Bridal 101: How To Choose Your Wedding Dress

Probably one of the most important and stressful details of your big day is of course – your wedding gown. This dress will be memorialized forever in your photos, so you want it to be perfect… Beautiful, timeless, and you in every way.

I was lucky enough to design my wedding gown with Spanish atelier Pronovias, and it was such a wonderful and emotional experience. From the early exciting days of working with the designer on the preliminary sketches, to harder days when I thought it was never going to work out how I had hoped, it was all worth it and resulted in my dream gown.

As many of my readers will know, I’m so inspired by women of the 60’s and 70’s. While I wanted to draw inspiration from my style icons, I wanted to do so in a way that would stand the test of time. In my opinion, your wedding gown is not the time or place to try out trends. Choosing a classic silhouette and finishes will ensure that your dress seems as relevant when you’re perusing through your wedding album in 20 years as it does today.

My entire gown was designed around a particular lace that I had fallen in love with at the Pronovias fashion show. When choosing your gown, I suggest starting with a foundation that you know you want – for instance, lace, silk, and cut, are all details that you might have a preference for already. If you’re not designing your dress but rather shopping for one, there are a few details to think about so that you don’t end up trying on thousands of dresses. Some things to consider, are:

Time of Year
Summer beach wedding? You’ll probably want something more on the flowy and casual side, so draping silks that are less structured might be something to look out for when shopping. If you’re having a fall or winter wedding, you might want something a little more structured (like my dress was), and maybe even go for long sleeves.

Venue
Will you be walking over grass or sand? If so, you’ll want to mind the hem of your dress and probably avoid a massive train. Look for gowns that will be comfortable and appropriate to wear at your particular venue.

Time of Day
The time of the ceremony says a lot about the dress code of the wedding overall. If you’re getting married in the morning or midday when the sun is high, you and your guests will probably want to wear slightly more casual and less constrictive attire to stay cool and comfortable. Go for gauzy, breezy, and maybe even shorter hems. Evening weddings usually indicate a more formal vibe, so you can definitely go for more elegance, structure, and heavier layers.

Color Scheme
Believe it or not, there are actually different shades of white! Think about whether a brighter, crisp white or a warmer more neutral shade will go well with your color scheme. Also, think about your bouquet and make sure that the shade of your dress feels right when paired together. If you know what your colors will be, bring samples with you to try on your gown!

xx,