The dress – Hunting down ‘THE ONE’

Its dress time ladies and was one of the best moments in all of the wedding planning. So what girl doesn’t dream of THE DRESS?  Its one of the iconic moments when planning your wedding. Most of my friends, who are married, went to loads of shops until they found ‘THE ONE’. I as always had to do it different.

He proposed in April and I waited until June to start hunting for my dress. I browsed hundreds of wedding dress sites, sifted through an uncountable amount of wedding magazines but I was still completely in the dark as to what style or colour I wanted my dress to be. Well my dress actually chose me.

My mum and I set out on a lovely sunny day. We went to a place recommended to me by loads of my friends – Serena Bridal. It wasn’t a traditional wedding dress shop it was a converted garage in the owner’s house but it was kitted out just like a normal dress shop. When we arrived there was no one else there which was fab. I was confronted with every style and colour you can imagine. It was really overwhelming but I was so pumped I dove right in. I selected a few dresses to try on but one dress I passed, it was slightly hidden behind a few other dresses but my mum saw it and pulled it out. The moment I laid eyes on the dress my heart skipped a beat, it was breath-taking so I decided to try this on first. I remember my mum just grinned at me and quirked her eyebrows.

Now I’ve never in my life tried on a wedding dress before and it wasn’t what I expected. I didn’t realise I’d have to wear one of those weird hoops underneath. I put the hoop on then the owner’s mother helped me into the dress. Outside I remember hearing my mum chatting to the owner saying how excited she was that I was getting married. It took 10 minutes for the owner to do the dress up. There wasn’t a mirror so I had no idea what it looked like. The owner just kept grinning at me but I didn’t understand why. She opened the curtain and ushered me into the main room which had floor to ceiling mirrors. When I saw my mums face I didn’t know what to do she looked speechless. When I turned to the mirror I gasped. I was having one of those days where you feel a bit fat so I wasn’t expecting the dresses to look nice. But this dress blew me away, I turned to the side to look at the back and the train and that’s when the tears started. I looked to my mum who was also crying, we did this little dance because we both knew we’d found it. I looked super slim and I was ecstatic.

When I turned to the mirror I gasped.

Now I bet you’re keen to hear what the dress is like. Well it’s not white for one thing it’s Ivory. I’m mixed race you see and the ivory against my skin looked amazing. The dress is made of a luxurious satin its super tight until it hits my hips and then it comes out. It has a really long train and beautiful pearl and crystal diamante decoration. I can’t tell you too much in case my fiancé get wind of it, we don’t want to spoil the surprise now do we hehe.

I tried on about 10 dresses in total but I knew the 1st one I tried on was THE ONE. The good news was it was on sale at nearly half price. My mum was paying for the dress and I was so worried it would be too expensive but it was better than we could have hoped for. Only downside to the dress is it was a size 14 one size bigger than I am. But the owner reassured me it could be taken in without a problem.

So I found the perfect dress well within budget. I’ve tried it on a good few times now and shown my bridesmaids and future mother in law and every time there has been tears.

Advice time, even if you have a clear idea of what dress you want, try on as many styles as you can. If you’re dreaming of a white dress still try on ivory coloured dresses because you may fall in love with the complete opposite when you try it on. Wedding dresses are no different from normal shopping. Sometimes you like something on the hanger but when you try it on you hate it. Or a friend suggests you try something on that on the hanger you think is horrid but when you come to try it on you love it. So give every style a fair chance.

The other bit of advice is the cost. I was lucky to find my perfect dress on sale but not everyone will get this chance. If you find ‘THE ONE’ but it is really out of budget, shop around. You may find the same dress cheaper elsewhere or one that is similar that’s more in budget. I know you’re thinking well easy for you to say I found my dress in the 1st shop I went into BUT I know lots and lots of people who have had to hunt to find a similar dress to the one they originally wanted. Don’t get down hearted as they say where there is a will there is a way. So have faith you’ll get the dress you want, you just might have to do some hunting first.

Good luck

B2Be