Looking for your wedding dress?

Consider these tips to find your perfect dress:

* Consider the bigger picture: it may seem obvious but your wedding dress needs to compliment other aspects of your wedding, venue, time of year, bridesmaid’s attire.

Stick to your outfit budget and take into account extra costs when looking for the dress itself: adjustments, delivery and accessories. If a dress is discounted, check the dress meticulously for imperfections and ask about returns policies and be realistic as to the money and time it will cost to fix any problems.

*Dress shop around 8 months before your day, it gives you time to find your dream dress and to allow for alterations.

* Make an appointment with select friends, not an entourage: one or two trusted friends and your mother is a good idea. A few select opinions are far better than a huge group, where conflicting opinions can lead to purchasing the wrong dress.

* Buy a dress that fits and suits your colouring and gives you a healthy glow. Look at the dress under natural lighting and check that light fabrics won’t reveal more than intended. Also remember to bring the heels that you want to wear with the dress, so you can try it on with the dress. When in the dress, try taking long strides, dancing and sitting down - so you can see that it won’t restrict for different parts of the day.

*If your consultant suggests trying something different, give it a go – they tend to know what suits different body types and may just have the perfect dress you were looking for.