Collecting inspiration for your wedding gown is the very first step in the process, because shopping for a wedding gown is completely different than shopping retail or heading to the mall for a hot sec to pick something up to wear for the weekend. Much to our dismay, you can’t just walk into a bridal boutique and peruse the racks for hours on end. The more information you have going in, the more likely you are to be happy with your selection.
Wedding blogs (like us!), are super helpful, because they do a lot of the pre-hunt hard work for you. They collect images from real weddings and wedding vendors to give you an up-to-date, curated look at wedding trends and what dresses are making their rounds in the market right now. Blogs should provide links to the vendors, such as the bridal boutique and/or designer of the gown; that way, if you see your dream dress in a photo, you’ll immediately know where to find it IRL.
Pinterest is another extremely helpful tool, not just for finding inspiration, but for organizing as well. Save all your ideas to a board dedicated to wedding gowns! You can even set it to “secret” if you’re not ready for opinions or if you’ve been considering something that you just know your family and friends will be shocked over (guess what? That’s totally OK!)
Whether you know specifics or are just looking for a certain look or feel, playing around on Pinterest is a great way to get some preliminary ideas. Keep in mind that some photos may not be recent—not every gown you see will still be available, so try your best not to fall in love until you’re actually shopping. It can be a huge downer to start crushing on a design that either isn’t in production anymore or too far out of reach (i.e. if it’s from an international designer, etc.). So, keep your gown guard up just for a little while!
Much like Pinterest, Instagram is a great place to find and save inspiration. Designers’ social media profiles will not only show finished pieces -on the runway and on real brides – but often some of their process too, which can help you get an idea of the story behind their work.
Along with online resources, print magazines can be an excellent source of inspiration—especially local ones. If there’s a magazine based in your city or region, with fashion editorials, grab a copy! These publications will not only have images for inspiration, they’ll also likely spotlight local vendors, so you can see where to shop and what is available near you. That’s huge, too, if you and your partner are particularly pumped about involving local talent or hometown magic in your special day.
After you find all this inspiration, find a way to organize it that works for you! Pinterest, Instagram, and even a simple folder on your computer are great ways to store things digitally, but a physical scrapbook or binder can help too ((it feels even craftier and can be an amazing keepsake from your planning days when you want to look back on it all)). If you store things offline, remember to note information that you find with the image like designer, style name, price, and season (or year it was released), so you can go back and find them if you need to.
When you have some ideas in mind, use that inspiration to narrow down styles and designers that you’re interested in. And from there, locate stores or boutiques that carry the dresses you’re dreaming about. While you can definitely do a quick web search to find options, word of mouth, social media, and individual designers’ websites are also great for recommendations.