mind of how they'd love to look on their wedding day, and the dress is often the centrepiece of that vision. Unfortunately this vision can quickly take a turn for the worse if you don't choose wisely – for your body shape that is. It's one thing to have your mind set on the colour, style and dress detailing, but don't forget the most important factor here is to fall in love with the way it makes you look, and feel. Squeezing a perfect pear shape body into a straight cut sheath dress is always going to end in tears. The same goes for engulfing a smaller frame into layers upon layers of ruffles.
"So how does one know?" I hear you ask. If this is not something you're familiar with, in terms of which dress cut will show off your best assets, or hide your imperfections, a dress designer or boutique sales assistant will be only too willing to help, and their experience and knowledge will be worth its weight in gold!
My fiancé experienced this first hand. She had a picture in her head of her dream dress, and it was hard to hear that her dream dress didn't suit her body shape, and no amount of body shapewear will change that. A key take away from this is to try on as many dresses as possible. Have an open mind and try different styles, and you'll soon come to realise that there's a reason you should steer clear of certain dress shapes and embrace others. It really doesn't matter whether your dress is high end or homemade, plain or patterned, the right fit is all important and this trumps all other aspects of searching for that perfect dress.
Square frame – If your look is more athletic, with wide shoulders, straight and narrow hips; you should seek out styles which create the illusion of a smaller waist such as a strapless dress or dresses with shoestring straps. Ladies who have a straight up and down frame can create a curvy impression by opting for dresses with an Empire or A-line cut. Or gowns with fullness in the skirt to create movement and shape, soften the silhouette and add volume to the lower body.
Inverted Triangle – For those ladies with an inverted triangle body shape, you'll find you will have broad shoulders and a thin waist. Often women with this body shape will also have a larger bust. With this style you might want to balance out your shoulders, the popular mermaid style wedding dress, which is slender on the bodice and tapers out from the knee is a great choice. Another option is the ball gown dress, with a full dress and tighter bodice.
Hourglass figure – If you have an hourglass figure with a shapely bust, nipped in waist and curvy hips you'll find strapless or halter neck gowns will show off your feminine curves in the best possible light. Lucky for hourglasses they can also rock a mermaid style dress which fits tightly around your curves and then flares out below the knee to really highlight those gorgeous curves.
Pear shaped – Pear shaped ladies will look divine in an A-line dress which flatters your bust and narrow waist but skims over hips and thighs. To be honest, A-line dresses are all round figure fixers. They can hide wider hips, or add volume to smaller ones and the bust style can be altered to suit with more detail for smaller busts and boned bodices to contain larger ones. A-line dresses suit pear shaped women down to a tee, as do Empire line dresses which give the illusion of height, and flatter the bust and narrow the waist while skimming over hips and thighs.
Apple shaped – If you're more of an apple shape, with a wider neck, full bust, thick waist but narrow hips, dresses with low cut necklines will elongate your top half and accentuate your bust. Whilst drop waist styles lengthen the torso and have a slimming effect.
Image: Karen Cox/SheKnows
Ultimately the choice of dress is yours, but to make sure you feel comfortable and captivating on your special day it's worth doing your homework. Sure there is plenty of fixing shapewear, but nothing beats appraising your shape or asking a professional to do it for you. Remember, your dream dress isn't the one you dream you could fit into, it's the dress that looks the most dreamy on you.
Dress Silhouette
As previously mentioned one of the most daunting and exciting things about being newly engaged is the wedding dress search. It can be very overwhelming making a choice which you have probably thought about since you were 5 but don't fret! A little preparation can go a long way. So below is some food for thought before you rush out and buy the first dress you see. When it comes to the silhouette of a wedding dress you'll probably already have an idea of what sort of style you want from the vast selection out there. The below is really a beginners guide for wedding dress silhouettes, just to help you start thinking about what you like and what will work best for you.
Mermaid – This style of dress is usually best for brides who have an hourglass figure due to its curve hugging shape. But this doesn't mean you can't rock this style even if you don't. Talk to your dress designer – diagonal drapes can actually nip in straight waists, and peplums are perfect for hiding your tummy or balancing narrow hips.
Ball Gown – For brides seeking a fairytale wedding the ball gown is the way to go! Lots of lightweight layers of tulle are a big favourite as it evokes an ethereal and romantic appeal. Be careful here if you're on the petite side, you may want to steer clear of too many ruffles and embellishments, or a super long train so the gown doesn't overwhelm you.
A-line/Deep V Neckline – Another popular choice to flaunt down the aisle is the deep V neckline gown or A-line. These are super stunning especially amongst the Hollywood A-listers; just don't forget that Hollywood boob tape!
