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Buying vs. Customizing Your Wedding Dress: A 10-Step Guide To Wear The Perfect One
Many brides can’t hide their excitement when looking for a wedding dress that would make them the most beautiful woman on their wedding day. After all, it only happens once in a lifetime, so you should make the most out of it and be the best woman you could ever be.
However, choosing a wedding dress is no easy task. It requires intense planning to ensure that everything will be perfect on your special day.
Aside from that, the shifting trends in the wedding industry also make it more difficult for you to say yes to a dress. Despite having a vivid imagination of yourself on the biggest day of your life, scouting for the perfect wedding dress may not proceed as planned.
Not just that, you also have to choose whether you should buy or customize your own wedding dress. Now that’s a headache! If you’re sick and tired of looking for the perfect dress, Margene’s Bridal, for example, may have the wedding dress of your dreams.
But if you want to do it your way, this post is here for you. This post will help you decide whether to buy or customize a wedding dress and how to wear the perfect one.
Should You Buy Or Customize A Wedding Dress?
To many brides, that’s the question they don’t wish to encounter. Just thinking about it is enough to make your mind explode. Is buying a finished wedding gown better than customizing one? Or is it the other way around?
To help you decide, it’d be best to understand the advantages of buying and customizing a wedding dress.
Below are the advantages of buying a finished bridal gown:
- It Saves Time: When you buy a finished bridal gown, you don’t have to go through the meetings, fittings, and alterations required for bespoke gowns. All you need to do is choose what suits your style and have it prepared before the big day.
- It’s Less Stressful: Pick a finished wedding dress and you won’t have to worry about the pearls, sequins, and other things that come with it. This will help reduce all the stress that comes with customizing a wedding dress. Just focus on choosing the gown that looks perfect on you.
- It Has Unique Styles: Finished wedding gowns, especially designer ones, have unique styles you can’t find elsewhere. Also, when you buy a designer dress, you can be sure that you’re the only one who has it, and that’s what makes it more special.
On the other hand, here are the advantages of customizing a wedding gown:
- It Expresses Your Style: You’re unique in your own way. Customizing a wedding gown is a great way to express your unique style and fashion taste. All you need is to explain whatever’s on your mind to the designer, and they’ll take care of the rest.
- It Fits You Perfectly: A customized wedding dress will accentuate your unique shape and contour. The wedding dress designer will measure every corner of your body as precisely as possible to ensure that the dress will fit you perfectly.
- It Keeps The Cost Under Control: Bridal gowns are expensive—there’s no doubt about that. But if you want to save even a little bit, it’d be best to customize your own dress. This will let you create the perfect bridal gown based on your budget.
- It Has Endless Possibilities: The possibilities are endless when you customize a wedding dress. Even if you can create countless designs, there is still plenty of room for more.
These days, most people prefer a customized bridal gown over a ready-to-wear wedding dress because it’s specifically designed, crafted, and sewn according to your preferences. Also, a customized dress accurately fits your body, meaning only you can wear it perfectly.
However, if you’re tired of thinking about what designs to include, buying a ready-to-wear dress might be a better option. All you need to do is look for a wedding dress that perfectly suits your style and preferences.
You can also look for a fashion designer to help you create the bridal gown that suits your body, looks, and personality.
What Are The Steps To Wearing The Perfect Wedding Dress?
Here’s a step-by-step guide to choosing and wearing the perfect wedding dress. Follow these steps to be the most beautiful woman on your most wonderful day.
Wearing the perfect dress. How to do it? Photo from Adobe Stock
1. Do Your Research
Choosing the perfect wedding dress can be difficult, especially if you don’t know where to start. If you don’t have an idea what an ideal wedding dress looks like, you might need to do your own research.
You may read fashion magazines, browse online wedding boutiques, or explore the social media accounts of your favorite celebrity brides. This will help you visualize the bridal gown you’d dream of wearing on your most special day.
Then, look for a theme in every wedding dress you find. Do they have plenty of lace and embellishments? Are they voluminous? Do they have open backs? Look for styles similar to your fashion taste and bring them out on your first wedding appointment.
2. Keep Your Mind Open
Most brides would come in with a lot of ideas and visions of what they want in a bridal gown. However, once they see all those ideas come alive and try them, they realize they don’t like them. Instead, they fall for something they’d never thought of.
When you work with a bridal consultant, you must keep your mind open for new suggestions and concepts, even if you’ve got plenty of ideas running around your head. You might realize that your dream bridal gown is something you’d never considered.
3. Prepare For Bridal Sizing
Did you notice that the sizing number of bridal gowns is higher than regular clothes? That’s because they’re measured using a different sizing method. It’s called bridal sizing.
Bridal sizing simply means that the number of your wedding dress will be a little bit higher than your regular size. For example, if you’re size is around 4-6, your bridal size might be around 8-10. Don’t worry—it’s just a number, and it doesn’t mean you’ve gained weight.
4. Wear A Dress That Fits Your Current Size
Have you gained weight recently? If you do, you might be thinking of losing those extra pounds before the big day. And since you’re planning on losing weight, you’re probably thinking of choosing a more petite wedding dress.
However, just because you’re planning on losing extra pounds, choosing a smaller bridal gown is not a better option. Use your current size instead. That way, you can be sure that your dress will fit and not be too small during your wedding.
5. Start Early, But Not Too Early
Start your search for the perfect wedding dress about eight months before your wedding day. This is especially true for customized and designer bridal gowns, which require enough time for preparation, delivery, and alterations.
For example, adding more embellishments or modifying the train for finishing touches might take more time than you think.
If you’re in a rush, ask your bridal consultant if the gown you want can be delivered as soon as possible. However, you might need to pay an additional fee for rush work. You can also attend a sample sale to grab their exclusive offers and discounts of up to 70%.
It’s a good idea to start as early as possible, but don’t do it too early—the maximum would be a year before your wedding date. That’s because the wedding dress you choose might go out of style by then.
6. Set A Realistic Budget
What’s your budget for your wedding dress? How about USD$ 2,000? Would that be enough for everything? Unfortunately, that’s not how budgeting works, especially when it comes to bridal gowns.
If your budget is USD$2,000, it doesn’t mean you can buy a gown worth USD$2,000. Keep in mind that there are taxes, shipping costs, and alterations you need to factor in.
Also, bridal salons may charge a flat fee or cap alterations costs. They might also require a deposit of up to 50% of your gown’s ticket price, excluding final alterations and finishing touches.
When you set a budget, make sure to consider all the factors discussed to avoid problems regarding the payment later on. With this, you’ll have enough funds to purchase the wedding gown of your dreams.
7. Set A Wedding Theme As Early As Possible
A wedding theme must be finalized as early as possible before you start looking for the perfect bridal gown. This will give you an idea of how your wedding day should look, including the venue, guest attire, and, of course, your dress.
Here are some fun wedding themes you might want to consider:
- Romantic Theme: This is ideal for an intimate wedding. It makes use of soft hues, a lot of florals, delicate lighting, and calligraphy.
- Vintage Theme: This is perfect for couples who draw inspiration from the past. It uses worn wood seats, antique décor, weathered doors, and a classic getaway car.
- Whimsical Theme: This is perfect for couples who want everything to be as colorful and quirky as possible. It uses colorful balloons, cards, tables, chairs, and flowers.
- Modern Theme: This is ideal for couples who want a clean, sleek, and minimalist wedding. It makes use of geometric figures, white spaces, and clean lines.
- Garden Theme: This is a popular theme nowadays, perfect for couples who draw inspiration from the outdoors. It’s an intimate yet casual wedding theme.
- Bohemian Theme: This is perfect for couples who want a relaxed and carefree wedding. It uses simple yet elegant décor, colorful pillows, and hanging floral arrangements.
- Art Deco Theme: This is ideal for couples looking for vintage allure with a modern twist. It makes use of robust fonts, geometric shapes, and ornate sparkles.
Once you’ve chosen a wedding theme, you can start looking for the wedding dress. A bridal consultant will help you select the appropriate design for your chosen theme.
8. Look For Proper Undergarments
Choosing the proper undergarments is essential to your wedding gown. If you don’t, your so-called perfect wedding dress may not look as perfect as it could be.
For example, if you’re planning to wear a backless wedding gown, wearing a lacy bra with a strap may not be a good idea. This will only ruin the vision you had for your dress.
Also, don’t forget to wear some heels that would complement your wedding dress. If you don’t know what kind of footwear to wear, you may ask your bridal consultant for help.
9. Give Your Consultant A Constructive Feedback
If you want your gown-shopping experience to be fun and exciting, give your bridal consultant constructive feedback. Tell them what you want and don’t want with the gown they specifically made for you.
Be detailed when giving feedback to help your bridal consultants understand your needs and preferences. In this way, they’ll be able to come up with a design that fits your definition of a ‘perfect wedding dress.’
10. Wear The Dress That You Like
Many brides wear a wedding gown they don’t actually like. They might have chosen those dresses because their family and friends forced them to do so. If you don’t follow your heart, you’ll only end up being miserable on your big day.
Remember, this is your dress, not theirs. If there’s someone who should be making the final decision, it should be you, not your family, your relatives, or even your friends. There’s nothing wrong with asking people about their opinion, but never let them decide for you.
If you’re happy with a particular dress, then wear it. After all, it’s your wedding, not anyone else’s. And if you already say yes to the dress, then that’s it—you’ve found the perfect wedding gown of your dream.
Final Words
Choosing a wedding dress can be complicated. You can purchase a finished gown or customize your own, depending on which you prefer the most. Also, when you choose a wedding dress, always go where your heart is. Never let other people cloud your judgment. It’s your wedding, not theirs. Only you can choose what can make you happy.
If you need help, don’t hesitate to let your bridal consultant know what’s on your mind. They can help you make all your ideas come alive, so tell them what they need to know.
