Northwest, Ohio Bridal Shop Talks Wedding Dresses & Shopping Tips!
If you are looking for a wedding dress, but have no idea where to start, you’re in the right place.
We sat down with Brooke, owner of Forevermore Bridal in Northwood, Ohio, to talk about all things wedding dresses - which style is the best for your body type, tips for choosing the perfect dress, who to bring with you, and more!
When should a bride start looking for her wedding dress? Can you tell us about the process for helping somebody find the perfect gown?!
“About a year out from your wedding is the right time to start looking for a dress. You want to make sure you give yourself enough time to choose one, have it ordered, and make alterations. Typically, a bride will prepare for her appointment by doing research on Pinterest and then will come in and share what caught her eye. Even though a lot of girls will come in with a vision in mind, they don’t always get the kind of dress they originally planned on. We always put them in what they think they want, and then what we recommend trying. If they want an A-line, we recommend the mermaid style or the ballgown. A lot of our brides pick something they weren’t even envisioning because they fall in love way it fits their body or the way it looks.
Tell us a little bit about different wedding dress styles and what body types they fit best.
A-Line? Ballgown? Mermaid?
“A-line dresses are named after their shape. They are fitted at the waist and have a skirt that gradually widens as it goes to the floor, creating an A. Ballgowns also have a fitted bodice, but the skirts flare out and are much fuller. Mermaid gowns are body-hugging, tight silhouette dresses that flare right below the knee. If you are super curvy and have wide hips, I think A-lines and mermaids are perfect. Mermaids are a little harder to walk in, so if you are short, it may not be the best because it can cut off right at your knees. If you are a little taller, it will cut off higher, making it easier to walk. If you are more average size, a ballgown is really great, or a mix between a ballgown and an A-line. It’s not super tight-fitting, that way you can still breathe and it showcases your curves. On a lot of ballgowns now, the bodice is slightly tighter to fit your curves and gives you that desired curvy look. Compare it to an A-line that is so tight it’s going to showcase everything. If you’re petite, we recommend A-lines because not everybody can fit into that one.”
A Line
What advice do you have for somebody going in for a dress fitting? What should they wear or bring?
“Be open-minded. I know a lot of people want to come in and say “I want sleeves”, and won’t try on a dress that doesn’t have sleeves. But we’ve had brides who wanted sleeves try on a dress that has a cap sleeve, tank-top style, or even strapless and end up loving it. So, try on anything you think is cute and try at least one style of every type before committing to one. You should wear what you plan on wearing underneath your dress on your wedding day to get as accurate an idea as possible of how it will look. If you plan on wearing your hair up, bring a ponytail!”
Who should a bride bring with them when going dress shopping?
“The more people you bring, the more opinions you get. Sometimes, it’s not the best. I say maybe mother, mother-in-law, and then maybe a sister? Very few people - bring the closest people to you that you think will help. It helps if they share your vision. If you have somebody who’s like “well I want to see you in a satin ball gown”, but you really wanna go for that A-line, and you just know that no matter what they’re not gonna like it, you might want to not bring them.”
What do you recommend for a bride that doesn’t really have a vision of what she wants? How does she kind of go about getting that idea?
“Come in the store and try them all on! (laughter) We don’t have a limit, and you get an hour and a half to yourself in our boutique. Grab anything you like off the shelf, and try everything on so you start getting a feel of what you like. Then, we find your top three or four styles and try them on again. By that point, people start to form a rough idea of what they’re looking for.”
How do you know when a wedding dress is the one?
“If a bride says the words “really, really like” or just “like”, that’s not the dress. Usually, the dress is the one where they say they “love it”. That’s the keyword I look for when a bride is trying on dresses. They’ll get a glow about themselves when they say they love it. The whole “I said yes to the dress” is exaggerating a little bit. A lot of brides come in and think “oh I’m gonna come in and start crying”, when that’s really not how it goes. If you “love” the dress, that’s the one.”
If you are looking for help finding the perfect dress, or someone to make your wedding planning process run smoothly, check out Brooke’s business below!
https://www.forevermoreweddingsllc.com/
Have questions? Suggestions for more quick tips? Contact us here!