As you probably know, I got my wedding dress a few months ago. I went to one shop & tried on about 10 dresses, and I fell in love with one the same day. It’s not uncommon for a bride to fall in love with a dress after just trying a few on and it’s also not uncommon to feel buyers remorse... especially if you haven’t seen your dress for months. I wanted to cover this topic to try and help my fellow brides-to-be / future brides.
I got my dress back in October and I left with it the same day. Although I have the dress, I left it with my parents back in Ohio, which was the best decision because I know I would have tried on the dress everyday if it was with me. So it’s been a while since I’ve seen my dress and also it’s going to be a while before I get to actually wear it down the isle.
I made the mistake of wedding dress shopping way too early. There’s no time limit, but I’m an impulse person. Mixing impulse with wedding shopping and long periods of waiting time is not a great idea. Also I’m a Pinterest enthusiast, so of course scrolling past all those Pinterest perfect bridal gowns has me wishing I had those dresses and looked just like those brides.
I’ve been getting myself really upset over this, it’s actually scary how much a dress can stress a person out. I know you’re probably thinking “ it’s just a dress, why are you stressing about it?” Because that’s what I was thinking too. But the more I thought about it, I started to realize this absolutely IS something to stress about because this will be the only time I get to wear a wedding dress and I want it to be the one I want, my "dream dress”. As should it be for you as well! No woman wants to “settle” with a dress, we want to love our dress, and feel beautiful in our dress. That's why I wanted to share some tips on how to stress less about the dress!
I made the mistake of wedding dress shopping way too early. There’s no time limit, but I’m an impulse person. Mixing impulse with wedding shopping and long periods of waiting time is not a great idea. Also I’m a Pinterest enthusiast, so of course scrolling past all those Pinterest perfect bridal gowns has me wishing I had those dresses and looked just like those brides.
I’ve been getting myself really upset over this, it’s actually scary how much a dress can stress a person out. I know you’re probably thinking “ it’s just a dress, why are you stressing about it?” Because that’s what I was thinking too. But the more I thought about it, I started to realize this absolutely IS something to stress about because this will be the only time I get to wear a wedding dress and I want it to be the one I want, my "dream dress”. As should it be for you as well! No woman wants to “settle” with a dress, we want to love our dress, and feel beautiful in our dress. That's why I wanted to share some tips on how to stress less about the dress!
TIP #1 : Give it some thought
I could not recommend this enough! Do not feel obligated to leave with a dress the same day. I did that and that’s why I’m going through this whole buyers remorse depression right now. I should have listened when everyone told me this.
I’m sure once you find a dress you love, you’re going to say yes and walk right up to the counter to sign papers or pay, which makes sense because what bride wouldn’t want to buy a dress she just fell in love with? However, if you have plenty of time to think about it and it’s not a trunk show or crazy sale, then I recommend leaving and thinking about it before diving right in. Maybe check out other stores just to see options before deciding after one shop.
I’m sure once you find a dress you love, you’re going to say yes and walk right up to the counter to sign papers or pay, which makes sense because what bride wouldn’t want to buy a dress she just fell in love with? However, if you have plenty of time to think about it and it’s not a trunk show or crazy sale, then I recommend leaving and thinking about it before diving right in. Maybe check out other stores just to see options before deciding after one shop.
TIP #2: Be your own Pinterest
Pinterest has been hands down my whole inspiration for my wedding. I’ve been piecing different posts together to get my wedding day vision just right. From floral arrangements, to Cameron’s wedding band, to everything you can think of. I’ve been Pinteresting it. However after scrolling and scrolling and scrollling through endless wedding dress posts I’ve really psyched myself out about my dress. I kept thinking, ohhh that girl looks so beautiful in that dress, I want it!
I’ve learned that it’s okay to look on Pinterest at wedding dresses even after buying one because no matter what, we can’t be that bride in that post. Although that dress is super gorgeous it could be a completely different story on your wedding day. We can try to recreate a Pinterest inspired wedding dress post, but why should we do that when we can be our own Pinterest post? It’s okay to get ideas from a post but make it your own and make your wedding dress a unique post for Pinterest, something different and beautiful. Something Pinterest hasn’t seen before.
I’ve learned that it’s okay to look on Pinterest at wedding dresses even after buying one because no matter what, we can’t be that bride in that post. Although that dress is super gorgeous it could be a completely different story on your wedding day. We can try to recreate a Pinterest inspired wedding dress post, but why should we do that when we can be our own Pinterest post? It’s okay to get ideas from a post but make it your own and make your wedding dress a unique post for Pinterest, something different and beautiful. Something Pinterest hasn’t seen before.
TIP #3: Check The Policies
Before taking those steps to close the deal on your dress make sure to ask about the return and/or exchange policy. There would be nothing more stressful that buying a dress months before the wedding and realize you don’t have the option of returning it. Yeahhhhh, that’s when the dress stress would be at its highest. It’s so important to make sure that you have the choice to exchange or return if you feel like you’ve got the wrong dress. Nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to feel trapped with a dress and be hundreds or thousands of dollars in the hole.
TIP #4: Spice Things Up
I think the problem I’m having with my dress is that I got one that’s very simplistic. If you’ve known me for a while, you know I’m all about sparkles and glam. However, my dress does not show that side of me. I’m not going to go into much detail because I gotta keep some things a surprise, but you get the idea. Don’t get me wrong when I put on my dress I felt beautiful and like an actual bride, however it wasn’t until we added in some accessories that I actually fell in love with it. Again, gotta keep things hush hush, but when adding some touches of sparkle or even a veil, things start to piece together to create a gorgeous new look. When shopping for a dress make sure your stylist adds in pieces to help bring a new light to your dress. Play with the belt options, try on different hair pieces, ask for some jewelry. Of course, you don’t have to buy all of that from the boutique or shop you go to, but it helps create the illusion of what your wanting to look like on your special day.
TIP #5: Try on your dress
I don’t have frequent access to my dress so that’s a good thing, but also a bad thing. I feel like I need to see it and try it on to know I’m still in love with it, but also seeing it too much and trying it on too frequently can be an issue as well. I’m the type of person that would have my dress on every single day if given the chance. Mainly to check to see if it still fit, ha! But the problem with that is as humans we like to pick apart flaws. Even if there is absolutely no flaw, we will see it as one. Trying on a dress too much can cause us to find things to hate, that’s why finding a balance is key. Maybe once a month, maybe every other month. There’s nothing wrong with visiting with your dress to admire yourself in it and refall in love with it. As long as you still get that feeling when putting it on( you know the feeling), you’ll know you’ve got it right and just needed to refresh your mind.
TIP #6: Stop Shopping
It’s so easy to look online or in store windows at other dresses even after you’ve found yours. I mean there’s nothing wrong with juuustt looking, right? This may be the only time you ever get to look at wedding dresses so why not just glance? Well, if your impulsive like me then it can make things a lot more stressful. I get the urge to just “browse” dresses online occasionally and you have no idea how many times I’ve went back in forth in my head if I want the one showing on my screen or if I’m still in love with my dress. This is were I wish I had my dress to put it on and get a quick refresher of how much I love mine. I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to stop shopping or browsing dresses, I’m not the type of person who can just look and not want. If I were rich, I would have like 4 different wedding dresses for my wedding day, but that’s just crazy, so one dress is all I get. I recommend not looking at dresses if you’re not within easy access of your dress. You may forget how much you actually love your dress and just need to put it on for a reminder. I’m all for browsing but trust me it makes things so much harder when going through buyer’s remorse.
I really hope these tips help any brides feeling the stress of the wedding dress, and any future brides when shopping for a dress. This is a special time in our lives, so make it memorable and take a moment to find that perfect dress. Just remember it’s okay to feel buyers remorse, just remind yourself why you love the dress you picked.
Also, any women who’ve gone through the dress stress, if you have any other tips leave them in the comments so we can see what else can help with this amazingly crazy time of our lives.
