Tips When Shopping for a Wedding Dress

When to Start Shopping for Your Wedding Dress Give yourself ample time to plan- generally the rule of thumb is that you need to order your gown at least six months before your wedding. So you should ideally start shopping for your gown nine months or more before your wedding. (If you don't have this much time, it's okay, just budget for some rush charges).

Plan Ahead Take a few minutes to think about what you want. It will be helpful when you enter the maze of wedding dresses out there to know what your budget is, any details that are essential (i.e. I must have a full skirt, or my arms must be covered), and an idea of how traditional you want your dress to be. After all, if really a teal pantsuit would work best for you, it's probably not worth your time to sort through racks of flouncy white gowns.

Be Comfortable! On your wedding day, you'll want to look great, but you'll also want to be comfortable- it will be hard to dance and laugh (not to mention posing for all those pictures) if you're tugging your dress up or have boning jutting into your ribs.

First- consider which wedding dress is most appropriate to your day – for example, consider a shorter tea-length or cocktail length dress for a beach wedding. If you're the type who likes to dance with her hands in the air, and anticipates doing the limbo, perhaps a strapless dress is not the one for you. Look for wedding dresses with removable sleeves or straps to give you the widest range of options.

A Dress that Fits Your Body Well Think about your body type and what kinds of dresses generally look good on you. Take a look at what you regularly wear that makes you feel confident and beautiful, and then look for a wedding dress with similar lines.

Most of all, remember this is your wedding day. Wear whatever makes you comfortable and feels like you. And have fun shopping for your wedding dress. It should be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.