8 Tips For Picking The Perfect Wedding Dress (by Blake Kritzberg)

When little girls spend their math classes daydreaming of

weddings (instead of winning the World Series -- not to say you

can't do both), what do they dream of first? The perfect wedding

dress, of course: a gown in white satin with a bustle and

sweeping train, the perfect embellishments, and the perfect

shoes.



There are few occasions in our modern world where a woman finds

herself in a position to wear a no-holds-barred ball gown, much

less a crystal tiara, and all too many where she's called on to

wear to a neutral suit or uninspiring "biz-caz" combo. No wonder

that with so many brides, their wedding plans start with the

dress.



Many of these brides are lucky. They may search high and low,

braving chilly department stores and pushy bridal shops, but

eventually they come face-to-face with The One. They know this

is The One because they start crying, or their mother or

friends all start crying at once. Suddenly the rest of the

planning ... the theme, the tone, the right kind of venues ...

it all springs to life.



Other brides aren't as fortunate. They've searched just as

hard, working their way through shops across three or four

states, but they haven't found The One. Instead, they've found

three or four Contenders, all of which are serviceable and

nice, but not earth-shattering enough to tell them that now is

definitely time to stop the searching and get on with the

planning. These brides have it harder.



Even if you're the first kind of bride, buying the dress is

such a momentous decision that you run a risk of falling into

that wallet-skinning category known as the Two-Dress Bride.

Here are some tips for picking the perfect dress and avoiding

that awful fate.



1. Bring the entourage, but don't buy. It's fun and useful to

bring your mother, friends or sisters on the dress-shopping

expedition. It gives you a buffer against an overbearing sales

staff, and it's fun to see if your impressions of perfection

are shared by your loved ones, not to mention how they'll love

being part of such an important decision. But no matter how

enthusiastic everyone gets over a certain dress, don't buy in

the heat of the moment. Give yourself time to reconsider and

buy with a cool head later, alone. The vast majority of dresses

are non-returnable, so when you've bought it, you've bought it.



2. Don't buy too early unless you must. Bridal gowns can take

four to ten months to come from the manufacturer, but there's

no reason to buy over a year ahead of time, unless your chosen

style is going to be discontinued. Give yourself some time to

sit on your decision. Once you pick a gown, you'll see a

hundred others nearly like it. You'll become a walking

encyclopedia on that style of gown. All the better if you still

have room to choose.



3. If you've bought "The One," stop shopping. Any more

window-shopping at this point will only lead you down the road

toward the dreary land of Two-Dress Brides. What you need to do

instead is remember that blissful feeling of having tried on The

One. Go get The One out of the closet, put it on and stand in

front of the mirror. You'll remember exactly why it's The One.



4. If you've bought "The One" and can't stop shopping, get a

second opinion. Show your first and second choices to other

brides. Be honest -- tell them you've already remortgaged your

condo for the first dress, but you think this second dress

might be It. They'll be truthful, too -- the first one was

better. You'll feel reassured.



5. Don't tell yourself "I'll sell the old dress and choose a

new one." This old saw of the Two-Dress Bride just won't work.

You'll never get more than a fraction of what you paid for your

first dress if you bought it new.



6. Don't be afraid to aim high -- no matter what your budget.

Some brides knew from the start they wanted a designer label,

but life just didn't cooperate by making them heiresses. Yet

all is not lost if you're willing to shop courageously. At any

given moment, a better-heeled bride is selling her once-used

St. Pucchi or Ulla-Maija on eBay. She paid thousands upon

thousands, but you, smart shopper, will pay half that or less.

To take this road, you must shop earlier than other brides so

you'll have a choice of gowns. Always pay with a credit card so

you'll have recourse if the dress doesn't arrive in acceptable

condition, and again, shop early so you can buy another if

necessary. Shop courageously, but not recklessly.



7. Shop online, but never send a check. Bridal gown businesses

sometimes have a way of disappearing overnight. No matter what

the proprietor tells you, never make a purchase as large as a

wedding gown without the chargeback protection of a credit

card. If they say they can't take plastic, move on.



8. Don't hold out forever for The One. Some brides never find

The One. What they do find is a few dresses they look beautiful

in. If you're this bride, try starting your planning from the

theme instead of the dress. You'll probably eventually get sick

to death of dress shopping. When that happens, "good enough"

really will be good enough. Concentrate on other aspects of the

wedding that mean a lot to you, like the venue, the food, or the

inevitable adoration of your soon-to-be husband.





publicher:

www.supermodelfashions.com and www.darlingforever.com