Go to Wedding dress Sales, specialist and large department stores. Keep your eyes open and an also keep an open mind, you never know what you will see!

Spend time with your Mum, wedding co-ordinator or best friend to try on dresses. Make appointments with the shops or departments and try to go mid week where they are less busy, you will have more time and feel relaxed. Some shops offer Sunday appointments where you can have the shop to yourself. It’s a great service and when we went we had a glass of Fizz!

Choose about six from each shop and try lots of different styles. Don’t just try the ones you think you like or the styles you have in your head! Be brave and be prepared to listen to the sales assistant and the people accompanying you, you don’t have to buy but take advantage of the chance to try on something different! Remember you don’t have to buy them – so just try them!

Try at least one from the main style groups, strapless, sleeveless, with sleeves, off the shoulder, full skirt, Straight and narrow simplicity and full on fairytale princess! You will never know how YOU will look or feel if you don’t try them on! You never know you may well be very surprised.

When you have decided on the basic shape, look closely at the colour- there are many shades of white, ivory and cream. Look how the colour of the dress affects your skin tone.

Some brides choose a coloured wedding dress or a dress with coloured embroidery or beadwork on them. The choice is yours but most importantly remember your budget!

When you have decided look at the accessories that may accompany the dress. Veil, tiara, hoped petticoat, wrap, shoes, the list can be endless. Try different styles of head dress and tiaras to find the one that makes YOU feel good and goes well with the dress. Make a second appointment to go back to place your order. This gives you time to sleep on your decision, ensure you have the money within your budget and then go back, try it on to make double sure it’s what you want, then pay the deposit.

At this time check the price you are committing to, make sure you have it in writing with a receipt for your deposit. It is also prudent to ask about any alterations that may be needed when your dress arrives. Is the cost of alteration included in the price? Some are not! Again get this in writing so you know exactly what you have to pay and when.

*At this point there is a minimum of three months before the date of the wedding often four if the dress is coming from abroad. (When ordering give the date of your wedding two weeks earlier than it is to ensure your dress is ready in good time)

Fitting

Before your fitting have all your underwear and shoes ready as you will need them to gain the correct fit. Some wedding dresses are so structured that many Brides do not need to wear a bra as when the dress is fitted correctly everything sits in place! Check the length of your dress with your shoes and wedding underwear at your fitting.

Buying shoes

Shoes are very important as you will be on your feet all day and all evening. Don’t restrict yourself to wedding shoes, look around – go for comfort and consider sandals.

Get them 8-12 weeks before the wedding to give you time to have them for your fitting and to walk them in around the house.

Have Fun!

It was a wet and windy March morning when, Addie, the Bride to be,Julie the Mum and Sarah the chief bridesmaid arrived at the Rainbow Showroom.

We got in the car and made our way to Ampthill for our first appointment at 10.00pm. We arrived at All things Bride and Beautiful and were met by Caroline, who was expecting us.

She spoke briefly about what to think about when buying a wedding dress and listened carefully to what Addie had to say. She asked Addie, together with her supporters to choose 4 dresses she would like to try on. They looked excitedly at all five rails and picked out six! Caroline explained the “rules” of trying and buying your wedding dress. She then started with the dress with the least full skirt and took Addie into the fitting room.

Addie looked lovely, but she felt a bit uncomfortable. Caroline suggested an A-line dress with a fuller skirt to balance out what she thought were her “big manly shoulders”. She tried on the next and the next until she tried on a very full tulle skirt – full-on fairy tale! She looked amazing but said it wasn’t for her – she felt a bit like a wide load! Caroline chose a dress that had all the elements that pleased Addie and suggested she tried it on. As she stepped out from the changing room she looked stunning, relaxed, happy, confident and beautiful. All the areas that had bothered her an hour go had been addressed. She looked at others and then put this one called Papillion back on – this was the dress to beat! I had my work cut out, but I was confident that we were going to the right place to try! We went to Questor in Woburn, where I introduced Chris and Nicky. We went into the viewing room and Addie started to try on dresses byRonald Joyce and Mori Lee. By this time she knew which style she preferred so the “choosing “ time was reduced and we had more time for her to try on wedding dresses. There were some beautiful dresses but one stood out from the rest, it was a white, full gown with sparkles designed by Mori Lee. Julie found a dream hat and was temped to buy, but Chris advised her to wait until nearer the wedding, reluctantly she showed restraint and the hat stayed in the shop.

It was then time for Luncheon. We went to The Inn at Woburn and had a scrummy lunch with soft drinks, coffee and a tasty lemon pud’ served with blackcurrant sorbet – delicious!

Our next and last appointment was at The Woburn Flower Shop. We were greeted by Julie, who sat us comfortably around the table, aptly covered with a floral cloth! She asked Addie her colour choices for her wedding and of course her date 4th April 2009 – the week before Easter. Julie showed the wedding party lots of photographs and had lots of ideas for Addie to think about.  With eight Bridesmaids including four little ones, a flower girl three grown up bridesmaids and a little page boy, there was a lot to think about! Julie’s passion for her craft and her vast experience gave Addie, Mum and Sarah lots of ideas to think about. Addie will make another appointment later this year to go back, probably with her Groom to make decisions for their Big Day!

We said our goodbyes and travelled back to the Showroom at Rainbow, for a cup of tea and cake. Good old fashioned non-stop wedding chat continued – what else would you expect?

I really enjoy arranging wedding shopping safaris and spending a special day with my brides and their friends and families – do I have the best job in the world?  I think so!

This is the story of one of our shopping safari days. Now obviously, we would recommend a Rainbow Shopping Safari as the perfect way to do some wedding shopping. Addie said it was particularly useful having me there because otherwise she wouldn’t have known where to start! But, we do realise that this is not for everyone. One thing I would say is make sure you have some fun whilst shopping, and when you go for the first time it may be a good idea to take a friend or relative who has shopped for wedding dresses before – there’s nothing that can quite prepare you for it!

There are equally an abundance of traditions and superstitions about the Bride’s outfit. Even today it is considered unlucky for the Groom to see the dress before the wedding. It was thought unlucky to try on the veil and dress together beforehand, or to finish the dress before the big day. Even now some mothers of the Bride sew in a lucky silver charm, tied with blue ribbon, to ensure happiness on the wedding day.

The veil was originally made of a heavy fabric, so that the groom could not see his bride before he took his vows. This is believed to have dated back to arranged marriages where the groom might not like what he saw!

Shoes were very special in weddings long ago. The guests used to throw shoes at the happy couple as they left, if one hit either the Bride or her Groom they were sure to have a long and successful marriage. Now we tie old boots and shoes to the back of the going away cars to symbolize this.

It is also considered lucky for the Bride to have a silver sixpence stuck in her left shoe, and small silver shoes along with horseshoes were used as decorations, on wedding cakes to symbolise wealth and good fortune in the marriage.