Buying a Wedding Dress? Style Tips

Tips Buying a Wedding Dress

There's a multitude of wedding dress styles to choose from,in some countries that have veered away from much of wedding rituals and traditions, dress styles number in the thousands.

"So how do you choose yours?"
"How do you make sure that your dress will be a reflection of the real you?"

The style of your wedding dress will depend on about four factors. There may be more but these are the most common ones we can think of:

TYPE OF WEDDING
Are you going to be married in a church and will the reception be inside a hall or are you going to be married in the beach, garden or in some enchanted island where guests will be free to roam around and then gather in an outdoor tent to offer their best wishes and congratulations ?

An outdoor wedding would narrow your choices. You will certainly want to consider not wearing a gown that would require you to wear high heels, unless you want to leave permanent marks on that beautifully manicured lawn.

Wear a gown that looks right with a pair of sensible but stylish flats to keep you from boring holes on the ground. For practical reasons, you may want to seriously not wear a long, down to the ankles type of dress. This will spare you from having to deal with a muddy hem. Make sure the hem is heavy enough not to fly up at the first sign of a sudden gust of wind.

For the same reasons, a train is not ideal for an outdoor wedding. You will likely find it covered in mud and grass stains by the end of the reception. If your dress comes with a veil, keep it weighted to keep it from blowing around too much, unless again you'd want your groom and pastor to chew on the lace by the end of the service.

YOUR PERSONALITY
"tell me what you wear to your wedding and I will tell you what kind of person you are" may ring true, but remember that you need not be forced into wearing anything because it's tradition or your rich mother-in-law has done the cherry picking in some designer's rack. Your dress is you, inside and outside. Let it bring out the message on this special day.

If you have a good figure, show it off within the limits of decency, especially if you're getting married in church. Not that the pastor's opinion should carry weight in the choice of your dress, but it is his church nevertheless, so be respectful of the place where your marriage will be solemnized.

A sleeve dress looks best on someone with a slim figure and curves to show off. If you've always been proud of your hips, look for a dress that flairs out a bit at the waist. If you want an overall slimming effect, do not invest in fluffed up sleeves and huge skirts, or you will look bigger than you really are.

A skirt with lots of fabric so that it drapes and folds would be ideal. Do not add puff to the lower portion by adding a hoop or other fabric.

YOUR BUDGET
You could spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress that will end up in an attic somewhere, only to be looked at when nostalgia strikes.

Many brides think of their future daughters when they buy their wedding dress, but remember that your daughter could end up saying, "how could you wear a thing like that to your wedding, mum?"

If you have other wedding expenses and don't want your wedding dress to take up the lion's share, you can ask a sister or close friend to help you design a wedding dress. We know of a few friends who asked a private seamstress to do their dress, and they charge considerably less than boutiques and designer outlets.

YOUR CULTURE
The factor of culture plays a dominant role in weddings and when one wears a wedding dress that is typical of one's culture, then the conversation gets livelier. For instance, if you've been to a Scottish wedding, you'll know that tartans and Highland kilts will be the dominant features of the wedding attire. Tartans are colorful fabrics that are also known as plaid.

Scottish people also put accents to make the dress more attractive - like a Celtic knot that stands out, or you've seen the traditional Chinese attire. Brides will usually wear a red Chinese dress because red symbolizes love. If you've been to a Greek wedding, you'll notice that both bride and groom wear flowers on their head instead of a veil.

COLOR FOR YOUR WEDDING DRESS
The color white, traditional for wedding dresses, was originally used to signify the bride's virginity to the gathered witnesses. This virginity was likewise attested to by the hanging of a blood-soaked sheet the next morning.

Though the custom of the bridal sheet has died, the customary bridal color still seems to be alive and well for the most part.The color white is not mandatory though. A differently colored dress would make a wonderful splash on your wedding day.

The color red, for instance, means joy, love, and fertility and is traditional for brides in China. No rules exist saying brides cannot wear purple or sage indeed, an outdoor wedding might look even lovelier with a deviation from strict tradition.

Always check with your pastor to see if you and your entourage can wear different colors, and ask him which colors are strictly forbidden.

Source ezinearticles.com