So…Last Wednesday was the day… my first wedding dress try-on experience. Standing outside The Ivory Boutique in Farnham with my mum, looking in at the sea of white dresses through the window, I suddenly felt overwhelmed by the whole situation. Dress shopping isn’t my thing at the best of times (although I am getting better), but I also hate fussiness, attention and constant pestering by overeager sales assistants… basically everything a bridal shop is guaranteed (and required!) to do. It’s not just all of the above that generally grates me but with this specific experience, simply the pressure you feel regarding The-Wedding-Dress-Purchase is enough to put me off. As soon as you mention you’re getting married 99% of females respond excitedly with “have you got your dress?” I know that sounds stereotypical but believe me, its true. And every time it’s asked, the pressure increases. I don’t know whether they enquire out of genuine interest or because over time women feel that’s what they’re supposed to ask. I fear the latter; unless of course this conversation is with a fellow bride-to-be, in which case it probably is genuine as you can’t help but compare. Ah come on, you know it’s true!

I digress; so whether I’m thrilled about the dress purchase or not, there’s only 8 months to go so I really have to get the jeans & hoody fantasy out of my mind and start thinking about it…. After a few deep breaths we entered. To my relief, as we had made an appointment, the shop was empty apart from a sole sales assistant. Immediately some of the fear and anticipation was lifted. The assistant, Talia, was lovely. After the normal pleasantries and necessary form-filling we kicked off. She handed me a bunch of little discs and told me to deposit them on the hangers of the dresses I liked, easily identifying them for ‘the try on’. We were then left to browse while she retreated to the back to make us a much needed (and calming) cup of tea. A shot of vodka probably would have been more helpful but you can’t have it all. We were given free range of the shop, taking a good look at everything, trying to absorb the seemingly endless designs, fabrics, colours, brands… How can there be so much choice for one day?!

I think my main fear, as normal, was about looking stupid as a result of not knowing what the process entails. I don’t know whether it’s different from shop to shop or there’s pretty much a set way they all do it. How would I, I guess? But it just feels like one of those typically girly things that all my friends probably know, married or not and yet has past me by. Probably coz I was at home watching an Arsenal game. There was no need to be worried though. Either that or I was just lucky with this store but there was no room for error, Talia explained everything and I really did feel relaxed. She pretty much holds your hand throughout the whole experience. Not literally obviously, as that would be a bit weird. However, that does sort of touch upon another one of my fears about this process. I’m addicted to ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’ and all those kind of programmes and one thing that always disturbs me is the fact the assistants appear to join the bride-to-be in the dressing room… To dress her. Likes she’s a baby. I appreciate some dresses may require help but seriously, the prospect of getting relatively naked in front of a complete stranger is not my bag. I still have nightmares about the school changing room for God’s sake.

Anyway, after looking through every conceivable dress you could imagine I selected a grand total of 3 to try on. One I had liked from our initial visit a few weeks ago, one very plain ‘Pippa Middleton’ styleee (just to satisfy my mum who had always pictured something similar for me) and a slightly puffier fish-tail option (to confirm to myself its not what I want). As we approached the dressing room the aforementioned fear bubbled to the surface and I held my breath. I couldn’t help but let out an audible sigh of relief when, upon entry, the curtain promptly shut behind me. I was alone. Yay!

Right, I know its clichéd , I know, but trust me, you cant possibly know how ANY dress will actually look or feel unless you try it on. It’s a cliché for a reason. The plain-Jane, or rather plain-Pippa dress was actually gorgeous. I really liked how it felt and hung. There was nothing about the actual dress I didn’t like, it just wasn’t “weddingy” enough. I don’t wear dresses that often so I’d already decided if I’m going to do this, I’m going to throw myself into it and be a proper girl for the day. My mum luckily agreed. That one just wasn’t right. The puffier option was also a shocker. It confirmed I don’t want a fish-tail or princess poofy style, buuuuut on the hanger I also was concerned about the ruffles on the top half. On, it was a totally different story; I loved the bust detail, the whole top section was stunning. Shame about the bottom half! The one that originally caught my eye was a-ma-zing. I was genuinely taken aback at how much I like it. Loved it even. It’s so far from anything I thought I would have gone for but there was just something about it. You can’t explain it… but the instant you come out of the dressing room and see yourself in ‘the’ wedding dress for the first time, you just know. My mum loved it too and although it was only the first shop I’d been too I was now sure that that was the style I wanted. If not, the. Actual. Dress.

All in all it was a great experience. I’m glad I finally got around to doing it and stopped procrastinating as I feel better about the whole thing now. I’m a lot less stressed about it and now know it’s not as daunting as I thought it might be. In fact I might even go as far as to say it was actually very enjoyable! I can only assume that should you choose to visit copious amounts of stores the novelty may wear off, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling of stepping out and seeing myself in a wedding dress for the first time. I can even just about understand the seemingly exaggerated importance placed on its purchase now. It was also really nice to share it with my mum as her opinion is really important to me and I want her to feel a part of the day.

As I’m on a roll I’m off to another bridal shop tomorrow with my sister whose opinion is also really important to me. Dress hunting, spot of lunch and wedding talk with my baby sister; what could be better? I shall of course update you with our findings….