Doing Your Research

This week's Wedding Wednesday post is all about doing your research before you buy. Although a few weeks ago we told you that sometimes you should just go with your instinct and buy, it is also sensible to know what kind of dress styles you are interested in. This blog is about some steps you could go through to help you find your dream dress.

Collecting Your Initial Ideas

Eco-Green Wedding Theme ©myrivierawedding

Take time to look through wedding magazines. Although a lot of them are full of adverts, there are many helpful sections (not just on wedding dresses either). Often there are whole sections on themes for your wedding day, we think this is such a good idea. It is often hard to think of colour schemes and themes, but the ideas in magazines have been thoroughly thought out with examples of how you could pull it off.

Many magazines will show you what's in vogue this season, this can be useful but don't get too tied up in the styles. If you really like the style of a dress, don't be put off because it's not a brand new dress style. It's your dress, and no one is going to be able to tell on the day if it's 2014 or 2009. If you think you won't be able to get hold of an older style, think again, many shops hold stock from the previous couple of years, and often it is these gowns which go into the sales.

After Booking Appointments

     Most bridal stores have clear websites which will show you many of the dresses they have in store. It's always nice to have a bride come in who has an idea of the styles she likes, or even if there was a style that she wants to stay away from. Some brides come in to our shop with the name of the perfect dress from our site, and then go on to buy it, others talk about the kind of fabric they like and we go from there. Remember, not all dresses look the same in person, so you don't necessarily want to rule out a dress completely because you didn't like the photograph. 

     Write down any dresses you like on the website and say why. Comments on style only help us help you choose your dress. We have such a varied collection at Especially For You that it would be hard to try every style in one appointment. If there are any other images you've found from searching the internet, save a picture onto your phone and bring it in. Any way in which we can help you find the dress of your dreams is a bonus to us.

     Also arrive with an idea of budget. Our website is sorted into price brackets, so you can have an idea of the price of a dress. When you arrive, we don't want to show you any dress that you can't afford, it's unfair if you then fall in love with it.

     If you want to buy bridesmaid dresses, bring in a colour swatch of the colour you want. Or bring in an object that you like the colour of, like a piece of ribbon, or a flower. It can literally be anything. If you're out and about, and you see the colour that you have been unable to put into words for weeks, pick it up, buy it (we don't condone stealing...) and bring it with you. We bet it is so infuriating for the brides when they can't quite describe the colour that they want to us! 

We hope this has helped to give you some ideas on how the best way research is, but just remember not to get too bogged down with the internet and it's vast amount of information. After all, you never know until you try a dress on what it is going to look like. Please comment and tell us of your researching before your wedding appointments. Did you buy every wedding magazine available or did you just walk into your first appointment with no idea of what you likes? Whatever experiences you had, we would love to know.