The guys have it easy. Pick up the tuxedos they rented months ago right before the wedding, put them on and then be sure to return all the pieces in decent condition right after the wedding. The women, however, don’t get so lucky.
For the bride, her quest for the prefect wedding dress means hours poring over bridal magazines in search of the perfect look and months of agonizing dieting and humiliating dress fittings. Plus she needs all the accessories. Unfortunately, selecting wedding attire for both the groom and bride is something that cannot be avoided, unless they’re headed to Las Vegas or the county courthouse.
Wedding attire is one of those wedding tasks you need to tackle well in advance, especially if you’re planning your wedding during the height of the season. Almost as soon as you announce the wedding date, but only after you have put together a wedding budget, you need to begin planning the attire.
Now that’s not something you have to tell most women. Many already know the type of wedding dress they want because they’ve been planning this big day for most of their lives! But still, most brides will spend 4 to 6 weeks shopping, trying on and pondering wedding attire before it’s even purchased.
And after this 1 – 2 month period, brides still need ample time for special ordering and custom fitting. They’ll need about 3 separate fittings so that the wedding dress looks absolutely perfect on the big day. It’s a good idea to allow extra time for unexpected delays and emergencies.
Most brides devote a considerable chunk of the wedding budget to the dress and accessories. It certainly doesn’t need to be this way, and there are plenty of options for looking stunning without spending thousands. How much will be spent is a really important point to discuss beforehand, agree on, and follow through with. The bride will be center stage, lots of photos will be taken, and it’s normal to want to look better than ever.
To help the discussion along, begin with talking about the type of wedding you both want – elegant, informal, themed, seasonal, outdoors, or something else. The wedding attire that the groom and bride select is going to set the tone for every other aspect of the wedding including what others wear, the color scheme, decorations, invitations, flowers, venues, transportation, everything.
And in addition to the wedding dress, the bride needs accessories including the veil, headpiece, train, shoes, undergarments, stockings, garter, handbag, and jewelry. Much of it can be ordered along with the wedding dress, but other accessories will have to be purchased over the coming months. Be sure to factor in the costs for these accessories when planning the wedding attire budget.
And as was mentioned in the beginning, men’s wedding attire follows the lead of the bride’s. Men need only locate a tuxedo rental outlet 6 – 12 months before the date, get fitted and pick up their tuxes, which come with all the accessories they’ll need – cummerbund, bow tie, vest, even shoes!