Happy Wednesday, friends, and happy 2019!  The end of 2018 was quite a busy time for me, so I did not write a Wedding Wednesday post for December, but I am back today sharing a new topic for the series.  I think this will be a popular topic, and hopefully many will find this helpful.  Today, I am talking about the beloved wedding gown!  From what I have learned as a photographer, and in my own experience as I plan my wedding, I have so much to share about wedding dresses.  From finding the right place, to taking friends and family members with you for dress shopping, I have narrowed down my top six tips for the dress!

1.) Do your research when you are searching for a bridal boutique.  Not all are created equally, and I get so saddened when girls tell me how negative or frustrating their shopping experience was.  I always suggest browsing their website, and finding their FaceBook and Instagram pages.  By looking at their social media, you can see what styles of dresses they carry, but also see how they interact with the public.  Ask friends about their experiences and don’t be afraid to listen to their recommendations!

2.) When you plan out your dress shopping day, be sure to take just a few people as your bridal entourage.  I think 2-3 is a happy number!  Anything over that can be stressful and the most important thing is picking a dress that the bride is comfortable in, not her cousin’s best friend 😉  I took my mom and my sister with me, and it was a wonderful experience!

3.) Practice the bustle! If I had to pick the most important tip for this post, it is definitely #3.  Some dress bustles can be super straight-forward and simple, while others are complicated and require two helpers.  Each one is different.  I have been to countless weddings where the maid of honor or mother of the bride for example have to struggle in order to bustle the dress.  When you go to your final fitting for your dress, take notes, take a video, and/or take pictures on the proper way to bustle YOUR dress!  Make sure the person who will be doing the bustling at the wedding is with you for this appointment.

4.) Along the same lines as tip 3, make sure you practice buttoning your dress!  As every bustle is different, every wedding dress is different in terms of how to secure it.  Some have zippers, some are laced up, some have a million buttons.  Practice this with whoever will be helping you on your wedding day, for example, your maid of honor or maybe your mom!  Ensuring you can easily fasten your dress means saving time, and we all know how important the timeline is on a wedding day.

5.) Brides: pick a dress that you can sit down in! You will be wearing this dress for a longggg time and you want to be able to sit comfortably so you can enjoy your dinner/meal and the bridal party toasts! If you can sit comfortably, you should most likely be able to dance too, then your photographer can get some great reception dancing shots of the bride with the guests, not just the guests!

6.) Also for brides: make sure you have a nice hanger for your wedding dress!  You have most likely invested a lot in your dress, so why not have a nice hanger to display your dress!  Wedding photographers love photographing your dress, and having a nice quality wooden hanger versus the standard clear plastic can make all the difference in photos.  Etsy has a variety of options, many of which can be monogrammed.  Bridesmaids: this is a great bridal shower gift 🙂

I hope all the brides-to-be found this post helpful! 🙂