Selecting your wedding dress

THE WEDDING DRESS

Girls dream of their wedding dress long before they ever become engaged. As soon as the ring is placed on her finger, the bride-to-be's desire to start trying on dresses is almost too much to resist. It is a right of passage for newly engaged women to visit as many bridal stores and websites as possible to see what is available and learn about the season's new styles, colors, and other options for choosing the best wedding dress.

While wedding dresses are almost always white, designers are starting to give dresses a little more personality and flair by adding tidbits and splashes of color that set the wedding dress and the bride apart from all the others. Whether you are looking for an elegant and simple sheath gown or an elaborate wedding gown with lace and beading, there is one main thing brides-to-be should keep in mind when it comes to shopping for their wedding dresses. Look for a wedding dress that flatters your body type and enchances your look. Afterall, all eyes will be on you as you walk down the aisle and you want to feel beautiful in your wedding dress.

FINDING THE MOST FLATTERING WEDDING DRESS

If you have a bridal gown in your imagination you can certainly find it in reality, all you have to do is explain your vision or shop online in order to find it. However, what is more important than color and new trends is the dress style that works best for your body. You want to be as beautiful as possible on your wedding day so buying a dress that truly flatters your figure and hides all your faults should be the main focus. Determining your body type will help you narrow down the types of dresses you should try on and those you should avoid.

THE DRESS STYLE FOR YOU

There are five body types that include apple, pear, inverted pear, square and hourglass. If you don't know your body shape you need to find out before you start shopping so you will know what types of dresses to look for and those to avoid.

For an apple body professionals suggest a wedding gown with an empire waistline because it minimizes the appearance of a large waist, which makes the bride look thinner. Also, an apple bride should wear a gown with a v-neck because it makes the body appear more angular rather than round. So, the perfect dress for an apple shaped woman is a dress with an empire waistline and a v-neck. The apple bride should avoid all corsets, full skirts, and long bodices if she does not want to appear larger than she really is.

The pear shaped bride has smaller shoulders and upper body than her lower body so the goal is to balance out the body with the wedding gown. As a result, a pear shaped bride should wear shoulder pads or puffy sleeves. This bride should avoid any type of body hugging gown, full skirts, or cuts that make the upper body appear even smaller or the lower body larger. There are also women who are the opposite of pear shaped and this body type is known as the inverted pear. For inverted pear women the top of the gown should remain as simple as possible while the bottom should include a full skirt. Full sleeves, empire waistlines, and straight skirts will make the inverted pear shaped bride look even more off balance and more like a football player than a bride. As a result, these are what the inverted pear should avoid.

The square shaped bride does not have many curves so the goal of a wedding gown is to create curves, or at least the illusion of curves. As such, necklines and bodices should be beaded, but only the upper part of the bodice. Big sleeves and skirts are also ways to help add some curves to the square shaped bride-to-be. The wedding gown styles square shaped brides should avoid are gowns that are straight and clingy because this will show off their true square body shape and certainly give no illusion of curves.

Last but not least is the hourglass body type. The bride with an hourglass body is already well proportioned so finding a wedding dress that flatters her will be easier, although there are still some dos and don'ts because the bride wants her dress to reflect her curves rather than take away from them. The best options for an hourglass shaped bride are strapless or off the shoulder gowns, sheaths and fitted bodices, as well as v-necks. Wedding gowns the hourglass shaped bride should avoid include heavily beaded gowns because they make the bride look heavier and full skirts that make the bride look hippy.

When a bride-to-be is armed with this information she will know what styles of dresses to try on as well as the styles to avoid. This will not only save her a significant amount of time trying on dresses that are unflattering, but will also shorten the path to finding the perfect wedding gown.

WHERE TO BUY YOUR DRESS

Knowing what type of dress will best flatter your body is great, but frequently brides-to-be don't know where to shop or what their best options are for finding the wedding gown of their dream. The answer is shop around because you never know when the next store or web page is going to have your perfect dress.

There are many places to look for your wedding dress from full service salons to discounted wedding gown stores and online wedding gown websites to consignment shops. There is no right or wrong location to start shopping because your perfect dress could show up anywhere. However, if you have budget limitations you should avoid the higher end stores unless they are having a sale to avoid falling in love with a dress you can't afford. Other than that, shop around and see what you find. Knowing the kind of gown that best flatters your body will make the search easier because you will simply enter the type of dress you are looking for on websites and view the results or ask a saleslady to see only a certain type of dress.

If you happen to run into a salesperson that tries to talk you into a particular gown, refuses to show you what you are looking for, or wants to show you an "amazing gown" first you should definitely leave and find another store. If not, you will simply feel taken advantage of and very well may be not to mention not fully enjoying the wedding gown shopping process. So, only patron stores that really care about your visit and helping you find the dress that best flatters your body and your budget.

The road to finding the perfect wedding gown you have always dreamed of can be long and frustrating, but by knowing your body part you will certainly eliminate at least some of the frustration and end up with a gown that makes the most of your body type and you will truly feel like a beautiful bride.