Photography by Louis

     Choosing the dress that you will wear on your wedding day is another one of the difficult choices you will have to make.  There are thousands of styles and designs to choose from.  As overwhelming as this may seem, having a large number of choices guarantees you will, with time, find a dress that makes you happy.  Some brides prefer the simple and traditional style, while others dream of looking like Cinderella.  Many brides choose to wear the dress that their mother, grandmother and even great-grandmother wore on their wedding day.  The most important factor is finding the perfect dress for you.
     Remember when choosing your dress, you should consider many factors, such as how will the dress look in your photographs, and if the dress is comfortable enough to wear for six hours.  When choosing a dress style for your bridesmaids and other attendants, always consider their body forms and select a style which will suite everyone equally.  Also, remember that darker colored dresses, such as dark purples and navy blues, will often appear black in photographs.  If you are having an outdoor wedding, you may want to consider the weather and temperature during that time of year.

KNOWING WHAT DRESS IS FOR YOU
Many times, brides will go into a bridal shop knowing exactly what dress they want, but after trying on that dress, end up leaving with a different style. What appears good on a friend or a model in a magazine may not be the gown you will prefer on yourself.  A good suggestion is to have your mother or a friend bring a camera to take a picture of you after you try on each dress. This allows you to objectively view the photographs at a later time, and will assist in making the purchasing decision for that dress. The key to picking a dress, is that it must be flattering to your body shape, and accentuate your best features.
     Until the 19th century, most wedding dresses were not white.  Even thought most modern wedding dresses sold are white, you can still have elaborate patterns with colorful floral decorations to accent the dress.  Over the last few decades, dress styles have changed drastically, from overly elaborate dresses, adorned with several types of decorations, to the modern, simpler style.  The newest style dresses are available in ivory, gold, light pink, blush and champagne, and use a white or pastel-colored pattern to decorate the ends.  These dresses are simple and focus mainly on the fabric, cut and style.  Since having less ornamentation, the styles and types of fabrics have changed to give them a better, more natural appearance.

  North Productions

ACCESSORIES
Your accessories, such as your jewelry, shoes and veil should accent, not overpower, the look of your wedding dress.  If you choose a very simple dress design, you should not wear an overly elaborate veil or jewelry.  Headpieces or veils should also be simple, in most cases.  An old tradition was to have the front of the veil covering the bride’s face until she is presented to the groom.  At that time, the bride's escort folds the veil back to reveal her face.  A majority of modern weddings do not follow this tradition.  Brides usually choose a very simple head veil that has a small tiara with tulle on the back.

Popular Dress Designers

For more information, a list of the New Orleans area finest bridal salons, and to view our wedding dress gallery with several modern styles, please visit one of our distribution vendors for your copy of Original Bride.