Dress shopping

So the boutique I went to is by appointment only because they only allow one bride at a time. I wore nude underwear and a regular bra that I just took off. If you're uncomfortable with that, then I'd suggest wearing a nude or white strapless bra. My consultant and I went into the dressing room together and she helped me in and out of dresses, but I did have another appointment before where I was in the dressing room alone.

I'd say the biggest thing to prepare is just to try and be as excited as possible, not nervous! It's a fun day where you get to try on a bunch of wedding dresses, so try not to let yourself get too stressed. You can always book another appointment and try the ones you liked on again. The biggest help my consultant told me was that when you start comparing all of the other dresses to one dress it might point to that one being it. Don't be worried if you don't have a super emotional moment when finding your dress. My mom and grandma threw off the happy mood for my appointment and I wasn't as thrilled as I expected to be when I said "Yes" to my dress, but in the days after I've been so excited about it that it's just solidified that I picked the right one. Good luck and have fun!

Wear nude FUL BACKED panties and a regular bra or strapless. I had a few horrible experiences where the consultant didn't listen to me whatsoever (I made it clear that I didn't want anything lace and every gown she tried to put me in was lace), or the store didn't have what I was looking for and tried to push me towards a gown I didn't want and said I could completely modify everything (No!). Have an open mind going into shopping but have a few ideas of what you do and don't want. For me, I knew I wanted full long sleeves, an illusion back of some kind, a modest neckline, and a sheath fit. I didn't want a ball gown or other type since I wanted to be able to move and dance and not worry about tripping on my dress or getting too hot in it. When I found my dress it was actually one I had agreed to try on before the appointment but had written off. I had this moment where I actually felt like a bride and got a little misty eyed. Doesn't happen for everyone, but it did for me!

Hey! I posted something similar a few months ago so I just thought I’d share what I learned! I went to David’s Bridal while there were still restrictions on place, but they were very accommodating, even allowing me to bring an extra guest. They greeted when we got there and asked questions about the date, venue, and style of the wedding. They let us look around for a bit to find styles of dresses I liked, and the stylist chose a few based on the answers I gave her. I tried on 6-8 dresses I believe. Because of COVID, she couldn’t come in the fitting room to help me, but that was no problem as she just zipped/tied me in once I came out. I didn’t like any of the dresses she or I picked out 😝 my best friend picked one I loved and I actually ended up getting the dress my mom picked out 😂 but they let me try on accessories, such as a belt and veil, etc. to come up with a look I liked.


As far as tips, #1 definitely go in with an open mind. The dress I got was NOTHING that I would have imagined myself wearing but I just feel so beautiful in it. As for undergarments, I just wore an adhesive bra that was backless as this works with most styles! I wore shoes and clothes that were simple and comfortable to get on and off (don’t worry about what shoes or specific undergarments you’ll be wearing until alterations). Also, make sure you can comfortably stand, move, dance, etc. in your dress! Some I tried on were heavy and uncomfortable, with my dress, I was in it for about 15 minutes and made sure I could do all of the above comfortably. Also I found that having my hair and makeup similar to how I wanted it for my wedding day helped with the whole vision. Hope this helps and good luck! ❤️

I just know that I've seen quite a few dress "issues" posted on this site that maybe could have been eliminated with more thought:

1) If you have long train, how will it be bustled and will it be too heavy to dance in?

2) If it's strapless how will you keep it up without tugging on it all night? Will you need cups sewn in?
3) If it's backless, what undergarments can be warn?
4) If it's a mermaid silhouette or similar can you sit comfortably in it?
5) If it's sleeveless, will you need sleeves for colder weather?
These seem to be the most common concerns...

My experience was fun!

I arrived, explained what I wanted and they asked if I'd seen any dresses on their website I was interested in. I had a list, so they went to pull those while I walked the store and pulled a few more. Then they added some in as well which they thought suited my ideas.

It's best to wear easy-to-remove clothing (so ideally a dress you can just yank off, not pants with a button fly, or multiple layers or a wrap dress you need to untie or a belt or anything!) because you do end up putting your clothes on and off quite a bit across multiple store visits and it gets tiring.

Nude underwear that you don't mind people seeing (lol) is also a good idea, but I personally found strapless bras tended not to fit under the dresses as they're designed to be worn without bras and have cups inside, so I ended up always taking the top off.

The ladies were really good helping you get into the dresses and you got used to being almost nude pretty quickly.

I also did my makeup the way I'd want it on the wedding day, and put my hair up in a simple bun/updo thing so I had some idea of how it might look all together.

I was surprised by how tiring it is, and also that I got to saturation point and needed to sit down over lunch and just ruminate over the options I'd seen and the photos, so I could make my final decision.

Most of all, just enjoy yourself! It's one of my favourite memories from wedding planning and I did it pretty early-on, so I honestly wish I'd soaked it in just a tiny bit more (even though at the time, I thought I was!)

Thank you so much, ladies! I feel so clueless with all of this wedding stuff. Really appreciate the info.

Yes ask first are they going by appointments and some are still asking for masks to be worn and not to have too many ppl at the appointment 2 to 4. And wear a nude one piece its better than 2 piece under clothes. And if you have search online bridal shops and that are your favorites helps. When you are going to the shop where your appointment is it's best to know what you want too. Happy dress shopping