So, you’ve spend the past however many months searching for the perfect bridal dresses for your big day – the wedding dress, the bridesmaid dresses, etc. – and now they’ve arrived and it’s time for the alterations. The first fitting for your wedding dress should probably occur about six to eight weeks before your wedding. Wedding dresses take a good bit of skill to alter, so it’s best to do diligent research when searching for a tailor. Be sure to check references. I advise asking each tailor for the phone numbers of the last three brides whose wedding dresses he/she altered.

During your fittings, be sure to live up to the bridezilla reputation of brides everywhere. This is the time for you to be demanding! It may be one of the only dresses you ever get to fit your body exactly right, so take advantage of it. Also, this is the most important dress you will ever wear, as well as being one of the most expensive, so do everything in your power to make sure it gets done just the way you want it. As you are being fitted, watch closely how the dress material falls and moves around your body and how the chest area in particular fits. If there is something that looks off, be sure to address it with your tailor.

At your second fitting, it’s always important to bring all your accessories with you – the veil, the shoes, the lingerie, even the jewelry. It’s the only way to get an accurate reading on how well the dress fits you. Remember, take your time. Do not let the tailor make you feel rushed. This is your big day, you’ve paid a lot of money for this dress, and you deserve the perfect fit.

At your final fitting, it’s always good to bring your maid of honor and maybe one other bridesmaid with you. This way, they can be there as a second and third pair of eyes, which always helps. Also, if your dress is complicated, they will need to learn about it. For instance, they may need to learn how it bustles. You will want to bring your accessories at this fitting as well. Remember – and I can’t stress this enough – allow yourself to be demanding, even if it goes against your nature. In this one instance, it’s called for.

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So, you’ve booked the date, put down the deposit, sent out save the date cards and maybe even the invitations, hired a band, a photographer, a florist – basically you’re getting married and there’s no changing it – and you’re pregnant. Ladies, never fear, it will all work out. First, take a deep breath to calm yourself down. Second, remember this child is a blessing even if the timing’s a little off. Third, don’t stress about the dress. There are many wonderful and beautiful maternity wedding dresses out there for the mommy/bride-to-be’s. And yes, feel free to wear white. I think most of us modern-day women are beyond the original reason for the tradition of wearing white at your wedding. No one will look at you twice, I promise, if you are pregnant and walking down the aisle in a white dress.

As far as the best type of dress to wear when pregnant, here are a few tips. First, make sure the dress is comfortable and the material breathes. Being pregnant often causes mild to moderate or extreme discomfort, so there’s no need to add to that with an uncomfortable wedding dress, even if it looks great. You’ll be miserable the day of your wedding and who wants that? Second, I would be careful about the length. Don’t get a dress that you may trip on when walking. Safety comes first, especially with a baby in tow. Lastly, I find empire-waisted dresses, with folds in the material that sits directly below the chest area, work best for maternity bridal dresses. It’s very flattering for the pregnant woman.

If you are a bride who is not pregnant for her wedding, this doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Your bridesmaids could become pregnant after all. If this is your dilemma, the same tips apply for the maternity bridesmaid dresses as the maternity wedding dresses. Especially important is the last tip because this type of dress will work well not only for your pregnant bridesmaid, but also for your other bridesmaids who are not pregnant.

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So, you’ve been shopping for wedding dresses for weeks and now it’s time to purchase the shoes to go along with the bridal dresses you picked out. Let’s start with the bride’s wedding dresses. I always advise that you start looking for shoes after you have selected your veil or headpiece. What you choose to put around your face should inform what you put on your feet and not the other way around. After all, your face is much more important, just as the veil/headpiece is more important to your wedding dress than your shoes. This is not to say the shoe is not important, but just as you wouldn’t choose your veil/headpiece before you picked out your dress, it would be wiser to choose your shoes after you’ve chosen your veil/headpiece. It’s very important that your shoes match your dress and I don’t mean the color and design necessarily. I mean they should complement, or go along with, the style of your dress. For instance, if your wedding dress were a traditional princess dress, I would recommend a classic closed toe wedding shoe as opposed to a pair of strappy sandals. Conversely, if your dress in an informal beach dress, then a classic closed toe shoe would look ridiculous while the strappy sandals would complement perfectly.

As far as shoes to go with your bridesmaid dresses, my general rule of thumb is to find complementary shoes for those as well. Some brides get stuck on the idea of exactly matching the color of the shoes to the color of the bridesmaid dresses. This is a mistake. Don’t get me wrong, some color dresses call for that. For instance, my best friend chose a champagne color for her bridesmaid dresses and in that instance it was truly best to get dyable shoes and exact match the dress. But for bridesmaid dresses that are more colorful, I think exact matching is a mistake. It’s almost too much – overkill. Oftentimes colors like gold or silver or champagne or even black are best with very colorful dresses. For my sister’s wedding, I was in a short light blue dress and I wore silver strappy sandals with it. For my other friend’s wedding I was in a long satin beige dress with navy chiffon overlay and we all wore gold shoes.

In conclusion, I’ll say this. Thankfully, for us girls, shoe shopping is fun!

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Flower girl dresses are hands down the most fun of all the bridal dresses to shop for. You would think it is the bridal gown, but shopping for wedding dresses can sometimes involve a good deal of stress. It’s such an important decision to make that it’s a breeding ground for indecisiveness and worry. Not all women experience stress shopping for their wedding dresses. My sister, for instance, wore the second dress she tried on. She just “knew” it was the dress for her. My best friend, on the other hand, must have tried on sixty dresses before she found the dress for her. Conversely, bridesmaid dresses are universally a pain to shop for. That’s because finding a dress that not only suits your needs as the bride in so far as fabric, length, and color, but also flatters all your bridesmaids varying body types and skin types is a feat. It’s mission impossible!

Flower girl dresses, on the other hand, are nothing but a joy. First, it’s often for a niece or cousin whom we love and find adorable. Second, flower girl dresses are so cute! All of them! My flower girl is my niece and I am having so much fun shopping with her. We sit together at my computer and look at dresses on this great site I found. She gets so excited. Also, my bridesmaid dresses happen to be blue, which is her favorite color. I’m pretty sure I am going to go with a white dress for her with blue detail. I originally thought I would have her wear a full color blue dress the same as the bridesmaids. And there were some really cute ones, but I like the idea of having her in white like me, with a blue sash or bow. She will be walking out directly before me, so if you think about the order of the procession it’s like the closer it gets to me, the bride, the more “bridal” the dresses look. Also, there’s an innate innocence in a white dress that suits my niece because she is just four. Besides, she loves to look as much like me as she can, so getting a predominantly white dress suits her just fine as well.

So, ladies, when you’re starting to get freaked out about either your dress or your bridesmaid dresses, take a much needed break and start looking for your flower girl dress(es). It’ll bring a huge smile to your face, guaranteed.

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OK, so recently I was in a dilemma. I felt like I was standing in the middle of a four way intersection – scratch that, an eight way roundabout – with no idea which way to go. I had no idea where to have my reception or even what kind of ceremony/reception I wanted. Whenever I looked for a reception site, I found myself jumping around to all different types- from a garden setting to a beach setting to a traditional church setting with a large ballroom type reception to a backyard wedding. And all seemed equally attractive and equally unattractive. I was having a hard time picturing myself at any of the places I was researching. That’s when it struck me. I couldn’t picture myself anywhere properly because I couldn’t picture myself properly. I had no idea what type of wedding dress I wanted. Wedding dresses come in all sorts of flavors. There are some that are very modern and chic, some that are sleek and sophisticated, some that are soft and romantic, some that are Cinderella and ball-like, and some that are meant to be more informal and relaxed, like for the beach. I realized I would never be able to choose a wedding venue until I had at least narrowed it down to the style of wedding dress I wanted. Everything stems from the dress.

So, I started to do some research. I went online and plugged in “wedding dresses.” Within seconds I was on this fabulous website with thousands of choices to look at. It had everything from wedding dresses to bridesmaid dresses to the flower girl dresses- even mother of the bride and mother of the groom dresses. For the next week, I devoured all the information I could about bridal dresses. I looked at every designer under the sun, plus utilized things like the forum this website had and the tips they provided. I literally flooded myself with information and images. It was “my process.” I knew I needed to determine what kind of bride I was meant to be so I approached it creatively. I figured that would give me my best results. I felt it would be a more organic decision if it came from a creative, intuitive place, rather than a judging, thinking place.

After a week of deluging my brain with wedding dresses, I spent the next three days actively not thinking about it all. I just tried to let all those images and information roll around in my brain without me “thinking” about them. And then, after three days, I had a dream. I dreamed myself walking down the aisle in my wedding dress. It was wistful and romantic. The sun was behind my head and my hair was soft and upswept. I was outside surrounded by green and next to a lake. I felt such peace and contentment when I awoke; I knew that was what I wanted. This time when I went to research weddings, I researched only those venues that fit the criteria I imagined. We booked with the third place we went to visit. I am so excited and can’t wait for the big day.

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Bridesmaid dresses are a pain to find. Actually, scratch that. Finding them is easy enough; shopping for them is what is hard. There are plenty of them out there after all. I was recently on a website that had hundreds upon hundreds of bridesmaid dresses to choose from. (By the way, if you haven’t looked into it already, the Internet is a great resource for purchasing all types of bridal dresses, including wedding dresses. And the prices are hugely competitive – much better than you would find at your local wedding shop.)

The problem with bridesmaid dresses comes when you try to get one style dress to fit and flatter all the bridesmaids in the wedding party. As the Maid of Honor, this fun task often falls to you, as you are the primary conduit between the bride and her bridesmaids. Trust me, the bride does not want to know about all the bickering and petty arguments often involved when it comes to choosing the dress. Weddings are stressful enough to plan without all that piled on top. Bridesmaids naturally don’t want to look ugly in their bridesmaid dresses. Quite frankly, the bride doesn’t want that either, contrary to popular belief. It’ll ruin her pictures.

So, what does all this mean for you, the Maid of Honor? Basically, if you’re smart, you’ll make it one of your primary jobs to find the perfect bridesmaid dresses for all. If you don’t “take the reins” you run the risk of your bride reaching her breaking point and giving up, which oftentimes is why bridesmaids end up in not-so-flattering attire. Being that you, also, have a vested interest in making sure this is a good dress for all involved, I would suggest first and foremost to do your research. There are great online resources that will help you determine the best type of dress for all your varying body types. (I found a wealth of information on the same site I purchased all my bridal dresses from.) Once you’ve figured that out, talk to your bride about which colors and fabrics she would most like to use for her bridesmaid dresses. Also, find out the length she desires as well as if she wants separates or one full dress for her bridesmaids.

Once you have all that information, go back to that fabulous website and find the dresses that best match her criteria as well as what you’ve discovered on your own. I recommend selecting five or six different dresses for the bride to choose from. Trust me, she will thank you profusely for taking care of this for her. So will the bridesmaids. Best of all, you’ll all look fabulous day of when you’re walking down the aisle.

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So, you’re getting married and you’re on a budget. Most brides are. As you might be starting to understand, wedding costs are a cumulative affair. It’s not one thing versus another that breaks the bank; it’s all the little things that add up. That’s why I find it best to approach a wedding like you would the restaurant business. You see, I grew up working in the restaurants my father owned, so I know a little something about it. Restaurants are a penny-pinching business. Saving five cents on the cost of a single French onion soup will add up to thousands by the end of the year. Conversely, shaving a couple of dollars off your cost per head, for instance, will save you hundreds or thousands, depending on the size of your reception. So, basically, with all items, getting the best bang out of your buck should be your motto. Every little bit counts.

This brings me to wedding dresses. I can feel all you brides cringing already. Nobody wants to “skimp” on her wedding dress. Maybe the bridesmaid dresses or the other bridal dresses you will need, but when it comes to the wedding dress, brides do not want to feel like they sacrificed. And rightfully so. It is the most important dress you will ever wear. Believe it or not, you can purchase wedding dresses that are affordable without feeling cheated. “How?” you might be asking. Simple: go online. There are some great websites out there with literally hundreds upon thousands of wedding dresses to choose from and they are all at great prices. So essentially you get the exact same wedding dresses you fell in love with in the magazine or at the local wedding shop for hundreds less. You can’t beat it!

So, remember girls, pinch those pennies and you will have a great wedding that won’t put you in a hole. It all adds up.

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More and more brides today are choosing informal wedding dresses for their big day, rather than the traditional “ball” type gown. They are looking for bridal dresses that are comfortable and casual, but still manage to be elegant and gorgeous at the same time. This is because more and more brides are opting for a more simple, streamlined wedding. In keeping with that feel, they long for a dress that fits the affair – bridal, but not Cinderella bridal. I, myself, am such a bride.

Sometimes these types of wedding dresses can be hard to find. It is a relatively new trend. However, I have recently found many options on the Internet, which is nice. I found this great site with literally thousands of bridal dresses to choose from, including bridesmaid dresses, mother of the bride/groom dresses, flower girl dresses, etc. I had been having a hard time finding a suitable dress previously because I was shopping in the local wedding shops in my area and they would have no more than a few of the type of informal dress I was hoping for. I tried shopping for just regular white dresses as well, but they seemed to casual; not bridal looking, if that makes any sense.

Thankfully a friend pointed out this wonderful website and within one afternoon, I had looked at numerous wedding dresses that fit the look I was going for. All of a sudden I had lots of choices! Moreover, the prices were much more competitive than the wedding shops I had been visiting. Also, I got to look at all the bridesmaid dresses at the same time, which I narrowed down to two selections for the girls to choose from. All of this in one day! I had been looking for weeks with no luck before.

So, my fellow brides, fear not. The elusive informal wedding dresses of your dreams are just a few clicks away!

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All bridal dresses are hard to choose in a way. There are exceptions to this rule (possibly the flower girls dresses are the easiest), but when it comes to all others, well, they tend to be tough decisions to make. The wedding dresses for the brides are tough because it is the most important dress they will ever purchase. The bridesmaid dresses are hard because you have to find one dress to fit and flatter a number of women who naturally come in all various sizes and shapes. The mother of the bride and mother of the groom bridal dresses are hard because….well, because they’re mothers. This is a huge day for them too. In a way, it’s almost more important to them than their own wedding day. Also, some of us just have choosy mothers. My mother is just such a person. For my sister’s wedding, my mother began looking for a dress a full year and a half before the wedding. She didn’t find one she liked until about 2 months before. It was insane. She must have visited every store within a 45-mile radius she could find. I know because I was the one who got dragged to most of them with her!

The problem was, she was seeing the same dresses over and over and she liked none of them. As with all stores, the local wedding shops buy dresses to satisfy the nearby demographic. The problem was my mother did not fit that demographic. Her taste was totally different.

Three months before the wedding, my sister and I were feeling a little desperate as far as my mother was concerned. Understandably, my sister was worried about the fact that our mother did not have a dress yet. We got the brilliant idea to search for online resources. (Don’t ask me why it took us so long to think of this- total overlook on both our parts). We found this great website for all types of wedding dresses. They had a huge selection for mother of the brides of all different designers. The amount of choices was insane! The next day I sat with my mother for two hours while she looked at every single dress the site offered. It was worth it though, because after two hours of looking and one hour of agonizing over which dress to pick out of her top five, she finally settled on and purchased a dress! She looked beautiful in it too. Better yet, she got it at a great price. This wonderful website offered a huge selection and great prices – prices that could not be beat. The best part was the big smile on my mother’s face when she walked out in her dress for the first time the day of the wedding. You could tell she felt beautiful.

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The answer to the question above is simple: as early as you possibly can. The same goes for all other bridal dresses- bridesmaid dresses, flower girls dresses, mother of the bride and mother of the groom dresses – but especially wedding dresses. Number one reason? Alterations!

I have heard some alteration horror stories, let me tell you. My own sister had an alteration horror story. My sister, Susan, got married almost exactly three years ago. She got all her bridal dresses the traditional way, using a local wedding shop. She tells me she would do that differently were she getting married today. Last year, she was a bridesmaid in her friend’s wedding who purchased all her bridal dresses, including her bridal gown, from an online resource. It saved her a bundle of money and a good deal of headaches. Anyway, my sister ended up using a seamstress recommended by the wedding shop. She was also the same seamstress another friend of Susan’s had used the previous year, so she came on good recommendation from two sources. Unfortunately for my sister, she flaked out on her wedding.

The signs came early. First, soon after the dresses came in, the seamstress’s phone was mysteriously disconnected and Susan couldn’t reach her for five days. Then, soon after our first fitting, she disappeared again, this time for three whole weeks. It would have been bad enough if we hadn’t already had the fitting, but now not only was the seamstress MIA but all our dresses were MIA along with her. Finally, my sister managed to track her down. She had some excuse for where she had been, I don’t remember exactly what, but my sister took pity on her and gave her a second chance.

After the three-week incident, it was smooth sailing up until about a week before the wedding. We had two bridesmaids who lived out of state, so they came in a week early and had their first fittings then. Two days before the wedding, at their second fitting, we all realized the seamstress had made a huge mistake. She had altered the wrong dress for the wrong girl! She had mixed up their sizes and measurements! (Each bridesmaid in my sister’s wedding had a different color dress.) It was a mess. It all turned out OK in the end, thank goodness, but it was not a smooth and pleasant ride.

Moral of the story: Even if someone comes to you on good recommendation, nothing is a sure thing. Be prepared and order all your wedding dresses ASAP!

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