The Wedding Gown Dress Doesn't Need To Be Hand Made for You to Look Like a Prom Queen

by Karen Watson
Updated February 15, 2011

Choosing the Dress for Wedding
Choosing the bridal gown is probably the most time-consuming and difficult task of wedding planning. For one, the bride needs to choose the style and fabrics of her gown at least seven months ahead. This will provide the bridal shop enough time to put together the gown and make necessary size alterations. Bridal gowns are also outrageously expensive and it would not be a good start for the marriage to spend half or more of the wedding budget just for the bridal gown. If you are planning a wedding with a tight budget, then you need to know ways on how to save money on the bridal gown. Here are some suggestions.

Money-Saving Tips
The best way to save a lot of money in buying a bridal gown is to borrow one from your family or from a friend. Your grandmother will feel honored if you choose to wear her wedding gown. Another way to save a lot of money is to choose a dress that is not labeled as a wedding gown. It can be any formal white dress that can be fixed and jazzed up at home so that it will turn into a unique bridal gown. And still another way to save is to buy a bridal gown off the rack. There are many stores that offer huge discounts for bridal gowns. If you don’t have the time to shop for bargains, try online auctions of formal dresses. Finally, if you really, really wanted a designer bridal dress, choose one with simpler designs and with less fabric.

Staying in Style
Saving money on the bridal gown does not mean that you will wear something that is out of style. But how, indeed, will you choose style? There are many things to consider.

• Comfort – you must make sure that you are comfortable in wearing this gown as you stand, dance, kneel, and even run. You don’t want to trip over your train or have large beads of sweat running down your face.
  
  
• Theme – your bridal gown must reflect the wedding theme. For example, in a beach wedding, you may consider a hi-low gown.
  
  
• Colors – You can choose colors. Most brides wear white, but some women won’t look their best when wearing white. The bride should be the most beautiful woman during her wedding day. She should choose colors that will flatter her best. Consider taupe, beige, cream, and other pastel colors.
  
  
• Fabric – Choose the right fabric for your bridal organza. If it is a summer wedding, the sheerness and simplicity of chiffon is best. If your wedding involves a lot of dancing, you would enjoy the volume of tulle. If the wedding is extremely formal, consider organza. If informal, satin would be great. If you wanted some stiffness to the outer part of the gown (great for pictures) include taffeta. Lastly, don’t forget to buy lace.
  
  

• Length – You need to decide, early on, the length of the bridal gown. This will greatly reduce the confusion in choosing gowns. Some gowns are street length, which is perfect for sporty and adventurous brides. Some have intermission lengths, which is ideal for informal weddings. Some bridal gowns have hi-low lengths, which is ideal for outdoor weddings. Some gowns are ballet length, which is great for brides who love to dance. And some gowns are floor length, which is required in formal weddings.
  
  
• Train – Together with the length of the gown, you should also choose the train. Sweep trains go well in outdoor weddings. The court train is great for an activity-filled wedding reception. The chapel train, which is about four feet long, is expected in formal weddings. And if the wedding is in a church, the bride should choose the eight-foot long cathedral train.