Congratulations! You have met the person of your dreams and you’re ready to tie the knot. It’s time to figure out what you are going to wear on your wedding day. Finding the perfect wedding dress can be overwhelming and even a bit frustrating.

Know Your Venue

Are you having a beach wedding or a traditional church wedding? It’s important to remember that many churches will have their own rules about the dos and don’ts for brides on their wedding day. A see-through corset would be fine for a contemporary wedding at an art gallery, but would be completely out of place at a church wedding.

Budget

Wedding dresses will vary in price from a few hundred dollars to the equivalent of a downpayment on a house. There’s no reason to start your marriage off in serious debt. There are beautiful gowns at different price points. When you are looking at wedding dresses, don’t be afraid to tell the sales associate what your budget is and only look at gowns that fit within your range. How awful would it be to fall in love with a gown just to find out it is completely out of your budget. **Be sure to include the cost of alterations and accessories in mind when you are deciding how much to spend on your dress.

Dress style

By this point in your life, you have probably worn several different styles of dresses. Think back on those dresses and what you liked/disliked from them. Important things to consider are: how easy it was for you to use the bathroom, were you constantly tugging on it to stay up, and were you able to move your arms (remember you will probably give lots of hugs on your wedding day).

Make an Appointment

Want the extra special treatment? It’s more likely to happen if you plan ahead and make an appointment so they can have fun stuff like champagne on hand. Just like any other store, they will have staff members to meet the demand. If you don’t make an appointment, you may be stuck sharing a sales associate and have to spend a lot of time waiting around for dresses. The worst scenario is being told they service brides by appointment only.

Trust Your Instincts

When you put on your dress for the first time, you will just know it. Sometimes that feeling can be questioned by those you bring with you to your appointment. Now don’t get me wrong, they have the best intentions. Good intentions or not, too many people voicing their opinion instead of listening to you, can be frustrating. The easiest way to ensure your voice doesn’t get lost during the appointment is to limit the number of people you take with you.

What advice would you give a future bride?

Nicki Joachim is a wedding photographer based out of Owatonna, Minnesota. Nicki Joachim Photography works locally in Minnesota and will also travel for destination weddings. Contact Nicki to get started planning the beautiful images of your wedding.