Wedding Apparel

Can my floral bouquet stain my dress?

There are certain kinds of flowers that can stain your wedding dress. If you are working with a good, reputable florist, they know what flowers not to use, and what to do with flowers that could stain. For instance, there are certain kinds of lilies, especially, which stain. The stamens have pollen on them that's absolutely deadly, but a florist knows to cut those off so they're not there. What you want to do is make sure that your wedding florist tells you that all the flowers in your bouquet are going to be just fine, and there's no problem.

Should my wedding location affect what dress I choose?

Your wedding location can often affect your dress to some degree. If you've decided to get married on the beach in the sand, perhaps you do not want a dress with a very long train because it is going to be very unwieldy, dragging in the sand. Maybe you have a garden wedding, so you're looking for dress that has fabric that's more appropriate to an outdoor daytime garden wedding or again has less of a train to it. I think the location definitely affects the kind of wedding dress you choose.

Should I put on my veil or headpiece myself?

When you put on your wedding veil or your headpiece, it needs to positioned by someone else, not by you. You need to be sitting where you're facing a mirror and they're standing behind you and placing it, so you can all see that it's going into the hair at the right place and angle. You definitely don't want that to be yourself. It should be done by your hairdresser if you are having your hair done. If you're having your hair done at your beauty shop and not at the wedding venue, you take your veil with you. If not, your maid of honor can do it for you, or your mother can do it for you.

Should I wear special wedding undergarments?

Wedding undergarments are really good question. You should have special garments if your dress needs it. Wherever you purchase your dress, they are going to tell you what you need to have underneath that dress to make it work. Lots of times it is bustier type bra and sometimes it gets sewn into the dress. You do not wear it separately; it is actually part of the wedding dress. That is going to be up to the wedding dress store and they will tell you exactly what you need to do to make that dress fit you right and look right on your body.

Is it OK for me to coordinate what my mother will wear at my wedding?

Some brides are what we call 'matchy matchy'. They want everything to match, so they like to be able to tell the mother and the mother of the groom to wear pink, or whatever it is. It's okay to do that if you can do it very, very nicely because, don't forget, we're talking about a woman who has perhaps a different figure style than you do, who has different taste in clothes, etc., and she really wants to look her best that day and not have too many dictations on what she should wear. If you are comfortable enough to say, "Please wear what looks good on you," that is a tremendous gift to give to your mom or to your mother-in-law. Just tell her not to wear red. On a personal note, my mother-in-law wore a hot pink dress to my daughter's wedding. Every single picture she's in, she is the focal point of the picture. She just jumps out of that picture at you. If you're giving some advice to your mother or your mother-in-law-to-be about what they wear to the wedding, you might suggest that they do not wear a really bright, outstanding color. It should be a little bit more subdued.

Should I go with my fiance to help choose his tuxedo?

You should absolutely help your fiance choose a tuxedo for your wedding. You'll notice that he doesn't get to go with you to choose the dress, but you get to go with him to choose the tuxedo. You'll want to look at the different styles that are popular right now and the different combinations that are available. Together, the two of you are going to choose the styling for his tuxedo and for the groomsmen, as well.

Should my fiance choose the tuxedoes for his groomsmen?

Your fiance and you will go together to the tuxedo store to choose the style of the tuxedoes for the groomsmen; they may match what the groom wears or they might be slightly different. You'll also be deciding if the fathers are going to wear similar tuxedoes to the wedding as well. The other thing that you want to think about, is sometimes men already own a tuxedo. If you are not the kind of person that has to have everybody match exactly, what you could do is have the men that already own tuxedoes send you pictures of them. If you're okay with that, let them wear their own tux. Make sure their shirts, their ties, their vests, and their pocket wears match so that they all look uniform, but don't make the guys go out and rent another tuxedo. I think it's really okay to do that.

If I am planning to lose weight, should I order a smaller wedding dress?

If you are planning to lose weight, do not order a small wedding dress. Remember, you can always take it in, but it's sure hard to add fabric to something if you don't lose the weight. Order the size that the dress store tells you that you need to order.

What should I consider when choosing my bridesmaids' dresses?

When you're choosing the bridesmaids' dresses for your weddings, what you want to consider are the figure types of the girls. They're going to be different. Some are taller, some are shorter, some are rounder, and some are thinner. Try to find a dress that you think is going to look pretty good on everyone. The other thing that you should look for is that there are several manufacturers that make dresses that are designed to have mix and match parts. The fabrics will be the same and the color will be the same but they'll have different choices on bodice or on waistline or on the skirt - more of an A-line or more of a straight skirt. By choosing something like that, you can customize each dress to each individual girl and that will help them to look their best because that's want you want. You want bridesmaids to look as lovely as possible at your wedding.

Should someone go with me to my last wedding dress fitting?

You don't want your last wedding dress fitting to be done when you're on your own. You need someone that you love and trust to stand back and look at you and see that the hem is straight and see that the dress falls properly and that it fits right and that you are absolutely as stunning as you are ever going to be.

Should I first wear my wedding shoes at my wedding?

If you don't break your wedding shoes in, it's a bad idea. Even the most comfortable shoes are never comfortable the first time out. You really do have to break those shoes in. Wear them around the house about a month before the wedding. Just wear them for an hour at a time to break them in. Also, have a backup pair of wedding shoes, that are really comfortable and that are going to be for dancing later in the evening. Just put them in a little bag under your chair and when you are ready to change shoes just switch them out, so you can keep going and have a wonderful time

Can I change my shoes at my wedding?

Of course you can change shoes at your wedding! First of all, I'm going to assume that you're wearing a long dress. The truth is, if you change your shoes, who's going to know? Your feet are not the focal point of the evening, I assure you. You want to have that comfortable pair of dancing shoes under your table. When you're ready, you just slip off the other ones, put the comfy shoes on and keep going!