Starting the Search for the Dress

Buying your wedding dress is a very exciting time for a bride, take your time and enjoy the experience with family and friends.

• Buy a few wedding magazines and rip out any dress that catches your eye.
• Go to a couple of bridal stores and try on all the different styles that interest you, this is the only way to narrow down what style you look the best wearing.
• If you decide on a ballerina, full skirt or more intricate a-line dress you will want to be shopping at bridal boutiques because they will have the experience needed to make the alterations. Dresses at bridal boutiques run anywhere from $1000 to 10,000 and above.
• If you live in the Boston area I greatly recommend Bella Sera Bridal on the north shore, they create a very welcoming and personal experience for every bride.
  
• Of course, if you have a tailor that you go to all the time and trust feel free to buy a dress off of the rack and have your tailor alter it to fit you.
  
• Bridal boutiques have sales every couple months when they get new samples in, this is a great way to save money. But, I do not recommend this if you do not have a good tailor. You can usually grab a dress for around $100 - $1000 depending on the designer.
  
• If you are looking for a simpler dress there are many money saving options. Chain bridal stores such as David's Bridal offer dresses for a fraction of the cost of the small bridal boutiques. If you are looking for something really basic, for example something that you would wear in a beach wedding, try boutiques that cater to bridesmaids almost all the styles they have there come in off-white and will save you lots of money. These dresses will usually run you a couple 100 dollars.
  
• Remember to work into your budget money for a veil (if your wearing one) around $50-$100, jewelry (its up to you how much you spend on this), shoes (remember to have your shoes before you get fitted for your dress because the height of the shoes will have to match the hem of the dress) $50 or up, and alterations if you have a simple dress you should budget around $100 - $300, but as your dress gets more complicated your alterations get more expensive and can end up costing you as much as the dress itself.
• Never hesitate to ask family members that have skills like tailoring to help you instead of giving you a wedding gift if you have a tight budget.

Remember to bring your Mom and anyone else that you think might be able to help you making this decision. Have fun with it!