Singaporebrides | Weddings 101

August 2023

6 Simple Steps To Choosing A Wedding Gown You Won’t Regret

By Audrie Soh

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Follow these six steps for a wedding gown that you won’t regret at your wedding and in time to come.

Choosing a wedding gown is without doubt one of the most exciting and important decisions a bride has to make about her attire on one of the most important days of her life. With all eyes on her, every bride dreams of walking down the aisle in a gown that is perfect for her in every way, which makes the search for it all the more important so she avoids any regrets on or after her happily-ever-after.

To aid you in your quest of finding your dream wedding gown for now and forever, we’ve put together a guide on six simple steps on how to choose a wedding gown you won’t regret.

1. Decide on a budget for your wedding gown

Setting a wedding budget is always the first step of your wedding planning you should embark on. With a number in your head, you are better able to prioritise your funds based on which aspect of the wedding requires more spending and which matters most to you.

The same goes for your wedding gown, which is one of the bigger expenditures of your wedding. Wedding gowns can go from $1,000 onwards all the way to $5,000 or more, depending on whether they are a secondhand piece, a rental piece, a bespoke piece, or a designer or branded piece.

To help you choose a wedding gown that you will not regret, it will benefit you to decide on how much you want and can spend on your outfit. Regardless of how much you love the wedding gown you’ve chosen, or how well it perfectly suits you, overspending may lead to regrets later on, especially if you end up in debt. So, it’ll help to set a budget for your wedding gown to help you stay within your means, ensuring that you don’t end up spending more than you can afford.

2. Do Your Research Before Visiting a Boutique and Deciding on a Gown

Wedding gowns comes in all shapes and sizes, fabrics and colours. Before you head down to any bridal boutique appointments, always do your own research on the types of wedding gowns available. Familiarise yourself with the available gown silhouettes and necklines available, and how you can spruce up the look of your attire with different lengths of veils and trains to make your outfit more regal or vintage-looking.

Knowing what you are looking for in your dream wedding gown will help you pick a gown that you won’t regret years down the road after the wedding. It will also help you search for bridal boutiques that carry the look you are looking for, and allow you communicate effectively and confidently to your bridal boutique on the style you are after, so she can recommend you gowns that fit the look you want.

While it is good to know what you want, it is also good to keep an open mind and explore all your options, especially if your bridal consultant recommends you other styles that do not fit what you are looking for. Trust her keen eye, as she has the experience of finding the perfect dress for many brides, and try the dresses she has picked out for you. If you don’t end up liking it, you can always politely say no to her recommendations. It will also further cement your decision to stick to your preferred style of dress, moving you one step closer to finding the perfect wedding gown you won’t regret wearing for your big day.

3. Visit a Few Bridal Boutiques Before Making a Decision

Before you put your money down on a wedding gown, do make sure you have visited at least two to three bridal boutiques before you do so. While most bridal boutiques offer more or less the same wedding gowns and offer the same services, some might be running a limited time promotion on their packages or have a new collection coming in during the period you are wedding dress shopping. So, don’t rush into making a decision after visiting just one boutique.

Try to shortlist at least two to five boutiques that suit your needs, and pay them a visit to learn about their packages and pricing, and the services they offer. Do try on their gowns and note down how they feel and look on your body during your appointment. Every boutique also offers a different shopping experience, so do pay attention to how well you vibe with your bridal consultant to ensure more a more pleasant shopping experience.

Once you’ve compared prices, services, and variety of gowns, you may go ahead and choose a bridal boutique that fits your budget and needs best. That being said, try not to take too long to decide on one either, especially if you are planning to get a bespoke wedding gown, or your wedding is in less than six months. Popular wedding gowns may not be available for rental on your wedding day if it falls during a popular period, and customisations usually take at least six months or more to complete, depending on how much work needs to be done for the gown.

4. Use Three Words to Describe Your Dream Wedding Gown

With the myriad of wedding gown options out there, it is easy to get lost in the sea of beautiful dresses and lose sight of what you had originally set out looking for. To help you stay focused, as well as to allow your bridal consultant to better understand what you are looking for, choose three words to describe your dream wedding gown.

These three words can either be must-have qualities for your wedding gown, such as romantic, light and airy, or it could be three words that describe your personal style or personality, such as modern, romantic and fuss-free. Choosing to describe your dream wedding gown with three words forces you to think about only the essential details or traits that your wedding gown should have, helping you narrow down your options and zero in on that one gown you’ll wear down the aisle.

5. Choose a Gown That You Love, Not One That Is Trending

On a day that is as deeply personal and meaningful as your wedding day, you should choose to dress in a gown that resonates with your personal style and preference, and represents who you are as a person.

While it may be tempting to choose a gown that is trending on social media, trends come and go, and lose their appeal once it passes, so it is best to go with a gown that flatters you from head to toe, one that makes you beam from ear to ear and feel a million bucks in, and one that you can see yourself loving not just on the wedding day, but in the years ahead as you look back at your wedding photos, so you know there were no regrets in picking that dress.

6. Stick to Your Regular Size

To look their best, it is common for most brides to embark on a diet or exercise plan to shed some weight or tone up before their big day. If that is also your plan for your big day, try to stick to your regular size during your wedding gown fittings. Even if you do end up measuring smaller at your final dress fitting, it is often much easier to alter a gown that is slightly too big, than one that is too small. And if you don’t, then at least the gown is ready for you to wear in a comfortable size that fits you perfectly.

To avoid any unwanted surprises, do let your bridal consultant know that you have plans to shed some weight or tone up, so that they can inform you about extra charges and time needed for alterations, if any. The last thing you want is to be disappointed or regret your choice of dress just days before your happily-ever-after.

Credits: Feature image from Shauna and Rainer’s Minimalist and Modern Zen Wedding at Raffles Hotel Singapore by Iki Company.

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