Where do I start?

This is your chance to receive the full “Trinny and Susannah” treatment. Most of us don’t regularly wear full length ivory dresses, so you can’t be expected to know what might suit you. Take plenty of advice from the professionals and try on a range of styles. Your dress designer, or boutique assistant, will be able to advise you on the best type of gown to suit your body shape, your personality and the style of the wedding.

Although most brides tend to take along a friend that they trust to be totally honest about how a dress looks (particularly from that crucial back view), the assistant should, if asked, be prepared to give a really honest opinion even if it might cause offense!

Look through magazines for inspiration, and take along any drawings or photographs to enable you to show the assistant what you are looking for. She should be able to find something similar and aid you in your quest for your dream dress.

Always make an appointment if you are wanting to try on gowns. The boutique assistants will want to give you their full attention, to help you in and out of dresses and offer advice on the fit, which they are unable to do in a busy changing room. Saturdays are usually the busiest days, and you may find that you need to make your appointment well in advance. It is not unusual for salons to charge a refundable fee for Saturday appointments.

Tradition says that the bride should never make her own dress as it was feared it would bring bad luck.