One of the biggest decisions that you’ll have to make as a bride is picking your wedding dress. Your wedding dress should show off your style, beauty and grace whilst making you look beautiful and feel confident.

But the quest to find that dress can seem pretty daunting; whether trying to gather designs for a bespoke gown, or being spoilt for choice when choosing from a collection. That’s where Bridal designer Minal Shah can help, with her expert advice on what to consider when choosing that fabulous dress.

Having been established in the industry for fifteen years as a professional make-up artist and bridal designer, Minal’s bridal collection, Micha Couture, extends beyond beautiful wedding dresses. Her sense of make-up and exquisite designs enables her to envision the final bridal look that helps to achieve a look of sophistication and elegance.

Minal’s years of experience in the business means that she’s dealt with a huge range of concerns from very different brides. Over the years she has given guidance to many brides that help make choosing that special dress an easier process.

Your Dream Shaadi is delighted to share Minal’s advice, and to introduce you to her top seven tips of wedding dress bliss, so you can have your happily ever after.

1. VISION

Before you start shopping for your dress, you should have a vision of how you want to look. There are so many looks that you can achieve as a bride, from the classic white wedding look, to the colourful Bollywood Bride, or even having a themed dress. Pick something that will truly reflect you and that you feel comfortable wearing.

You’ll need to take into consideration the time of year you are getting married, or if you are having an outdoor wedding. It won’t be practical or warm wearing an elegant halter neck dress in winter! This will keep you from buying a dress that won’t feel right on the day.

2. DO YOUR RESEARCH

Looking at different wedding magazines and wedding portals is a great way of finding inspiration.

Keep tear-outs of photos that you like and stick them into a scrap book or mood board, so you have a visual when consulting with your designer.

Try and whittle down your choices to at least 10 of your favourite dresses to show your designer so you both have a clear idea of what styles of dress you prefer.

If you are having your dress custom made, take your visuals and be specific about what you want. Consult whether your chosen designs will flatter you and your body shape.

3. SET A BUDGET

Your wedding dress will probably cost more than any other garment you own. But a stylish and graceful dress doesn’t necessarily mean more money. It’s important to establish your budget before stepping into a bridal store and then sticking to it. Temptation is difficult to resist, and you may fall in love with a dress that will greatly exceed your budget.

For bespoke dresses, the price is usually determined by the amount of detail involved in making it, which can range significantly. Find out what options are available to you within your budget, or what your budget will be able to afford you for your bespoke gown.

4. BODY PROPORTION

We all have parts of our bodies that we don’t like. Dressing your body to enhance all the right parts is simply a game of proportion. Don’t worry about the parts of your body you don’t want to draw attention to, it’s all about using lines and light to accentuate your best assets.

Most women want to look taller and thinner in their dress. The key thing to remember is horizontal lines widen, while vertical lines elongate.

Diagonal details cut the width of the body and move the eye to another area of the body.

5. APPROPRIATE DRESS

For those of you who are having a religious ceremony it may be required for you to be dressed modestly. It’s important you find out exactly what would be appropriate to wear, so you can incorporate new features into or around your dress. Having a slip on is an elegant and glamorous way to cover up and add another dimension to your bridal look, whilst also having the freedom to take it off after the ceremony.

6. SHOPPING

Try on a variety of dresses. A dress you’ve seen on a mannequin or someone else may not flatter you as well as you thought. On many occasions, a dress that you would not look twice at turns out to be the one!

After looking and assessing in a three-way mirror, see whether the dress feels good on you, how comfortable it is and whether it gives you that confidence boost.

7. ASK ADVICE

A great way to make things more fun is to bring someone along who will enjoy sharing this experience with you and knows your sense of style. But bear in mind, the more people you bring the more opinions you will have, which can confuse you from what you really want.

Make use of the bridal designers expertise, they’ll be able to suggest the best cut and design to suit your shape and skin tone.

The most important factor when finding your dress is keeping calm! Everything will all come together in the end, even if it takes longer than you thought to find the one. With my top tips, finding that dream dress will be a fun and happy experience that you’ll never forget. All the hard work and searching will pay off, as you’ll be the most beautiful bride with a dress to die for!