Is your wedding planning list keeps growing, rather than shrinking? This will be a timely morsel of assistance for you to put some order to the wedding dress part of your planning.
I have put together an easy guide to igniting your wedding dress shopping in these 6 important steps.
1. Select your wedding stylist and planner
If you are going down this path and know you want help. This is your first stop! Many of my wedding stylist colleagues get called in when you've already started locking things in. They can help you keep to budget, keep to the style criteria to create the wedding of your dreams. Let them help you from the get-go.
2. Cement your wedding venue and date
I do meet clients who know exactly what wedding outfit they want, even before confirming their wedding venue. This is not super strange, but reserving your wedding venue means you have the overall look and feel of your wedding plus the season in which you're being married. Very important stuff!
Book your wedding venue and then begin the wedding dress search. This will set the mood for the rest of your wedding including
- The dresscode,
- The wedding invitation,
- Your floral style and,
- The look and feel of your event styling
3. Calibrate your criteria
- How do you actually want to FEEL on your wedding day. Cool, understated, sexy, pretty, hot..
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What are the priorities for your wedding dress look? Comfort, style, wow-factor...everyone will have a different answer
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Is it the best D-floor music? Your dress needs to go from ceremony to party seamlessly
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Will you be changing looks? Then your wedding look can be a little more extra and moveability may not be as big of a criterion.
Having reflected on these key, practical priorities will help you choose brands, looks and wedding boutiques with the right options for you.
Carte Blanche Bride, we specialise in beautiful, understated looks where quality and design are non-negotiables. The collection is also incredibly comfortable, light and easy to wear.
4. Clear out your Insta and Pinterest inspiration boards
Let's face it, we all love a couch session heading down the rabbit hole of all things wedding related. Blindly saving posts because we like a sleeve on a dress, or the waistline is not going to narrow down your choices. It will only confuse them. Cull anything that is just a good image and get real about what looks/designers really speak to you.
Ask yourself 'would I want to get married in that dress?' Cull anything that isn't a 'HELL YES' - this will be a huge help in narrowing your dream wedding look - and in addition the looks your DON'T want.
5. Check the new collections for your top designers
I hate time wasting. I don't know anyone who enjoys it to be fair. So before booking your appointments, it pays to do some research into the new collection release dates.
The French designers' new collections land in store in the October for the approaching new year. If your wedding is in September, 2024 you're best to book your appointment in the October of 2023 (no earlier) - as you may have to make another appointment just to see all the new arrivals. Wasting time and energy when 1 appointment will suffice.
6. Book in with your top 3 wedding dress boutiques now
Shopping can be a chore for even the most mundane of items, wedding dress shopping can be another stressor entirely. If family pressures, lack of time or lack of desire for pounding the pavement are all reasons to avoid wedding dress shopping - keep your appointments to a minimum.
You've done all your research online already and you only need to attend 2-3 boutiques with your ideal style in mind. It keeps you from wasting your precious time.
Carte Blanche Bride takes care and pride in caring for our clients. You will have our support throughout your decision making process and long after.
We present our special French collections at the Melbourne-based showroom, annual Trunk Show events around Australia or a Virtual Appointment. Get in touch HERE to find out more about our world-leading service and experience.
