Olga is manager at Best for Bride since 2005. Currently Best for Bride operates 4 bridal stores in Canada (Toronto, Etobicoke, Hamilton and Barrie). Best for Bride sells wedding, bridemaids, mob dresses and more. https://www.bestforbride.com/
How do you take measurements for your wedding dress?
If you are buying your wedding dress online you need to take your measurements accurately. You don’t need to be a dress maker to measure yourself but you will need a friend to help. Follow these few easy steps and you will have professional standard measurements in no time.
There are many different size charts available but it’s best to ignore them when ordering your wedding dress online. Watch our FREE video How to take Your Wedding Dress Measurements for full step by step video instructions and fill out your Personal Measurement Chart before taking your measurements and ordering your wedding dress.
Don’t worry about the numbers. The worst thing you can do is wear a dress that is too tight. A properly fitting dress is always more flattering than one you squeeze into for the sake of a size label.
Get a friend to take the measurements for you, it isn’t possible to do it accurately by yourself.
Don’t pull the tape measure too tight- it should rest lightly on your body.
Make sure you use inches OR centimetres not a mixture of both.
Write each measurement down as you take it
Once you have taken your measurements start again and check each one.
TO START MEASUREMENTS
Stand up straight with equal weight on both feet and arms resting easily at sides. Look straight ahead of you.
BUST
If you haven’t got your wedding lingerie yet wear a bra and panties that are similar to the style you will wear. Your bust should be measured at the fullest part while you stand straight with your arms at your sides.
WAIST
Tie a string lightly around your waist it will naturally settle at your waistline. Measure your waist where the string sits.
HIP
Measure 8-10″ below the waist to find the fullest hip. Measure the fullest part of the hip, keeping the tape measure parallel to the floor.
LENGTH
Dress length is taken from the knob at the back of the neck to the bottom of the hem. Back length is from the knob at the back of your neck to the string around your waist. Skirt lengths without waistbands are taken from natural waist at the centre back to the bottom of the hem. Skirt lengths with waistbands are taken from the centre back, starting at the bottom of the waistband to the bottom of the hem.
Wanda Arnold’s website http://weddingsdresses.tv will help you find your dream wedding dress and buy it online. Helpful tips and information for choosing fabrics and styles. Explanations of different wedding dresses to help you choose your perfect wedding gown. Site reviews and links to online Wedding Dress Stores.
Black Wedding Dresses, Red Wedding Dresses, Blue Wedding Dresses who says you have to wear white?
These days, many brides are choosing to wear a coloured wedding dress. If you feel white will not suit you, why not choose a black wedding dress or a coloured wedding dress? There is no reason these days to wear an unflattering colour just because it is traditional. There is a huge choice of wedding dresses available today in all the colours of the rainbow. Here are some tips on what colour will suit you.
It’s not a new idea, in the Middle ages blue was considered the colour of purity. (That’s where the tradition of wearing something blue started). In China a red wedding dress was the tradition. Brides from wealthy families in the past, often wore rich colours and fabrics, to show off their family wealth.
During the 1800s a black wedding dress was popular in Finland! It wasn’t until Queen Victoria wore a white wedding gown that the fashion began – many brides chose to wear white in honour of the Queen. Shop coloured wedding dresses were usual before that.
…So the tradition of a white wedding isn’t as old as you may think.
People generally think a white wedding dress is to symbolize purity but the original intention was an extension of the white gowns worn in Christening and Confirmations. Today, the white dress is accepted as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings and no more.
You can look as beautiful in a Black Wedding Dress or a Coloured Wedding Dress as in a traditional White Wedding Gown, especially if white or ivory are not your colours. There are no rules these days so you can choose the wedding dress that you makes you feel and look your best.
Coloured Wedding Dresses
If you are blonde you can wear almost any shade of blue. Pastel pink shades suit blonde and fair skinned brides. If you choose green go for aquamarine shades.
You’re a redhead? You can go for the stronger shades for purple. Redheads look great in palest pink. Deeper shades will suit you. Emerald green is a fantastic colour for redheads.
Brunette? You can wear most shades of blue. Deeper red, cerise or magenta all suit brunettes. Aquamarine tints suit brunettes as well as blondes. Peach shades are a good choice for brunette brides.
Almost everyone looks good in lavender or deep purple.
Yellow is a hard colour for brides, as many people can’t wear it. If you want yellow look for very pale golden yellow or deep gold.
Likewise orange can make all you look sallow. Richer bronzes softened with cream trim is a good choice.
But why stop there? You can see Coloured Wedding Dresses on our website. Make sure you remember to check out the Bridesmaid Dresses as often the styles are suitable for a bridal gown, but you have a much wider choice of colour.
Wanda Arnold’s website http://weddingsdresses.tv will help you find your dream wedding dress and buy it online. Helpful tips and information for choosing fabrics and styles. Explanations of different wedding dresses to help you choose your perfect wedding gown. Site reviews and links to online Wedding Dress Stores.
The style of your wedding dress will determine which fabric you choose. Choosing the right fabric can be the difference between a fabulous wedding dress that flatters you and a wedding dress that just doesn’t look right. Some wedding dresses look fabulous in one type of fabric but will just not look right in another. If your wedding dress fits well and is made of the right fabric it will look like a million dollars even if it costs a fraction of the price.
The overall appearance of a wedding gown is made up of many factors. The fabric chosen can make a dramatic difference to your wedding dress. Fabrics all have different qualities that effect the drape, and cut of a wedding gown. Some fabrics hug the body, and give a soft silhouette while others may have more body and are suited to a more tailored design.
Silk fabrics are undoubtedly the most desired and cherished for wedding gowns, and have lustre and luxury. Satin, duchesse satin, charmeuse, shantung, chiffon, organza all can be woven from silk but will behave very differently. All of these fabrics can be made of other fibres, such as polyester or nylon and will have similar properties at a more affordable price.
Below is a list of some popular fabric for wedding gowns with some explanations of their qualities. You can find definitions of the different Wedding Dress Styles here.
Best for: Layered skirts, veils, under shirts, petticoats. Ballgown.
Velvet
Softer than velveteen, luxurious.
Surface: Plush plain under surface
Fibre: Silk, cotton, rayon, acetate
Weight: Heavy
Drape: Soft but luxurious
Best for: Soft silhouette, full skirts. A Line, Ballgown, Column, Mermaid
Wanda Arnold’s website http://weddingsdresses.tv will help you find your dream wedding dress and buy it online. Helpful tips and information for choosing fabrics and styles. Explanations of different wedding dresses to help you choose your perfect wedding gown. Site reviews and links to online Wedding Dress Stores. You can find explanations of wedding dress styles and tips to help you choose the style to suit your figure type on our website. http://weddingsdresses.tv/wedding-gown-figure-types/.
If you are stuck with a hideous hand-me-down for a wedding dress from your prospective mother-in-law, you are in big trouble. How do you get out of this dilemma without insulting your groom’s mom?
When It’s Hard to Say No
When you and your groom announce your engagement, your mother-in-law already has visions of dusting out her 60 year old wedding dress. Not that she want your groom to scrimp on the wedding budget but for her it is a matter of tradition and would like you to wear the dress her mother wore and which she wore to her own wedding. But when you caught sight of the wedding dress you wanted to scream.
Your groom can understand your dilemma and offer to let you shop for a nice wedding gown but the problem is your mother-in-law. Before you say goodbye to wedding dresses, take a courteous tack and give her the idea that you will use her wedding dress for the wedding rehearsal and have a photo shoot of you in her wedding dress.
If the wedding dress in poor condition and needs massive gown alteration for your fit tabulate the cost of repairing the dress and let her compare it with the prices of more fashionable wedding dresses you have been eyeing for long. If the cost of the repairs can convince her that you are right, you wiggle out of the predicament without bruising her pride and alls well that ends well between the two of you.
Dealing with Heirloom Bridal Dresses
Unless it is an unbroken tradition in the family that family brides wear the 95 year old wedding dress, you have no choice but wear the bridal heirloom on your wedding day. Usually heirloom wedding dresses are cared for and kept in top condition. These are usually made by top couturiers or ordered from foreign countries. Expect the bridal gown to be stuffed with pearls if it came from Japan, or made of the best lace if imported from Belgium.
Because of the several brides using the bridal heirloom of dress, several skillful alterations have been made. If the dress is too long for you, it cannot and should not be shortened because taller future brides may have no uses for it. If the wedding dress is too short, ask the seamstress to improvise without damaging the dress. Just as the wedding dress has been stored carefully for years, you might be wearing your groom’s family ‘crown jewels’. No problem here; jewelry of top caliber is never outdated and always go well with the heirloom wedding gown. You can compensate for wearing these family treasures with stunning shoes from your favorite Italian shoemaker or order custom-made bridal shoes.
Making Do with Hand-Me-Down Wedding Dresses
Wearing a 95 year old wedding dress has a romantic ring to it. But not all brides would give their eyeteeth for second-hand wedding dresses. But in case you cannot say no, ask your mother-in-law’s permission to alter the dress. Warn her though that the dress may no longer be recognizable because drastic adjustments must be made for a good fit. Be gracious enough to show her where changes will be made and hope she changes her mind about your mutilating her wedding dress. But if you are still stuck with the problem, make the most out of your mother-in-law’s wedding dress by altering it to suit your taste and accessorize and hope the next family bride comes soon to get a taste of a 1970 hand-me-down wedding dress.
