Bridal

Stages Of Buying A Wedding Dress

20 June 2019

A wedding dress is one of the biggest purchases a woman will ever make so it’s no surprise that for most, it can be a bit of a process that will bring on all the feels. From the anticipation of going shopping to freaking about the choices available and the elation of finding The One, here’s what to expect when you embark on the emotional rollercoaster that is buying your dress.

The ‘daydream’ phase…

This is the lovely part after you get engaged where you get to just sit and smile stupidly to yourself as you imagine walking down the aisle. Usually the dress will take on different forms according to how you’re feeling that day, but in any case, you always look incredible.

The ‘research’ phase…

This is when you move past just daydreaming and start researching dresses. And you’ll soon discover the options are bloody endless. Mermaid, ballgown, column, slip… even if you’ve had your dress planned since you were six, you’ll always find this part a tiny a bit overwhelming because there are so many dresses, and the pressure to find The One is very, very real.  

The ‘indecision’ phase…

Thanks to Google and Instagram, you’re now seemingly faced with the overwhelming array of dresses that the entire planet has to offer. Looking at everything from bridal blogs to magazines and every bridal hashtag you can find, all of a sudden you reach the conclusion that you will never be able to make up your mind and you may as well just wear jeans. However, you pull yourself together and soon realise that it’s time to move onto…

The ‘trying on’ phase…

You feel very organised and have booked yourself in to try on dresses at virtually every bridal boutique you can find. Accompanied by your entourage you try on dress, after dress, after dress only to find that you like them but you don’t love them. This stage is seemingly harder than actually finding someone to marry.

The ‘say yes to the dress’ phase….

Alleluia. One unsuspecting day, you’re once again staring at yourself in a mirror in another white confection when you realise that hey, this actually looks good. In actual fact it looks beyond good it’s absof*ckinglutely amazing. So, you finally have that long-awaited moment where you tear up and never want to take off the dress again. Because you have finally found ‘The One’.

The ‘regretting your decision’ phase…

That is, until you don’t. The high of finding your dress has worn off and you’ve made the cardinal mistake of continuing to browse for wedding dresses “just in case”. This is a bad, bad idea. All of a sudden every other dress you see will be better than your actual dress and the thought of having to wear it makes you want to cry.  

The ‘falling in love again’ phase…

You spend weeks with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as you have resigned yourself to the fact you’re now going to look like a disaster wrapped up in tulle and silk chiffon on your wedding day. But there will come a time where you will try your entire outfit on from head to toe, and all of a sudden you want to cry…because you know you look beautiful. And right in that moment, your wedding day can’t come soon enough. 

Tania Gomez.