Every bride wants to look and feel fabulous on her wedding day, and the wedding dress has a big part to play in making this happen. The dress must fit beautifully, flatter her figure and be totally unique. However, not everyone can afford to pay for a designer to make that unique wedding dress to measure, so what are the alternatives?
The simplest solution is to buy a ready-to-wear wedding dress, and then customise it to suit your own taste.
When buying the wedding dress, go for a simple, plain style that fits well because a good fit is more important than features at this point. The dress should flatter your figure, so your basic body shape will go some way towards dictating the dress style. If you are lucky enough to be tall and slender, more or less any style will be flattering to wear. If you do not have a perfect figure (and few of us can claim to have achieved perfection), then choose a style that maximises your good points and minimises the bad ones.
Having bought the wedding dress, you can now start to customise it. If you are skilled at sewing, you can do this yourself, but most people will probably need to work with a professional seamstress to ensure they achieve the best results. It is worth spending money on getting a professional finish – after all, you will have saved some money on the cost of buying your wedding dress, as ready-made dresses are certainly cheaper than made-to-measure!
Any of these wedding dresses would make a great starting point for customisation.
One of the simplest ways to customise your wedding dress is to add lace either as a sash around the waist, a wrap around the shoulders or lace appliques added to the skirt and train. A deep lace trim added to the hem of the wedding dress can be particularly effective.
Are you planning to wear crystal jewellery? If so, crystal beads added to the straps of a spaghetti strap dress or scattered across the bodice and train will add sparkle and catch the light as you move. Ready-made crystal beaded trims are available, and these will add drama to the wedding dress if fitted to the waist or neckline. Crystal buttons could also be added down the front or back of the bodice or on the sleeve cuffs – the buttons don’t need to be functional, so this is an easy adjustment to make. Why stick to white? You might like to consider adding subtly coloured beads or crystals to give a really dramatic and unique effect.
Another idea is to overlay the skirt with a light fabric such as tulle – this will probably need to be done by a professional seamstress to ensure it looks good, but can transform a simple wedding dress into something much more romantic and impressive. This is also another opportunity to add some colour to your wedding dress – use subtly toned materials in soft feminine colours such as pinks – there is no limit to what you can achieve at moderate cost with a little imagination.
This is your big day, so go ahead and enjoy yourself – the results will be worth it.