It's the little things that can make all the difference, so be sure you follow these wedding fashion hints...

The lead-up to buying your wedding dress

• When shopping for your wedding dress go alone the first time and then take someone who’s opinion you value the second time to help you make your final decision.

• Always consider your body-shape and your personality when choosing your wedding dress. (see our article “know your body shape, know what dress style to choose”.

• It is sometimes best to buy your veil, headpiece and jewellery and any other accessories after you have bought your wedding dress so that you can ensure that you are well co-ordinated.

• Don't match fabric colours in fluorescent lighting as it doesn't show fine differences. Always compare in outside natural light to avoid and slight differences in colour.

• When you get your bridal gown, practice putting it on, walking, turning, and moving like you will during the wedding ceremony. Get a feel for how the wedding dress moves and how much extra time you'll need to handle the train.

• Keep sharp items away from your bridal gown, which may snag the fabric.

• Avoid hanging the wedding dress, especially if it is heavy, as this will cause stress on the seams or cause you fabric to stretch of tear – that would be a disaster!

• Remember to take your hairpiece, veil, a sample of the fabric and designs of the wedding dress when going to your hair and makeup trials. Ideally, it is best if you can organise these two trials to occur at the same place, so that each artist can see what the other will be doing with you.

• Make sure you have a practice run with your veil and head-piece at the hair dressers about 3 days before the wedding day.

On The Wedding Day

• Try to avoid wearing underwear during your preparation time on your wedding day (and don’t tell your finance…..), so that you won't see any strap marks on your shoulders etc. Similarly, do not wear tight fitting socks that can leave a mark, especially if you are wearing strappy sandals.

• When you and your bridesmaids get into your bridal dresses, tuck some tissues under your arms. As there will be lots of running around, and no doubt nerves, this prevents underarm wet spots from getting on the bridal dresses. Of course, remove just before the ceremony!

• Spraying a bit of hair spray on the soles of your wedding shoes will give them extra grip. Its best if you scuff the bottoms on concrete beforehand as well to avoid any slip ups down the aisle!

• A great way to remove make-up from your wedding gown is with a piece of bread! It actually works exceptionally well, you just rub it over the mark & out it comes!

• Bridesmaids are responsible for your wedding dress to look beautiful throughout the course of your wedding day, be sure to let them know that this is a very important job and it is up to them to re-arrange your veil, wedding dress and anything else that might come unstuck during the day!

After The Day

• Protect your bridal gown. Never iron it or attempt any kind of touch up. If it is badly wrinkled, contact the bridal shop for pressing or find a reputable dry cleaner.  Taking matters into your own hands could ruin your dress for eternity.

• Ensure your wedding dress has a care label that provides a viable care method and check with your wedding dress supplier if the wedding dress and trim are dry cleanable. Trims such as beads and artificial pearls may dissolve and other trims may be altered so inspect these with your cleaner in case an alternative method to dry cleaning is necessary.

• Have your bridal gown dry cleaned within four weeks of wearing it.

• Ensure your dry cleaner is reputable and that they have dry cleaned wedding dresses before.

• Once your wedding dress is cleaned, ideally keep it in the box provided, as this will provide the correct pH environment suited to the delicate fabric.

• Store the box away from heat, humidity & direct sunlight, somewhere cool and dry is ideal.

• If there is any metal ornamentation on the wedding dress (such as a brooch) it may be wise to remove this before storage so that if the metal tarnishes, it won’t transfer to the fabric.