How do I choose just one?

Your first appointment is going to consist mainly of finding things you do not like. Don't get discouraged when you hate EVERYTHING you put on. Yes some woman step into one dress, fall in love, and they are done. Is this normal? Not really. You have never worn a wedding dress, how could you possibly know what you will like, or what will look good on your body type?

Here are my tips for finding your gown.

1. DO NOT believe what you read in magazines.
I have a problem, I admit it. I own every issue of every wedding magazine I can get my hands on, and I read them. In many magazines their is a chart. Which shape gown will look best on your body. DO NOT believe these articles. Never fail they are not very accurate.

The basic shapes of a gown are sheath, mermaid, a-line, ballgown.

A sheath gown has a straight skirt. It does not generally have many layers of fabric and does not hug tightly to your body. These gowns are great for tall woman, they are also great for beach weddings because they are generally very light and airy gowns.

A mermaid, fish tail, trumpet gown is one of the more controversial gowns. Some people say if you are short and curvy you can't wear them. WRONG. A mermaid gown hugs your curves, this is definitely the sexiest of all the gowns. It hugs through your waist and hips and then flairs either at your upper thighs are right around your knees. A few things to notice about these gowns-most of them will have fabric that goes one direction on the top and then have a pretty harsh line where the gown begins to flare and then have a different type of fabric or fabric that moves in a different direction on the bottom. This type of mermaid is something you will either love or hate. Designers also design mermaid gowns that have a less harsh difference where the gown begins to flare. The point about these gowns that I cannot stress enough is that if you are curvy you can wear these gowns. They actually look best on very curvy woman. Don't be afraid of the mermaid gown.

A-line gowns are very traditional and very easy to wear. Depending on the designer the A skirt can be fuller or smaller. These gowns flare from the hip so they are very flattering if you are more of a pear shape. Many A-line gowns have some sort of rouching or different fabric on the bodice and then have a plane skirt. Some A-line skirts have pick ups in them, or as they are often called, the wedding cake skirts. Yes pick ups sort of look like fondant on a cake, but I gurantee you that they look very different and actually very elegant when you get them on your body. Remember, you will never know what a gown looks like until it is on.

The Ball gown is perhaps the most traditional shape gown ever. Ball gowns are hard to wear if you are short because they flare from the waist rather than the hip. This makes you look like you have a shorter torso than you do. Most ball gowns have a pretty extreme flare from the waist so you will get a bit of a puff on both sides of the hips. Personally I love ball gowns. They're so classic, they're so gorgeous, but they have to have the right setting. You don't want your gown to overpower your wedding so your venue must be grand enough to compete with your gown. Try at least one ball gown on just for the experience. There are so many layers that most of them stand on their own and there is nothing more girly feeling than twirling around in a giant ball gown.


As I have mentioned before, do not be afraid to try on all different shape and size gowns. Look for something that you will feel comfortable in all day, and most importantly, look for a gown that you can picture yourself in on your wedding day.

What to Expect at Your First Appointment

Now that you have scheduled your first appointment, what should you expect?

Always arrive to your appointments on time. If you are late that is only taking time away from you. Consultants generally will not let your appointment run over your allotted time because it will make the next appointment late.

When you arrive more than likely they will have you fill out an information card. Name, date, wedding location, wedding date, etc. This is so they can file your dress style selections under your name so if you come back in for a follow up appointment they know what gowns you're coming for.

Then your consultant will give you a tour of their gowns. Some salons have the gowns displayed by style-sheath, mermaid, aline, ball gown or they will separate them by designers. Most gowns are sampled in sizes between 8 and 12. So in normal sizes they are 6-10. Don't worry if you are smaller or bigger than those sizes, consultants are trained in how to clip the gowns so they will fit well.

Once you pick out the gowns you want to try your consultant will take you and who ever you brought along back to the dressing rooms.

Most consultants will come in the room with you to help you get into the gowns. You'll realize as you start going to more appointments that it's easier to get help getting into the gowns. Some of them have inner corsets that must be hooked up and the zippers can be a pain to work.Don't worry, your consultant has seen it all. Your appointments should be about pampering you and making you feel special, so let them help you.

Don't worry if your entire first appointment you do not find anything you like. Most of the time the first appointment is narrowing out what you hate. Maybe you don't like strapless gowns, or big full skirts. You will never know what you like or do not like until you try them on.

My BIGGEST tip for your first appointment. TRY ON EVERYTHING! Unless you were a debutante chances are you have never worn a dress like a wedding gown. They're hot, they're itchy, but more importantly they're so beautiful.

Most brides come in with an idea of what they want. They want a very simple a-line gown, and by the time they're done they have chosen a very sleek mermaid gown with beautiful apliques.

You can't judge a wedding dress by what it looks like on a hanger. I can not stress enough that they look completely different on. Even if you only like one thing about the dress try it on.

In the end the more styles you try on the more clarity you will get on what style will make you feel the most beautiful on your perfect day.