Wedding Dress Shopping Efficiently

I'm not a big fan of shopping, especially when it comes to clothes. I've always been an odd shape because of both height and curves, so things don't fit naturally, especially dresses.

However, I did find my wedding dress in the first day of looking, and I recently went with my best friend to look for her dress, and she found the one during that visit. Here's the best tips I can give you based on these visits:

• Try on everything that doesn't repulse you

That's it.

Try on everything. Do it rapid fire.

It's easy to go into a place with an idea in your head, but the fact is what you've seen on Pinterest, either might not be available, or there might be a more flattering style for your figure than what you have in your head.

When I went to get a dress, I thought I'd end up with a flowy, long sleeve, deep neck-lined boho dress. I ended up with a high neck, sleeveless, form fitting one.

I kept that in mind when I went with my Bestie, and here's that experience as a bystander:

1. I grabbed so many dresses for her to put on (and kudos to her for staying patient and open minded)

2. I watched her facial expressions with each one she had on. If it was an uncomfortable face, we immediately put it in the "no" pile. If she had a glimmer of intrigue, we put it in the "maybe" pile. Don't linger during the first run through.

*This step was also easier because it was less people adding opinions, it was just watching her facial expressions. The same goes for when I went to look for dresses, it was just me and my mom.

3. Stay aware of the people around you too. When I found my dress, it was because my mom saw it on the girl next to us who had the opposite body type as I did. (and I think that girl picked a dress I had originally tried on first, it was a real Sisterhood of the Wedding Dresses back there...)

We also found a couple "maybes" when my bestie saw what the girl next to us was trying on.

4. Once the "no"s were filtered out, she tried on the "maybe" pile again, and narrowed it down to the top 4 from there.

5. Then, it was narrowed to 4 dresses, one got eliminated because of the price vs. how much she liked it. Another got eliminated because she felt it was a bit chesty.

And then there were two.

6. She was torn between the two. One was more classic in style and slightly more of what she had originally envisioned for herself. The second was a lot more glam. She looked gorgeous in both, but there was one that put a little more twinkle in her eye...

This was a good time to go get a coffee while she thought it over, and then she called her mom, grandma, mother-in-law, and sister to come take a look at them.

7. While refusing to pick one for her, I wrote down which one I knew she'd get. It's not my place to steer her direction at this point. (and if you're dress shopping with someone, keep that in mind. It's their day.)

After coffee, she admitted which one she kept thinking about AND I WAS SO FREAKING HAPPY FOR HER because I knew that one made her happier when I saw her face in it. (again, she looked stunning in both, so it was a win-win either way)

8. Then we went back to the store and met her family there.

She ended up trying on a big poufy dress for her mom and grandma's wishes.

Which, thankfully she made clear was not an actual contender :)

Next, she tried on the classic style one, the one she had already decided was runner-up.

Let me tell you, there were no more questions about big princess dresses from her family after that. The tone changed. It went from giddy excitement to awe.

Everyone agreed she looked beautiful in it. She reminded them there was one more to see...

Then, she tried on the dress.

Instant tears from her mom.

Everyone agreed with her decision, that dress was gorgeous on her, and most importantly she picked the dress that she loved most.

While her dress buying was five years apart, the parallels were there. It all comes down to which dress makes you feel the most. The most beautiful, the most comfortable, etc.

You can't go off of what you see on the rack, because, unless you're bizarrely the same size as an empty hanger... you don't know what it will look like on your body. Keep an open mind, weed out the "no" pile, revisit the "maybe"s and remember, as long as it's the right person standing at the other end of that aisle, it will all be fine.