One of the biggest tasks that you have ahead of you as a bride-to-be is managing to walk down the aisle in front of your friends and family – and not trip over. You are going to be calling round your friends and family, gathering your bridesmaids and going from store to store to find the perfect shoes, accessories and wedding dress. Falling over at the final hurdle is simply not an option! There is so much more to a wedding than just the dress. This isn’t prom, where the whole focus and excitement is on the dress of the night. However, shopping for a bridal gown and all the accessories that come with it is important; after all, you want to look the part on the biggest day of your life.

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You already know that it’s a bad idea to shop for a wedding dress before you have a venue, and you already know that you have to bring your bridal lingerie with you when you head for your wedding dress consultation. What you may not know is that there is a certain etiquette when you book your appointment for Morilee Madeline Gardner wedding dresses. There are rules that you must follow when you are planning your big shopping trip, and these rules aren’t just going to make you look good; they’re going to mean that your shopping trip is a successful one. Once you’ve booked some appointments with various bridal stores, you need to get excited! There are some things that people don’t tell you about bridal gown shopping, so pay attention as we have a few nuggets of wisdom to impart unto you.

Your Underwear Matters

Yep, we said it. Earlier on, we mentioned that you should know to bring your wedding day lingerie with you to your bridal dress appointment. This is important, as the way you wear your undergarments can dramatically change the look of a dress. If your strapless bra or corset is ill-fitting, it’ll make your dress hang in the wrong way. Your bridal gown is supposed to make you feel like a princess, and if you’re feeling uncomfortable, hot and as if the material is bunching in places, you won’t be able to enjoy your day. Get yourself measured properly before you buy your wedding lingerie, so that there are no nasty surprises during the fitting.

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Wear Some Make-Up

Okay, so this may not be the big day, and this won’t be your full trial of makeup and hair. However, you’re going to be stood on a pedestal in front of friends and family modelling these dresses. The lights aren’t always the nicest or the fairest, and you are going to have to look at yourself from top to bottom in a full-length mirror. If your face is looking tired and pale, you’re not going to get the full effect of your own bridal beauty. Wear enough makeup to ensure those dark circles under the eyes don’t get thrown up in the light, and make yourself feel beautiful.

Honesty Matters Most

Did you know that it isn’t always polite to be agreeable? If your wedding consultant is asking for your opinion, mumbling how beautiful a hideous dress is, isn’t going to help you – or them! The people in the store who are going to be helping you to find the dress of your dreams need you to be honest. If you feel like the meringue dress makes you look like a toilet roll cover, then you need to say so. If a sheath dress makes you feel uncomfortable, then you need to say so. The dresses that some people love won’t always be to your taste, so you shouldn’t be afraid to say so.

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Don’t Stand Still

Being stood in front of a huge mirror to view a wedding dress can be deceptive. You need to walk around the store, sit on a chair, have a dance with a bridesmaid and generally get a feel for how you walk and move in the dress. Walking a couple of steps and doing a twirl isn’t going to work and the last thing you need is to get to the big day itself and discover that the dress pinches when you sit down in it.

It’s Not Easy

Going from appointment to appointment trying to find the most beautiful dress possible can, amazingly enough, be fairly stressful. Wedding gowns are heavy items and the lights in a store can make you feel like a hot and sweaty mess when you try them on. The moment that you find THE dress is also an emotional moment for everyone. Your mom is likely to cry, so are your friends and sisters and that can set you off. It’s a hormone soup and it’s not one that is easy to get out of.

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Be Gracious

Your family are going to have different ideas of what is beautiful when it comes to bridal dresses. You may have a firm idea of what you want, but it isn’t going to hurt to try on a dress that someone else may have an opinion on. The appointments that you go on are a bonding experience and you will learn quickly that while your ideas of a dress are those that you’ve held for a long time, you could be surprised by someone else’s idea of beautiful. Be gracious, try on the ugly dress on the hanger. You never know – that could be the one.

You Can Haggle

Wedding dresses aren’t cheap items, and while you can buy dresses off the rack, at a discount or on a budget, you can still always find room to haggle down. See what accessories that the bridal store with your dress offers and see if they have any deals going. Even if they don’t, there’s no harm in asking.

Bridal shopping isn’t always an easy task, but it’s an experience that you and your family never will forget. Make it a memorable one.