In working with hundreds of brides and bridesmaids over the last few years I’ve learned a few lessons along the way. These are the top five pitfalls I’ve seen some of the ladies fall into. And some tips on things to keep in mind while shopping for a wedding dress.
Choosing Low Quality Accessories
You can’t have a beautiful wedding gown and pair it with low quality jewelry or accessories. Those small details can ruin your whole look.
But, don’t think that means you don’t need extravagant diamonds or luxurious jewels. You don’t. But you do need to have good quality pieces.
Many brides try to save money on veils by buying cheap ones, on Amazon for example. But if you compare the cheapie online accessories with what you buy from bridal stores, you are going to see a huge difference in quality.
The low-cost veils you can get online are normally extremely narrow in shape, and if you have a beautiful wide train on your dress, there is going to be a huge contrast between the narrow veil and the wide train. The veil will look like a tiny piece of fabric that doesn’t match the quality or presence of the train and the gown itself.
The difference with the veils you find in bridal stores is that the width of the veil is much wider, as well as having more details and a more sophisticated design. There’s a reason those cheap veils you can buy online are so cheap.
Although you only wear the veil for a short period of time, the photos and videos of you in the veil on your wedding day will last forever. If you want to be conscious of pricing, maybe borrow a friend or family member’s veil, or get creative with it. Whatever you do, don’t cheap out on your look and deprive yourself of having a beautiful veil!
Being A People Pleaser
One of the most detrimental mistakes a bride can make is not putting themselves first. This doesn’t mean brides should ignore the ideas and advice of loved ones, but when it comes to making the final decisions for the wedding, brides must be able to express their own needs and wants regardless of the influence of others. Everyone involved in the wedding should be heard and respected, but at the end of the day, the day belongs to the married couple. If bride makes decisions based on what other people want for her, she will end up feeling so disappointed because she may have pleased everyone but herself.
If you know your particular style doesn’t necessarily align with your loved ones, and you know that this could create awkward situations or tension between you, maybe just don’t include them in the conversation to begin with. This will help to preserve your relationships, while also preserving your own joy for this very special day in your life. Be mindful of whose opinions you allow to influence your decisions.
Also, if you tend to be a people pleaser, I don’t recommend taking a whole entourage with you when you shop for the dress! Entourages are most unhelpful when it comes to helping you make a decision. That’s because everyone has a different opinion, so the more people you bring along, the more different opinions you’re going to have to put up with. And if you’re one of those sweet souls who likes to make everybody happy, that’s going to make your job much more difficult – at what will already be a stressful time.
Compromising For Money
Nine out of ten brides who choose their dress based on the cost versus what they really want end up walking down the aisle in a gown they do not truly love.
Of course money is valuable, but so is your special day! No bride should have to compromise having the wedding gown of their dreams because they want to save a few hundred dollars.
Some brides are so torn between wedding dresses that they initially purchase the cheaper one, end up regretting it and then buying the more expensive one anyway! They can end up spending nearly twice as much as they would have if they had just bought the one they really loved in the first place.
At the end of the day you only get married once, and the wedding comes and goes so quickly. But the photos, videos and memories will last forever, making your wedding gown probably the single most important garment you will ever wear. So, don’t compromise on it.
Not Investing In Alterations
Typically around two months before the wedding, alterations take place. Coincidentally, this is usually around the same time that the invoices are due for all the wedding vendors, meaning brides are trying to save money wherever they can. Trying to cheap out on alterations is a huge no no!
You’ve already invested so much of your time and money into finding your dream dress, imagine it not fitting you properly on your wedding day! Alterations have the power to make or break the dress you’re wearing, and there is no room for compromise. When brides search for cheaper alternatives to alterations, more often than not this leads to disaster. They end up having to pay double or triple what they would have paid if they had just gone to a professional tailor to begin with. You always get what you pay for in anything in life, so save yourself the stress and pain and get it right the first time. In the end, if the dress you invested in becomes unwearable because of bad alterations or just because don’t feel beautiful in it, then all the money you spent becomes a complete waste.
Choosing a Bridal Look Based off a Venue or Theme
If we have learned anything from the past two years of the pandemic, it’s that life can change very quickly and in uncertain ways at any point in time. With that in mind, brides who create their entire bridal look based off of a specific theme or venue are committing themselves to uncertainty.
Fashion trends are constantly changing, and will have done so numerous times between the time you are planning your wedding until the actual date comes.
Rather than being concerned with what is in style, you should focus on what you as an individual really like. What makes you look and, most importantly, feel like your most beautiful self? You deserve to wear whatever gown or garment makes you feel beautiful, regardless of any theme or venue.
Of course there is nothing wrong with going along with a theme, but many times when brides commit to a theme they end up wearing something that doesn’t really feel like them or represent their personality. When dress shopping, just keep an open mind and try new things. Even if it doesn’t look that appealing on the rack, you might be pleasantly surprised once you try it on. Most importantly, enjoy the time you spend searching for your wedding dress. This experience only happens once.