One of the most important aspects of a wedding is the bride’s dress. The marriage too, but let’s be honest, all eyes will be on the woman of the moment when she makes her triumphant walk down the aisle. With all this attention, you’ll definitely want your look to be picture perfect.
Wedding dress shopping is an experience. Making a dress or even just having one altered takes time. To make sure you stay on schedule, follow our wedding dress timeline.
12 months before the wedding:
– Research: Before you begin wedding dress shopping, you have to know what you want. Having a general idea of how you want to look will make the shopping experience that much easier. Scour Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration. It also helps to make a Pinterest board so that your bridal party and shopping assistants at bridal stores can greater understand your vision.
– Budget: Before you enter a store, you need to have a budget. If you don’t have a budget, you risk spending way beyond your means. When setting up your budget, make sure to include all the extra expenses such as alterations, shipping and accessories so that you have a ballpark figure that you cannot go over.
10 months before the wedding:
– Start wedding dress shopping: If you thought finding the One was tough, you haven’t gone wedding dress shopping yet. With so many silhouettes and styles available, it is easy to become overwhelmed.
Take your time and visit a few wedding dress stores to see what they have to offer. During this time, you can also start to get a feel of the the styles that look best on you, which will make your final decision much easier.
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8 months before the wedding:
– Say yes to the dress: After months of visiting bridal stores, now is the time to make your choice. By 8 months, you should have your wedding dress locked down and ordered. It may seem early, but choosing your dress this early leaves enough time for alterations and fittings which can often take months to complete.
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5 months before the wedding:
– Accessorise: remember the saying, “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”? Now is the time to incorporate it into your wedding attire.
Whether it be an extravagant veil or a bridal hair piece, there are so many ways to top off your bridal look. The 5-month mark is the perfect time to go shopping for shoes, jewellery and other other accessories to compliment your dress.
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3 months before the wedding:
– First fitting: Chances are, you’ll have two to three fittings to make sure your dress is the perfect. At your first fitting, you will cover all the alterations that need to be made, whether it be a shorter hemline or extra beading.
It is crucial to have this fitting months ahead of the wedding to allow your seamstress enough time to make all the necessary changes. Make sure to bring your shoes and accessories along so that you can see the final look a little more clearly and make the necessary adjustments.
6-8 weeks before the wedding:
– Second fitting: The second dress fitting is for minor revisions. You will be fitting on your dress to see how the alterations at your first fitting came out and if any other changes need to be made. Once again, make sure to bring along your shoes and accessories. If possible, have your hair styled and your bridal makeup done so that you can see every component of your look together.
2-3 weeks before the wedding:
– Final fitting: All the alterations should be complete at this point, so the final fitting is simply to ensure that everything is perfect. This is the time when your entire look will come together. It is advised that you come prepared with your shoes and accessories, and have your hair and makeup done to get the big picture of your bridal attire.
the week before the wedding:
– pick up your wedding dress: it’s finally done! Your next task is to pick up your wedding dress and leave it somewhere safe. If you are following tradition, you’ll want to keep your dress out of your partner’s sight, so you will need to be strategic about where you will store it.
the day of:
Enjoy your wedding day: this one is pretty self-explanatory. The day has finally arrived, and now is the time to bask in your happiness while wearing your dream dress.
Image: Unsplash
