When I got married, I purchased all my bridal dresses from an online bridal salon. I remember my mother looking at me like I had grown a second head when I told her I was planning to do that. My mother is like most people in that she has a hard time trusting any store that is not your traditional bricks and mortar store. I can definitely understand her worry. I, myself, was a little apprehensive going into it and might not have if it weren’t for two factors. One, the bridal salon I was originally planning to purchase my wedding dress with made a big mistake on my friend’s bridesmaid dresses she ordered. All of a sudden, my unquestioning faith in the integrity of a bricks and mortar salon faltered quite a bit. On top of the fact that they made such a huge mistake, they weren’t very nice about fixing it after the fact either. They tried to make it out to be my friend’s fault.

Second factor was my budget. I was on a very strict budget when it came to my wedding because my fiancé and I were financing it all on our own. Every dollar I could save was an extra dollar I could spend on our honeymoon. One day, after trying on a couple of wedding dresses at another bricks and mortar bridal shop, I took note of a couple of the style numbers of the particular bridal dresses I was looking at. When I did a comparison with the price of those same wedding dresses with the online store, I realized I could save quite a bit of money were I to order my dress that way.

Of course, it’s very important that you give this matter due diligence and properly research any online bridal salon you plan to utilize. After all, we are all aware that there are many scams of all colors and flavors floating around out there in the big worldwide web. The first place my research took me was the Better Business Bureau online. I refused to use any business that was not listed as a member. Second bit of research I conducted was to verify that the online bridal shop was listed as an authorized dealer on the various designers’ websites whose dresses they offered. If your online shop is not listed in these lists, do not buy. You are getting a knockoff and that great price you think you’re paying is actually a rip off because the dress is a fake. The last bit of research I did was to read the testimonials on each bridal shop website I found, as well as search for third party chatter.

In the end, I had not a single problem with any of the wedding dresses I ordered. I was super happy with the company, the dresses, and the service.

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Just the other week I read this article that featured a bride’s worst nightmare: A bridal salon that totally messes up your dress order. This particular bridal salon in Newburgh, NY seemed to have done just that to countless brides. One bride’s dress came in so late, she had to have it altered by someone else and it wasn’t finished until 10 PM the night before. Apparently, the bride and her mother called the salon numerous times but their phone calls were never returned. Their bridesmaid dresses were also delayed and the whole debacle cost them more than $1000 in alterations alone. Also, the bride was missing her wedding veil that never came in at all. Totally crazy! Another poor bride had ordered all her bridal dresses through this salon a full year in advance. Plenty of time, right? Unfortunately, no. After repeatedly calling the salon when the dresses were due in with no return phone call, the mother of the bride demanded a refund and ordered all her dresses elsewhere, which cost her a bundle of money; much more than she was originally planning to spend. Still another bride, with a wedding just weeks away, was found in the corner of the store sobbing by a fellow bride, who was also there that day in search of her MIA wedding dresses. The poor girl was so upset because none of her bridesmaid dresses had come in yet and her wedding was only a few weeks away.

These are the horror stories every bride has nightmares about starting from the moment she puts that deposit down. Sometimes, it’s really hard to tell what you’re walking into with those mom and pop stores. That’s why I used an online bridal shop for my bridal dresses. First, the prices were better. I could get the same dress I saw in my local wedding shop for hundreds less online. But also, I was able to do a thorough background check on the online resource before utilizing it. I checked to see if they were registered with the Better Business Bureau online. I checked if they were listed on the designer’s authorized dealers list if it was a designer whose line they offered. I also searched for any other third party online chatter about the company as well as thoroughly looked into the testimonials they had posted on their site. The site I ended up using had extensive testimonials complete with wedding albums of the girls showing off their wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses.

Bottom line, when it comes to your wedding, it’s better to be safe than sorry. The last thing you want is to be sobbing in the corner of a store just a few weeks before your big day.

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So many women mistakenly think that if your budget is bigger, then your wedding is automatically going to be better. Conversely, they mistakenly think that if you have a small budget to work with it means your wedding isn’t going to be as nice. I was recently at two weddings where it was exactly the opposite case. For the sake of non-disclosure, we’ll cal the big budget wedding “Wedding A” and the small budget one “Wedding B.”

First, let’s talk about the wedding dresses. Both brides looked absolutely beautiful in their wedding dress. Bride A’s wedding dress cost her a couple grand, while Bride B’s cost only a few hundred. However, they were equally beautiful. (Bride B was smart and got all her bridal dresses from an online bridal shop. She saved a ton of money that way. She was able to get a dress she normally wouldn’t have been able to afford for much less.) Next, the bridesmaid dresses. Bride A’s bridesmaid dresses were not so cute unfortunately. They were expensive but they did not work well with the bridal gown, nor did they flatter her bridesmaids that well. Bride B also got her bridesmaid dresses from the online source, so she not only saved her bridal party money but she also managed to choose dresses that both complemented her and looked fabulous on them.

As for the food, Bride A did the traditional sit down dinner, which was very good by the way. But Bride B had greater success with her passed trays and her two food stations because it kept people mingling and dancing. Bride A had a better bar, I’ll admit, because she had every liquor you could possibly imagine as a selection. However, I did not hear a single complaint about the bar at Bride B’s wedding. As long as you have the standards, you’re golden really. As far as the music, Bride A hired a DJ for her wedding, but to be honest, he was rather obnoxious. Mostly, he just got on everyone’s nerves. Bride B developed a variety of play lists through her ipod and commissioned one of her bridesmaids’ fiancé to be in charge of the music. She had a ceremony play list, a cocktail hour play list, etc. The music was awesome and there was no annoying DJ shouting at you on his mic every two seconds because he was in love with the sound of his own voice. For the flowers, Bride A had these beautiful, enormous and elaborate centerpieces. They were perfect and fit the size and style of her venue well. Bride B was able to choose much simpler floral arrangements because she smartly chose a venue that helped her make those kind of budgetary choices naturally. Her flowers didn’t look “cheap;”they just looked like they fit, if you know what I mean.

As you can see, money does not guarantee a great wedding nor does lack of money necessarily mean a bad wedding. Sometimes strict budgets lead to great creativity.

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Weddings are normally associated with the spring and summer seasons; a spring bride is the more traditional bride as the weather is nice and accommodating for such an event. But there are those who prefer - or choose because of scheduling - a winter wedding which can be just as lovely. I, for one, was a winter bride; I got married against a backdrop of twinkling holiday lights and the decor of the season. The reception was warm and personal; as if I had gathered my family and friends around a crackling winter fire which ushered in the spirit of the season.

No matter when you choose to get married, however, wedding dresses should be first on the list of priorities. Of course, bridal dresses are styled to fit the season and so winter brides should look for wedding dresses that align with the winter months. Expect heavier fabrics, more ornate detail, and muted ivories. The season opens up many new options in terms of bridesmaid dresses as well. Winter brides may choose to outfit their bridesmaids in holiday colors, crushed velvet fabrics, and include accessories such as shawls or gloves.

Being a winter brides does not mean that you have to give up your dreams of traditional wedding dresses. Ultimately you should chose those bridal dresses that speak to you in terms of style and that - most importantly - accentuate your body type and make you feel absolutely beautiful. Do be sure to try on as many wedding dresses as you can and do not skimp when it comes to finding exactly what you want. With the Internet at our disposal, there are more options than ever!

A winter wedding can be magical and something your guests will remember for years to come. After all, it is a time when you can welcome the coming holidays and incorporate the magic of the season into the details of your wedding day.

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An engagement is a wonderful thing; the personal story attached to the event, the ring, and the wedding plans to follow. Still reeling from an overwhelming experience, a bride-to-be may quickly find herself already ensconced in another overwhelming activity – looking for wedding dresses. For many reasons, wedding dresses are step one in the process of planning a wedding. For one, wedding dresses are one of those items that need quite a few months with regard to shopping, sizing, ordering, and altering; it is not advisable to make shopping for wedding dresses a last minute affair. Secondly, wedding dresses tend to set the tone for the entirety of the wedding, as counterintuitive as that may seem. This is because brides fall in love with an actual dress; not just an idea of a dress. And, while she may have pictured herself in a full skirt ball gown, she may find that she looks phenomenal in a fitted sheath; and the details of the wedding ceremony and reception follow.

Make shopping for wedding dresses your number one priority in terms of wedding planning. Look through bridal magazines to get an idea of the styles that most appeal to you or the designers to which you are drawn. Schedule full days during which you and your bridesmaids (or whoever you choose to bring along on this special journey) will have time to really browse around, take your time, and have fun. Be sure to be prepared for the process, however; wear shoes with a heal about the height that you would like to wear on your wedding day, wear easy to remove clothing to make the try-on process easier, and just enjoy the experience of trying on as many wedding dresses as you please.

Once you find that perfect dress you will be called upon for many fittings in the months ahead during which your dress will be fit perfectly to your body; making it, for most women, the single most luxurious dress they will ever wear.

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In the past two years, seven of my friends have gotten married. I’ve hit that age where it seems like your single girlfriends are dropping like flies. It’s been a whirlwind of a couple of years, let me tell you. I still find myself dreaming about weddings, even though it’s been a couple of weeks since the last one. Images of wedding dresses, boutonnières, hairpieces, flowers, and bouquets flood my mind as if from an automatic faucet running its course. I’ve experienced the easy, laid back bride as well as my very own bridezilla. I’ve been to a Caribbean wedding as well as a very formal wedding where the reception was held at an old castle (or at least it looked like a castle). And now, at the end of it all, I am left with a lot of pictures and seven bridesmaid dresses.

Weddings are expensive, especially when you’re in the bridal party. There’s a lot that goes into a wedding beyond the bridal dresses we purchase. We bridesmaids also have to pay for/plan both the bridal shower and the bachelorette party. Then, there are shoes, alterations, and accessories, plus the usual gifts your give to the bride/groom. And, of course, there’s the expense of the bridesmaid dresses. Listen, I knew going into each and every wedding I was in that it was going to be a financial commitment, so as much as it was an effort to budget my income to sufficiently save for all these wedding expenses, I do not begrudge any of my brides for my empty wallet. I was honored to be asked and happy to be a part of their big day. All the brides are good friends of mine and near and dear to my heart.

Bridesmaid dresses are hard to buy and expensive. They are difficult to buy because it isn’t easy trying to fit and flatter six girls in the same dress. However, it can be done. Five of the seven weddings I was in, it was done. I have five great dresses that were actually pretty reasonably priced - all of which I can wear again at a different occasion. The other two dresses that I had to wear, however, were actually the most expensive of the bunch and really ugly/unflattering and they are a waste. So here’s my plea to all brides. I know you have a lot on your plate. I know how stressful it can all get – believe me, I know. But your bridesmaids are your good friends who do a lot to help and support you, so please, pick a dress that works well for all. For my own wedding, I will have no problem forking out a ton of money for a dress I’ll only wear once. For someone else’s wedding, that’s a lot harder to swallow.

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“Buff Brides” is this great, inspirational reality show on Fit TV. Basically, it follows brides-to-be as they try to get in better shape for their wedding. I think all of us brides-to-be can relate to this and it’s something we all go through to a certain extent. Actually, come to think of it, all women in the entire bridal party can relate to it. For instance, I am sure at least half of your bridesmaids will diet and exercise to look better in their bridesmaid dresses. Fact of the matter is, you and the women in your life will all be on display on the day of your wedding, so naturally we all want to put our best foot forward.

Thankfully, bridal dresses lend themselves to making this process possible, whether they are wedding dresses or bridesmaid dresses or mother of the bride/groom dresses, because they are designed to be altered. The rule of thumb when ordering any of these bridal dresses is to order them at least one size larger than you actually are so that the seamstress will have enough fabric to work with as they are fitting the dress to your body. If you schedule your last fitting a couple of days before your wedding, you can be losing weight and inches all the way up to that point without fear of not fitting in your dress day of.

Please note, ladies, do not – I repeat do not – order your dress at the exact size you are, banking on losing enough weight to go down at least a whole size. This is not because I don’t think you can do it, or that I want you to go into it thinking you won’t be able to do it, or even that I want you to take a “better safe than sorry” approach to losing the inches you desire. Fact of the matter is, if you follow the guidelines set forth in health magazines and shows like “Buff Brides” you will lose the weight and inches you set out to, no doubt. It’s just that weddings are stressful, particularly the planning of it, and there is no need to add extra stress to your life (which is actually proven to hinder weight loss) by putting that type of pressure on yourself. It’s no harder for a seamstress to take a dress in two sizes than it is to take in a dress one size.

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I recently read of an event held by a local department store dubbed “Running of the Brides” which I guess is a play on running of the bull. Basically, it’s a shopping event for brides to purchase discounted wedding dresses. Apparently, there was a line around the block for this event. Brides come in teams, usually consisting of their mother, bridesmaids, etc. Once inside, it’s pure bedlam. The dresses are not organized in any way, shape or form – not by size, style, anything. It’s a total free-for-all. I’m getting stressed just thinking about it. (I do not like crowds of frantic, pushy people.) I would not do well in that type of situation. And I certainly don’t want that to be my experience of choosing my wedding dress. A mob of brides rushing a store, tearing wedding dresses off the racks? Sorting through piles of wedding dresses strewn all over the floor? Fighting and shouting and pushing and pulling? No, thanks.

If you share my aversion for this type of event, let me direct you to something called the Internet. Yes, ladies, you can find discount bridal dresses of all kinds from the comfort and privacy of your own home. There’s no need to line up overnight, organize “teams”, or create strategies of any kind for snagging your perfect dress. You can also find the accessories you need for your dress online. Bridesmaids? You can get their bridesmaid dresses from the same site – at discount prices! Times are hard; they’ll appreciate the discounted cost just as much as you.

So, leave the running of the bull (or bride) scenario to the crazies. That’s what I would do. With the choice between being irritated, hot, sweaty, hassled and rushed and being calm, comfortable, cool, unhassled, and unrushed, I choose the latter. Wouldn’t you?

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Seriously, ladies, this is an actual event. I just read about it and let me tell you, the dress that won was very ugly indeed. Hand-made by the bride’s sister-in-law, it was a hideous pastel blue dress featuring white chiffon sleeves, pearl buttons running up the back, and a lot of lace. I wonder if the in-law was upset at not having been a bridesmaid? I can’t think of any other reason to produce one of the ugliest bridesmaid dresses I’ve ever laid eyes on.

It is a common myth that bridesmaid dresses are so ugly because brides do not want any of their bridesmaids to outshine them. I think this is a misconception, fortified by the occasional bride who is operating under that unfortunate logic. First, no bridesmaid (not even if she’s Heidi Klum) can outshine the bride. It’s just not possible and most brides recognize that. Second, brides usually choose people they like for their bridesmaids and girls aren’t mean to their friends. Lastly, most brides recognize that their pictures will be ruined if they are surrounded by the ugly dress parade. After having spent months searching for wedding dresses, plunking down their hard-earned money for the dress they chose, and making it through the expensive alteration process, the majority of brides are far too practical to risk bad pictures that will last a lifetime and that cost a good bit of money to produce.

I think the reason we see so many ugly bridesmaid dresses is because the dress picked was more than likely a last resort. Bridesmaid dresses are the worst of all bridal dresses to shop for. Trying to find one single dress that fits and flatters all your bridesmaids is a very difficult task. Oftentimes, lack of selection and frustration are what cause a bride to “compromise” on a dress that ends up in the ugly pile. Thankfully, in this modern day and age, there is a solution. Welcome to the world of Internet wedding shops where you can peruse hundreds of bridesmaid dresses (and wedding dresses too!). Best yet, these dresses are usually priced at discount so not only will you be able to outfit your entire bridal party with dresses they will all look fabulous in, but you’ll save them money too! You’ll be the most popular bride ever! (And your pictures will look great.)

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A wedding is an expensive proposition. There are numerous details that go into the total cost and they all play their part. Today’s faltering economy does not lend itself to extravagant weddings for the average bride. Many recently engaged women are forced to factor in cost and budget in a more significant way than before. So, the question is, what to cut back on?

One thing’s for sure and that is most brides are reluctant to cut back on the cost of their wedding dress. After all, wedding dresses are paramount to the affair. They set the tone, determine the style, and are the centerpiece of the night, along with the bride. More than that, most brides have dreamt of their wedding dress on and off since age 10 or 11. Face it, girls, when we dream of our wedding, it’s not about the flowers or the band or the bar package. We dream ourselves walking down the aisle, all eyes on us, in our beautiful dress.

The overall cost of a wedding is pretty much a cumulative affair. It’s the extra $10 a head for the fondue dessert fountain, choosing the expensive flowers for your bouquets and centerpieces, choosing premium liquor for your bar package – these are the ways wedding costs add up and skyrocket. So, if you want to cut back on your wedding, start with these areas.

As far as prices for wedding dresses, if you want to scale back without sacrificing your “dream dress,” I would look online. There are many great online resources that sell all types of bridal dresses at costs you just won’t see in your local bridal shop. These online wedding shops are wonderful because you can purchase almost all your wedding dresses there, including bridesmaid dresses, flower girl dresses, even mother of the bride/groom dresses, as well as shoes and other accessories.

While I can understand not wanting to sacrifice, you should still always have a budget range for your wedding dress. Stick to looking at wedding dresses that fall within that range; otherwise you may be tempted to unnecessarily blow your whole budget on a dress which, while important, you do only wear once. There are many beautiful dresses at all different price levels. Rest assured, you will be able to find “your” dress within your range.

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