Shopping for Wedding Dresses 101: How to Find the Perfect Wedding Dress

Pearson Wu August 21, 2022 Wedding Gown bridal collection, bridal fair, bride and groom, la belle couture, Singapore Brides Wedding Fair, Singapore wedding fair, Singaporean bride, wedding collection, wedding fair, wedding ideas 0

wedding dress shopping for the perfect dress

Since starting your wedding planning, you’ve probably had way too many questions about wedding dresses.

What’s my personal style? Should I wear sleeves? When should I start wedding shopping?

The search for your dream dress can be difficult.

But don’t worry!

With our years of experience in the bridal industry, we have compiled all the greatest wedding dress shopping tips to make your experience a pleasant one.

If you follow our advice, wedding dress shopping might even become your favourite part of wedding preparations!

Do Your Research

Whether this is your first time thinking about your wedding dress, or you’ve already envisioned your perfect dress since you were 5, you need to do your research before you start shopping!

Start your search with a basic idea of brands, dresses, and styles you like. Utilize your weekends at home to browse fashion blogs, Instagram, and other internet resources like Pinterest.

During your research, be sure to keep it straightforward. Think about your likes and dislikes when it comes to bridal fashion.

For example, if you enjoy strapless designer gowns but hate cinched mermaid silhouettes, that’s a good place as any to start!

To ensure you have a concentrated vision for your wedding style, create a collection of your favourite dresses from your research.

You can clip pages from magazines, browse bridal salons online or create mood boards! This helps make your search easier when you actually begin shopping.

Next, identify a few common elements among the wedding dresses you like, and learn everything you can about the features you adore, such as necklines, silhouettes, fabrics, beading, etc.

Set a Budget for Your Dream Dress

We know that discussing money can be awkward, especially in Asian cultures, but setting your budget now will spare you from future problems.

Determine who will pay for the gown before your first session: your family, your spouse, or yourself?

Get the precise figures for your budget if someone else is paying so you can stick to it or pay the difference to get your dream wedding dress.

Whatever the amount you decide on, make sure you stay on budget!

That doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible with your budget, but having a top-line amount in mind can help you stay within your overall spending limit and leave money for the additional outfits you’ll need for the ceremony.

If you’re still not sure where to set a spending limit, consider what price would be a dealbreaker for your “dream dress”.

Wedding dress from our Bloomingdale collection.

Make a Bridal Boutique Appointment

Avoid the temptation of ordering online and make an appointment with your local bridal shop instead!

Online shopping may get you great deals for daily life, but remember all those times you received an item that looked nothing like the listing you saw?

What if your dress arrives late? Your wedding gown is too important to risk!

Save the time, hassle and money by going to physical bridal boutiques.

You’ll get to see how the wedding dresses look on you in real life, but more importantly, you’ll have access to a personal bridal stylist.

At La Belle Couture, our bridal stylists are extremely helpful and creative problem solvers. We can help you shop for your ideal look, introduce new styles, provide expert advice for wedding planning and more!

Explore how we make your dream wedding dress a possibility.

strapless bra when wedding dress shopping

Know What You Want, But Be Open to Alternatives!

Knowing what you prefer can help you narrow down your choices during wedding dress shopping.

But if your consultant brings out something unconventional, don’t hesitate to try it on! You could be shocked to learn that you enjoy something different.

Also, keep in mind that many gowns in a bridal salon contain bulky elements that might cause them to sag or look bulky on the hanger. Unlike shopping for a blouse, you won’t really know what a wedding dress will look like until you actually try it on.

So, have faith if your stylist promises the dress will look better on you than it does on the hanger!

Ultimately, you should wear the wedding dress that makes you feel the most beautiful.

Even if a gown meets every requirement on your list, you may still end up disliking it. By focusing on what you feel, you might have an easier time saying yes to your dream dress!

Wedding gowns from our Spring Summer collection.

Pick Your Wedding Gown Shopping Crew Wisely

When choosing your wedding dress shopping entourage, make sure that you pick wisely!

All day, you should feel at ease zipping and unzipping.

Have you ever heard of too many cooks spoiling the broth? A big group at the bridal boutique implies more conflicting opinions, and loud voices might skew your judgement.

Consider who actually needs to be there. For instance, who is contributing to the gown’s cost? Decide on the two or three people whose opinions are most important to you.

Above all else, pick loved ones who are supportive. Make sure your crew is uplifting, gets you, and realises that this day is all about you picking out your dress.

The great vibe of an appointment can be ruined by only one bad comment or a brief argument. Ask yourself who in your immediate circle gives you confidence and who might serve to undermine you.

Dress Appropriately for Bridal Shopping

You probably won’t feel like a beautiful bride-to-be if you’re trying on wedding gowns in your sports bra and flip flops with no makeup and untidy hair.

Here are some tips to make your first appointment at the bridal salon a success:

Wear similar undergarments as your actual day: Have specific shapewear or lingerie you want to wear on your wedding day? Make sure to bring them along to ensure they fit well under the dress.
Bring heels that are the height you anticipate wearing: Although heels will be available, they might not be in your size or the height you want to wear. It’s also more hygenic!
Bring any family heirlooms you want to incorporate into your wedding day outfit: You’ll know whether your accessories match with the wedding dresses you’re trying.
Try to create your dream wedding beauty look: Apply a makeup look similar to the one you envision for your wedding day. You don’t have to create the same hairstyle, but we advise bringing a hair tie or hair clip to see how you’d look with your hair up or down.

Forget About Sizing

Don’t panic when you see your wedding dress size! Bridal fashion sizing is vastly different from the off-the-rack sizes you’re used to.

In actuality, the sample you are trying on in the salon is unquestionably “one-size-fits-no-one.”

Don’t worry – the wedding dress you pick will be eventually tailored to fit you properly, and most brides need to get their wedding dress altered.

So, don’t let sizing bring you down! Make sure you shop for gowns in your current size rather than dropping down a size, even if you intend to lose weight before the big day.

It’s far simpler to take in a dress than to try to wear one that is really too tight.

In general though, we advise against shedding for the wedding. Your future spouse proposed to you just the way you are. Instead, concentrate on your current measurements and how gorgeous your chosen gown makes you feel right now.

Wedding gowns from our Elysian collection.

Enjoy an effortless and delightful wedding dress shopping experience at La Belle Couture!

We hope our advice, drawn from our years of experience, makes wedding dress shopping easier for you.

Ready to start looking for wedding dress inspiration? Check out our curated wedding gown & dress collections!

And once you’re done with dresses, why not make your whole wedding experience a pleasant one with La Belle Couture?

We are the first and only bridal studio in Singapore that offers our customer’s Build Your Own’ wedding packages.

Add only the services you want, from accessories to photography, and enjoy a seamless, stress-free wedding with access to exclusive prices and wedding partners.

With us handling all the difficult stuff, all that’s left is for you to stun everyone with your beauty on your wedding day!