Everything you need to know about wedding dress shopping

Let’s face it, there are certain aspects of wedding planning that are less exciting than others.

Balancing the budget is not the wedding task everyone dreams of.

However, for every boring task there’s a really exciting one and we reckon shopping for your wedding dress has to be up there as one of the most fun and important shopping experiences of your life.

Unless you’re used to dressing for glam red carpet events, no other shopping trip will make you feel so totally special. However, this isn’t your normal flicking through the rails.

We speak to bridalwear experts, Rachel of Rachel Scott Couture and Lauren from Opus Couture, for their insider advice.

How soon should you start the search for ‘the one’?

Lauren at Opus Couture normally advises beginning to look roughly 12 months before your big day. “However, given some of the uncertainty right now we would advise 12 to 18 months,” she says.

“This allows plenty of time to visit the boutique to try on dresses, find ‘the one’ and take into account order and alteration times.

“Don’t panic though if you are short on time as we still have lots of options for brides on a tight timescale.”

Rachel adds that it’s important not to start looking before you’re ready to commit to choosing your dress. “That’ll risk just leaving you confused or overwhelmed,” she says.

“If you want to get a little bit of insight into options but aren’t quite ready to start trying on, we offer a complementary preliminary consultation where you can come in for a chat, a browse through the dresses and get a bit of initial inspiration.”

And Rachel says at Rachel Scott Couture they work with designers who don’t have to worry about minimum timescales as their dresses are made in their UK studios so they can adjust times to suit.

Measure up

Buying your wedding dress is nothing like the normal drill of picking your dress size.

Instead, be prepared to place yourself in the hands of the experts and be meticulously measured.

“Wedding dress sizes are different from high street clothes sizes and all of our bridal brands have their own individual size charts,” explains Lauren.

“By taking a number of measurements we can advise on the best size of dress to order for you as we don’t want our brides to be worrying about fitting into their dress in the lead up to their wedding day.”

Rachel adds, “We’re obsessional about getting the perfect fit! No two people are the same – their measurements, their posture and even their natural body movements will affect the way their dress fits.

“Having a dress fully made to measure, ensures the most amazing and perfectly sculpted fit so the more information we have, the better.”

You’ve found ‘the one’ – what next?

According to Lauren you can expect your dress to arrive in store six months after ordering.

“We’ll invite you back to try it on,” she says. “This is a great time to start thinking about underwear, shoes and accessories.

“Then we schedule your alterations to begin approximately 12 weeks before your wedding day.”

At Rachel Scott Couture they tend to work back from the wedding date, planning for dress delivery and final fittings about a month before the big day. “We have the flexibility with our designers to be able to place a dress order but not confirm exact measurements until much later,” she says.

Can I buy off the rail?

Buying off the rail is a great way to stick within a specific budget and that’s when the sample sale comes in.

“These are the ex-display dresses we use in store and can offer those at hugely discounted prices,” says Rachel.

“Normally our dresses start as £2,500, whereas the ex-display sample dresses start at just £300!”

Definitely worth keeping an eye out for!

Another beauty of the sample sale is you’re actually able to take your dress home immediately – perfect for short engagements.

Lauren says, “We hold a sample sale twice a year and have some sample stock available to purchase all year round.”

What if I’m not the perfect “sample size” when I go shopping?

According to Lauren there is no such this as the perfect sample size and the focus at Opus Couture is on their brides having an enjoyable wedding dress shopping experience. They carry sample gowns ranging from size 6 to 26.

Plus, your expert consultant will have a range of tricks to pin you in to and show you how a gown would look in your size.

“We are always available to answer any questions or queries about gowns and sizing before your visit,” she adds.

Whatever dress you order will fit you like a glove when it arrives in store so try not to get hung up on sizing.

“The most important factor is whether you’re loving the dress or not and whether it makes you feel confident or not,” says Rachel.

“We also have the advantage of being able to offer a toile fitting service, where our designers make a mock-up version of your dress so you can see how that style will look in your measurements before your actual dress fabric is cut.”

Mix and match

What happens if you find yourself loving the bodice of one dress but would prefer it with the skirt and train of another.

No problem. Remember, this isn’t normal dress shopping so suddenly you have a lot more options.

“Every dress from Rachel Scott Couture is made from scratch by whichever of our designers you choose,” explains Rachel.

“Whether that’s Suzanne Neville, Sassi Holford or Kate Halfpenny, you have the option to have your dress made exactly the way you want it.”

A lot of designers give boutiques a range of options when ordering including different colour-ways, linings and attachments.

That’s what happens at Opus Couture where, according to Lauren, the talented specialist technical team are also experts at customising gowns such as changing necklines, adding sleeves or incorporating beadwork to make your perfect dress.

So have fun when attending your appointments, go with an open mind and listen to your bridal consultants’ expert advice.

Have you found your dream dress?

Check our suppliers pages for some inspiration