Find your Wedding Dress and Bridal Fashion on The Whitewed Directory

Ah, the wedding dress. THE Dress. At The Whitewed Directory, we know that this can be the most exciting, daunting and occasionally hideously stressful aspect to getting married. Worry not, our bridal boutiques and dressmakers come highly recommended, not least because they have been thoroughly vetted and approved.

Start early – almost as soon as you get engaged – and take your time. Start a secret pin board with styles you like and make some mood boards to gain an idea of the style of your wedding day. Think about who will be coming with you for moral support, you need honesty but also to be left to make the final decision. Start searching for dresses when you’re ready to buy one to avoid disappointment. Dresses are usually around for a year before designers bring out new styles and discontinue some old ones. The last thing you want is to find a dress early on and when you’re ready to buy it you find it’s been discontinued.

Speak to the bridal boutiques about designers they stock and when new stock will be coming through so if there is a dress or designer you have in mind you know the best time to try and buy. Weekends are busy at bridal shops so try and avoid them if you can, or at least book early and make an appointment so that the stylist helping you can give you as much time as you need. Let the bridal boutique offer their advice, too. They're the wedding dress experts and they know about colour, fit, fabric and style. In all likelihood they'll have something in mind for you as they get to know more about you and your likes and dislikes. The more you tell them the more they can help. Consider boutiques that cater for bridesmaids so you can take care of your entire bridal party under one roof to save extra stress and shopping days.

Consider your budget and tell the boutiques your maximum when booking the appointment and before you try on the dress. It may seem a great idea to “just try” one totally out of budget, until you fall in love and find it hard to beat. Cue tough decisions about increasing budget, losing “The Dress” or compromising on other wedding items…

And good luck. Your perfect dress IS out there. Probably the first one you try on…