Say yes to the dress - My wedding dress shopping experience...

Wedding dress shopping, an exciting time when you finally get to try on those dresses that you have dreamed of ever since you were a little girl... For me this was not the case.
I had never dreamed what my wedding dress would look like, I had never wrapped myself in toilet roll as a 6 year old and danced round the house pretending I was a bride.
Yes, of course I have I seen other brides and thought they looked beautiful or sometimes not so much, and mentally made judgements about what they were wearing but as for me, no, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.

The week in the run-up to my first time in a bridal shop, I tried to not think about what I was about to embark on, I tried to push the idea of trying on a dresses in front of my three bridesmaids and mother and being judged for what I looked like out of my head.
Looking back now, I'm unsure what it was that was making me so worried, I just remember being very nervous and also a little concerned about what the day of white dresses would be like.

The Saturday in August arrived, it was a beautiful day, sunshine and 30 degree weather after a week of rain, so I tried to take this as a good sign for how the day might pan out.
I had the entourage of women meet at my place, I put on coffee and croissants to get us fuelled up for the day, we then headed out to bridal shop one of three.

However nervous I originally was, the lovely ladies in the first bridal shop made me feel so comfortable.
They recommended that as these were to be the first wedding dresses I had ever slipped in to, that I try a variety of styles to see what suited my shape, this was great advice and I would say to any future brides out to also do this, regardless if you already have an idea of what you think you want to wear, you may be surprised!
Once I started trying the dresses on, I became much more relaxed and actually began to enjoy myself.
I started to get a feel of what did and didn't suit me, and seeing my family and friends faces when I walked out in these gorgeous dresses was absolutely priceless.

The day continued with us all picking dresses that we believed were the styles that suited my body shape and in the vintage themes that I liked, over the course of the day and three shops later I must of tried on in excess of twenty different dresses. By the time late afternoon arrived and the shopping fest was over, I was more confused than ever. I liked multiple dresses, I kept looking back through the photos they had allowed us to take and kept changing my mind about what I did and didn't like.
A few of the dresses I had tried had left more of an impact and yes, they were absolutely beautiful but something in my mind was telling me that none of these were the ones I was going to wear on my wedding day.

After much deliberating I decided to book a day of three more bridal boutiques, for the following week. This time I was much more excited, I didn't have the nervousness I had felt before and I couldn't wait for the day to arrive to try on lots more beautiful dresses!
I arrived at the first shop and my friend pointed out a dress to me that was on the mannequin in the window, it was absolutely beautiful but was over budget. I decided to try it on anyway and am I glad I did! It was stunning, it had everything I wanted in a bridal gown, all the little details I had narrowed down by trying on twenty or so dresses the previous week, this had, it ticked all the boxes.
People say you know when you find 'The Dress.' I'm not sure if its as clear cut as this, but what I did know is I didn't want to take it off.... but I had too as I had more dresses to try in the shop and also two more appointments.
I carried on with what I had planned and continued to the next two dress shops but I kept thinking about that previous dress and comparing all the others to that one.
By the third shop, the excitement had worn off and I didn't want to try on any more dresses, nothing was comparing to that first one of the day and I was emotionally drained.

I decided to go home and sleep on it, that evening 'that' dress was all that was on my mind, I woke up in the morning knowing that it was special, so I went back to the shop first thing, to try it on again.
As soon as that fabric slipped over me, that was it, that was the dress, the smile on my face said it all!

My Tips for brides to be:

• Try on many different styles of dress, what you think you will like may not always be the most flattering on your figure
• Go with an open mind
• Don't over-think it, you will know what you do and don't like once you start trying on the dresses
• You may not get an overwhelming feeling of 'The One' and that is ok, you will know what feels right, usually when you don't want to take it off!
• Don't impluse buy! When you think you have found the dress you want to wear, go home and sleep on it, if you wake up still excited about that dress then you have probably found it.