Photo by Niki Baldwin Photography
Finding the perfect wedding dress can feel both exciting and overwhelming. That's why we interviewed one of the best bridal shops in Utah and asked them the top tips you'll want to know, such as how far ahead to begin searching for a dress, tips before and during shopping, styles to consider if you're planning to hike outdoors, and even how to properly clean your wedding dress after an adventurous day of tying the knot.
How can I find the perfect wedding dress? How far in advance should I plan to do my fitting? What dresses are other brides wearing in 2023? Most importantly, how can I find the right one for me? If you feel swamped with questions about this important part of your planning, you're not alone. Like most brides, you're probably excited to get started and just need some answers to your FAQs. You may not have settled on a style yet, and that's actually good. Being both prepared and open to ideas is a good start for wedding dress shopping. We just recommend getting some tips from the pros first. Today on Zion Brides, we have the Fantasy Bridal team answering your key questions.
For those who are meeting the Fantasy Bridal team for the first time, they run one of the most popular full-service wedding stores in Utah, offering designer gowns and on-site alterations for every bride. One of their dresses was featured on Zion Brides in this Inspo post at the Bonneville Salt Flats (a must-see). Along with the great tips below, Fantasy Bridal showcases regular wedding dress inspiration on Instagram to give you all the dreamy vibes going into your first fitting.
We'll dive into the team's top advice for selecting a wedding dress, what the experience will be like, and how to land on the perfect one for the big day.
Photo by Niki Baldwin Photography
#1. What have been your most popular styles of dresses in this last year?
"We have a large population of brides that need modest wedding dresses with more coverage and the top trending styles for them has been a crepe, fitted wedding dress with a square neckline and a puff sleeve:
Beautiful square neckline dress
For our brides that don’t need that type of coverage it absolutely varies, so here are a few popular styles to consider..."
Whimsical: Key for this style has been statement sleeves with trickling 3D lace and a hint of sparkle.
Rustic/Boho: Our rustic boho styles are more popular than ever! A great example of what’s trending here is a bold lace pattern with a darker color underneath and a bit of fringe helps such as the fringe in the sleeves of this dress.
Black Tie/Traditional: Crepe, Satin, and Mikado are the fabrics that immediately come to mind when a bride wants a more traditional/black tie event style. They typically want something more simple in its look with unique lines. This style also lends itself to 'bigger' accessories. Whether you're adding a lace or pearl veil-- going bold on accessories.
Non-Traditional: Black wedding dresses are more popular than ever as well and we are known for having the widest selection of black wedding dresses in Utah."
#2. What styles of dresses are brides wearing for 2023?
"Wedding dresses with color! We’ve seen some sneak peeks and let’s just say there will be more color coming in bridal fashion. This and now more than ever, brides are wanting their bridal looks to speak their own personal style. Brides getting married in 2023 are going heavy on accessories to personalize their look. Adding a statement sleeve, cape, overskirts, headpieces and more."
#3. What should a bride expect regarding dress fittings/alterations?
"That EVERY dress needs alterations! Wedding dresses are not ready-to-wear and most brides need a hem, shoulder and some other piece of alteration. Plan for at least 1-2 months before you need your wedding dress for the alterations to complete. But we always recommend finding who is going to do your alterations as soon as you find your dress."
#4. How far ahead would you recommend brides begin shopping for a wedding dress before the big day?
"The bridal industry recommends 8-10 months (or more) prior to your wedding date to find your wedding dress. Although, we know that sometimes this is not realistic. This is why we carry as many dresses as we do in a wide range of sizes to accommodate any wedding date you might have."
#5. Do brides get discouraged when looking for the ‘perfect’ dress? If so, what’s your best advice to help them stay positive or right-size expectations?
"It absolutely can happen where brides get discouraged. We always recommend coming wedding dress shopping with an open mind that your consultant will help you find a dress that you will not only love but feel your best self in."
Wondering about sizing? "We understand that bridal sizing is weird, so besides ordering a dress we don’t want you to think about or be worried about if it’s different from your street pant/dress size."
#6. Besides Pinterest, what other ways have you found brides like to research their favorite dresses before entering your store?
"Another way to do dress research is on Instagram or TikTok. You’d be surprised just how many things can pop up for what you might be interested in. Interested in “Pearl wedding dresses”, type that up in TikTok and it’ll give you all types of stores that might be showcasing exactly that.
We typically have brides come in with ideas from Pinterest or videos they’ve seen of our dresses on Instagram or TikTok. We also have a space on our website for “Wishlists” where you can browse our collection and save things that you like. By bringing this wishlist with you it helps our consultants immensely.
Our only tip with Pinterest is to have “realistic expectations”. Pinterest is there for ideas. A lot of what might be coming up on your feed can be couture wedding dresses that might be way over your budget. We always say to use it as inspiration and your bridal consultant will know what vibe you’re trying to go for and grab dresses based on this. Most brides have some sort of Pinterest board even if it’s just venue ideas, floral, or decor. This helps us get an understanding of what your overall theme is. But there have been times when brides have not done their research and it can definitely be a disservice. Our consultants are there for you and know what questions will help guide you towards the right dress."
#7. Any tips for brides before coming into the store?
"Always go wedding dress shopping as your best self. Now, this doesn’t mean it’s necessary to go over the top with your look but get ready, do your hair, and put a little bit of makeup on so that when you are trying on those dresses, you see yourself on the big day. For undergarments, we just don’t recommend wearing dark-colored underwear. It is good to note that most of the dresses have bra cups, so that’s taken care of.
Shoes/heels are not recommended while trying on your dress as we don’t want you tripping or stepping on the dress with shoes."
#8. What style of dresses should brides consider if they’ll be doing some hiking (are some styles/fabrics more tailored to outdoor movement than others)
"Anything with stretch will be your best bet when it comes to movement. A lot of dresses today have a jersey stretch lining, which is great for outside activity. On that note, we had one bride do bridal photos free climbing a boulder in an A-line dress with organza layers. So honestly, you could wear an A-line, Ballgown, Sheath, or fitted dress. The biggest thing we would recommend is that you at least feel comfortable.
Photo by Niki Baldwin Photography
Dresses we wouldn't recommend for hiking? Just remember the bigger the dress, the more you have to carry. Styles like mermaid gowns don’t make for easy leg movement."
#9. What are your tips for cleaning the bottoms of dresses if they get a little dirty?
"When in doubt, we always recommend taking your dress to a professional dry cleaner that guarantees their work and has worked with wedding dresses before. Each dress is made of a different fabric; we recommend calling the bridal store where you bought your dress and getting their opinion.
What we hear most often is that the satin lining of the dress got some dirt/dust on it. If that’s the case, you can fill your bathtub up with distilled water-- just enough to soak just that part of the dress-- and, with a fine toothbrush and Shout, work out the dirt and rinse with distilled water at the end to ensure all product is out."
#10. Any other advice you’d give to new brides shopping for a dress for their first time?
"Come with an open mind! You may come in with an idea of what you wanted and leave with something that threw you by surprise! Your bridal consultant will help you through the entire process so there is no need to worry."
We're thankful to the Fantasy Bridal team for taking the time to help us answer some useful advice about finding the perfect wedding dress in 2023. Fantasy Bridal "has the most wedding dresses in Utah, carrying over 2,400 dresses in sizes from 0-32W that are available for immediate purchase or special order". They offer a free press and detail on all of their wedding dresses to make it perfect for the big day. They also offer 20-30% off all of their accessories on your first day when you purchase your dress.
Congratulations on your engagement and we wish you all the best from Zion Brides!
