I have a big secret that I’m going to share with you today. I bought my wedding dress already. I bought it back in July in Los Angeles, my hometown, where I went with the leading ladies in my family. Wedding dress shopping is something that can seem overwhelming unless you take the right steps prior to the big shopping day. Obviously, looks aren’t everything, but it’s important to feel comfortable and confident when your Portland wedding photographer (or other photographer in your area) is snapping pictures of you left, right and centre. Wedding nerves are common, but wedding embarrassment is something you’ll want to avoid. Today I will let you in on why my shopping day was so successful!

First, I went wedding dress shopping two times prior to the official shopping weekend. This was extremely helpful as it took the edge off when I eventually went as I felt comfortable in wedding dress boutiques and knew the right questions to ask. During these two preliminary shopping trips I was also able to try on plenty of different dresses so that by the time I got to the big shopping day in L.A. I knew the general color, style, and fabric that I preferred for my dream dress, which brings me to my second point.

Second, I tried on every single wedding dress silhouette, color, and fabric that is available prior to the official shopping weekend. You can scroll through Pinterest and ‘pin’ your dream dress a million times, but your opinion may change when you actually try the dress on. It’s important to give every type of dress a try, you may be surprised and fall in love with a ball gown when you always thought you’d end up in a mermaid. Keeping an open mind will eventually lead you right to the dress of your dreams. There’s no point trying to please everyone. A little planning and budgeting would go a long way. What matters is how you want to feel on your big day. You could click here to learn how to cut down on your wedding expenses.

Third, my Maid of Honor, is my sister and she’s pretty much the best person on Earth. She planned us quite possibly the most fun, girly, and organized wedding dress shopping day ever. We started our day with champagne and donuts while watching Say Yes to the Dress and doing our hair and makeup. My sister made us appointments at three shops and in between shop one and two we stopped for much-needed brunch fuel. I would highly recommend keeping your shopping day to 3-4 boutiques so as to not overdo it by trying on way too many dresses. Also putting on gorgeous white dresses is surprisingly exhausting, especially when you’re having a glass of champagne at each shop!

Fourth, I knew my budget and stuck to it. I refused to try on a dress over my budget knowing that if it was already over without alterations it would completely be out of my price range after alterations and accessories (veil, shoes, belt, whatever you need to complete your bridal look). Wedding dresses are completely overpriced, let’s just be honest, we’ve all seen Say Yes to the Dress. I had no intention to spend $5,000 on a dress I will wear once for a few hours. Because of my strict budget, I shopped at smaller boutiques focused on local designers and also seriously considered a pre-owned or secondhand dress bought online from somewhere like LeoList. Lucky for me, my perfect dress ended up being wonderfully under budget.

Fifth, I wasn’t afraid to commit. Once I found my dream dress I purchased it and made a conscious effort to stop paying attention to any pictures of wedding dresses unless they’re the pictures of me in my dress, which I must admit I look at weekly. That’s normal right?

Shopping for a wedding dress was one of my favorite parts of wedding planning thus far. I truly did not anticipate having such an easy time choosing my outfit for the big day and feel lucky to have had such a supportive team of women during the process. Here’s hoping all of our future wedding planning decisions are as easy as finding a wedding dress!