Congratulations on your engagement! One of the first things you probably picture when envisioning your wedding is the dress. But before you start shopping for a wedding dress, it¡¯s a good idea to know what you¡¯re looking for.
Envision your wedding.Picture yourself on your wedding day. What are you wearing? What silhouette is your gown? What fabric? Are they embroidered or
beaded wedding dresses? What color is it? With so many choices for the dress, it can be overwhelming to look through hundreds or thousands of them. Some brides have said that after looking through racks and racks of dresses, they all begin to look the same. So before you even set out to try them on, envision your wedding day and how your dress looks, and jot down a list of things that describe the dress of your daydreams. You don¡¯t have to know all the wedding dress terms. Just write down a de_script_ion of the gown you¡¯re envisioning. Example list: ¡°
princess seams wedding dresses,
tank wedding dresses,
organza wedding dresses, some shade of white but not pure white,
spaghetti straps wedding dresses.¡±
Decide on a budget.When deciding on your budget, you don¡¯t need to set a very specific price. Just make it a general range, such as $1000 - $1500, or even $1000 - $2000. You can always break this rule later if you¡¯re able to and really want to, but it helps to have a general range. Some experts suggest devoting 10% of the overall wedding budget to the bride¡¯s attire. Just be sure to remember that ¡°attire¡± includes not just the gown itself, but the other stuff: veil, shoes, slip, jewelry, gloves, etc. All of these things are optional, of course (except for the slip, which is usually necessary to keep the dress from going between your legs when you walk). But you¡¯ll have to factor in the price of whatever items you decide to wear with your gown.
Brides Forum 
