Wedding Dress

I think I went to 6 different bridal shops, and easily tried on over 50 dresses, before finding “the one”. Tbh, I had nearly given up finding anything I loved. I thought I would just be one of those girls who didn’t love anything and would just settle for something I liked. Then I saw a dress online I just couldn’t get out of my mind. After going back to that same photo over and over again, I finally I searched for and found a bridal shop that had it. They had it on a mannequin when I got there, and just seeing it I was already getting the feeling this was the one. As soon as I put it on and looked in the mirror… there was no doubt. I definitely did not have a dramatic, made-for-TV crying session. It was just a complete feeling of certainty that this was MY dress. It felt different than any other dress I had tried on, and I couldn’t stop smiling in it. I think you will just know when you find it. If you haven’t been doing a lot of searching online, I would highly suggest it. Looking at tons of different dresses and styles really helped me to narrow down exactly what I did and did not like. I think it also helps to prevent dress regret, because it seems like the brides that suffer from it are the ones that end up wanting to look at dresses online after they have already purchased their dress. After months upon months of looking at dresses online, I had zero desire to do it again after I finally found mine lol

I didn’t try on a ton of dresses and I didn’t cry. I just kept going back to the dress. I picked the same dress twice to try on and didn’t realize it lol. Then when I tried it on I couldn’t get it out of my mind and nothing else compared to it.

Hopefully this makes you feel better, but I actually never had the moment of “this is THE ONE”. Yes, I think brides should be “picky” about their wedding dress, which I was, but I also believe there isn’t just one perfect dress for each bride. There were actually a couple other dresses I tried on at other shops that I probably could’ve said yes to and would’ve felt just as happy. But I don’t feel like I settled at all, I LOVE my dress!
I also felt discouraged because I wasn’t finding “the one” and I went to 4 shops and probably tried on at least 40 dresses. I think people put too much pressure on brides to find the perfect dress that it can be overwhelming. So don’t feel discouraged if you have one on you love but don’t have “the one” crying moment.
I do agree that after you say yes, don’t look at more online or other ones you tried on before. Because then you’ll start second guessing yourself. Once I said yes, I deleted all the other pictures and I have not thought about any other ones again. Good luck!

I knew because I actually wanted to put the dress back on.

I only tried on about a dozen dresses, but that was the only one I wanted to see again. I went in thinking I wanted a fitted sheath dress, but ended up loving a ball down, even though I might end up taking out the crinoline and making the skirt narrower for my fiancé's benefit. It's either that or buying a 2nd reception dress to appease his eyes.

I definitely didn't have that 'crying-omg-this-is-the-one' moment. 'Say Yes to the Dress' sets such unrealistic expectations about the dress buying experience. It was the first dress i tried on and did love it but also felt there might be something else out there so I tried on more at other salons. But I kept going back to that dress. Nothing else compared to it, though others were beautiful also. I went back and tried on the first dress again, alone this time. I didn't want to take it off and I couldn't imagine myself walking down the aisle in any other dress.

I tried on 5 dresses and bought #3. I still go back and look at pictures and wonder if I should have gotten #5, but #3 is the one I teared up in when I saw myself in the mirror (no full crying or anything), so that's how I justified it! Also, I desperately did not want to be the kind of person who tried on 40 wedding dresses, just because dress shopping is usually a horrible experience for me.

I’ve never heard anyone talk about crying. But mostly they say it’s the one you don’t want to take off. Do not purchase on a whim to please others because you may not be able to cancel the order and have to find a way to resell the dress but won’t get all your money back. Buying the wrong dress is a very common mistake because some women don’t like shopping so they may pick the first dress someone else likes and they don’t have any interest in what they are trying on.

I tried on 11 dressed and ended up picking the 6th one. For me, I felt like I was playing dress up in a lot of the dresses I tried on, they were beautiful and bridal but not "me." So I knew I found the one once I realized how comfortable I felt in it. I felt like me instead of trying to emulate what brides on Pinterest or TV look like. Each dress I tried on after I compared to that one and none made me feel as good. My friend took pictures of me in each dress and scrolling through them it's obvious which dress I picked because it's the only one with me genuinely smiling instead of in a stiff pose. It wasn't a big "ah-ha" moment like on TV, but I was firm in my decision. My mom and friends encouraged me to get both my top pick and runner up so I could switch during the reception but I didn't want to muddy my decision. I do recommend trying on different styles of dresses if you haven't found the one, if you've tried all the different types there's less room for regret because you've seen the different silhouettes on you. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your input! So many options it’s hard to decide on the one! Lol but I have time. Thanks again

View Quoted Comment You’re welcome ☺️ keep an eye out for the trunk sales. Some boutiques will tell you - you have to book now and a week later they have a trunk sale on your dress lol!

View Quoted Comment Also, make sure if you fit the dress on the display you ask for them to order a dress one size bigger. Some boutiques will sell you their dress from the rack. Make sure you make it clear that you want a flat rate for alterations and it wouldn’t make a difference because you’ll have to get your dress bustled anyway.

For me, I bought the very first dress I tried on. I had a favourite in that store I'd asked them to put aside, and I knew from watching Say Yes to the Dress that you never put the favourite on first, so the dress I tried had quite a few features I wasn't sold on, and I wasn't expecting to fall in love with it.

I had expected The Moment to be very much me imagining walking down the aisle to my husband-to-be in the dress, imagining his face, etc blah, but when it actually happened it was a complete shock to me. They shook out the skirts and it was like my body reacted before my brain had a chance to think any of those things. It was very much physical - I just teared up and had absolutely no control over it whatsoever.

Afterwards I tried on a LOT more dresses just to be sure but I already knew. My family already knew - they didn't want to tell me but I heard them whispering they thought it was the one when I was in the change room.

We later went back and spoke about the elements of the dress I was unsure of with their in-house alterations lady and I felt confident they could make it even better and it was The One, so we bought it!

I personally think everyone's road to finding the right dress is different. For me, falling in love with the dress was like falling in love with a person - unexpected, not 100% perfect, but just a knowing you were going to go with it anyway, and let the consequences take care of themselves!

Yeah, I didn't have that experience. Nobody else cried either xD. I had been eyeballing a dress online forever, I just needed to know it looked good on me, and it did. So maybe that's why I didn't cry or get butterflies or anything. I was just very sure of what I wanted.

For some people, there's isn't always a giddy feeling. for me it was more like yeahhhhhh this one really works!!! but i still tried on other gowns even though i bought it just at the off chance i might like something better.

i think i decided to use mine when everything else i didn't quite like as much but sometimes there's no sparkly emotional moment when you do find the dress