How did you know your dress was right for you?

Had NO idea. I never wear dresses; live in jeans / trainers, so put myself well and truly in the hands of the shop staff!

First shop had no idea. They put me in some hideous frocks. Second shop was too bossy (although she had a really good eye for shape, she kept trying to force me into satin monstrosities).

Third, and final, shop were fan-bloomin'-tastic! No pressure at all. Let me pick some dresses I liked, then they picked some based on what I'd chosen.

Went in wanting a full length, floaty, simple, boho style dress. Ended up with a lacy, sparkly tea dress!

I am having dress wobbles though because my shape has changed since I ordered it; it actually suits a more curvy figure. It's with the seamstress at the moment and- hopefully- I'll be a bit happier with it at my fitting tomorrow!

I would say that you should try on a number of style; for example, I didn't think that a fishtail dress would do me any favours, but they looked amazing! (apart from the fact I couldn't walk / sit in them)

I'm quite boring / practical though. I went for the dress which was most comfortable, rather than the 'best' one I tried on. I can walk, run, jump and not trip in mine!

ARE YOU GETTING MAAAARRRRRIIIIIEEED??!!

Styles that look stupid on my body shape and thus, I never wear - strapless, A-line or poofy skirts, mid-length.

Styles that look OK on me and seem to inform my regular dress/clothes buying - straps or sleeves, long/knee-length, bias cut or pencil.

So I pretty much knew what shape I wanted - long, slinky, bias cut with sleeves or straps. When perusing wedding magazines, there was one designer who stuck out as designing the perfect type of wedding dress for me. So I just focussed in on her stuff. I tried on a couple of other designers, just to check that strapless wedding dresses weren't magically different to strapless non-wedding dresses...they weren't and they still didn't suit me!

I had no idea what dress I wanted (only that I didn't want a huge one) I think I pictured myself in a fishtail style to tuck me in at the waist - I was 2 1/2 stone heavier a couple of years ago so wanted to show my figure off but when I tried on that style it didn't look that nice.

I didn't want to spend a lot on my dress (we're talking under £200) so when I finally found a shop with cheap enough sale dresses I didn't have a huge choice. I tried on two fishtail styles and then finally an a-line. My Mum and sister said I looked lovely - I actually had to ask them "is it the one then?" so I bought the third dress I tried on!!

I would say to just try on different styles - lace back ones are good because they pull you in a bit more but also will mean less alterations. Don't be put off by the sizes they say either - my dress was a size 6 but I'm a size 12!!

I wear dresses regularly and I shop A LOT so I know what works for me height and frame - I'm 4ft 10, petite but with curves. I needed something that accentuated my narrow top half but flattered my wider bottom half without making me look like I should have a Christmas Tree protruding from my rear end. I'm very short in the body so drop waists and long bodices were a no-no, mid-calf tea dresses made my legs look stumpier (if that's even possible!). Fabric didn't bother me so much although I knew I didn't want anything too fussy although I did want some kind of detail that made it stand out from the crowd. My dress is by no means the most exciting or fabulous dress anyone will ever have seen but it's perfect for me. If a dress can reflect someones personality then I'd say mine does.

LOL skeppers, no sadly I'm not getting married for at least a few years! If I did get engaged I would definitely come skipping through Hitched with the news!! I was just looking at someone else's wedding dress and realised I'd have no clue when it came round to myself!

I had NO clue at all so I was completely open minded when it came to dress shopping. I had appointments with three different shops on one day and tried on all sorts of styles in the first shop.

By the second shop, I had a better idea of what suited me and they were really good at suggesting things to add to the dress so I ended up with a column shaped lace dress with a lace bolero and sash tied around my waist. It wasn't what I imagined I'd end up buying but I loved it and it suited my body shape so I'm glad that I wasn't too fixed on what I thought I wanted.

I wouldn't have known if the shop hadn't messed me about, and to apologise they let me take photos of 2 particular dresses to compare.

In the shop I was stuck, couldn't choose between the 2.

In the photos the perfect dress was obvious. I should have known already as it was the only dress of the 28 I tried on that my mum cried for. My Maid of honour cried too and it was only the second dress she'd seen me in ?

I didn't even go dress shopping, so might not be the best to answer.

I suppose I kind of had an idea what I was looking for when I bought my dress, but I hadn't planned to buy one quite so early so it wasn't something i'd given a lot of thought to.

I always loved grecian style dresses and knew that I definitely didn't want anything big, princessy, satin and preferably not strapless. None of those things were very "me" and i'd have felt like a plum in them.

Then I came across my dress on ebay. I was just browsing at general wedding stuff at the time, but as soon as I saw it I knew it was perfect. I'd not tried it on, or anything even remotely similar. In fact i'd never tried on a wedding dress at all, but it ticked every box I had in my mind at that time. It was long, sleek had straps, and was very fitted around the bust.

When it arrived it was perfect. It's exactly the look and fit I wanted and although I see other dresses that I think are gorgeous I can't imagine myself in any of them.

It saved me going dress shopping too, which i'm over the moon about. I think i'd have put that off forever and ended up in jeans otherwise!

I knew it was the right dress because it made me look WAFFER thin and my mum cried! :-)

I didn't want to take it off, I cried a little and my non emotional sister sobbed!

No real criteria for me other than I didn't want too heavy a dress and probably not lace as it general looks too fussy on me and makes me look frumpy... I think it's because I'm broad shouldered so could easily look too draggy in it.

Second dress I tried on looked ace and fitted perfectly- I just felt very comfortable and 'me'. I knew there was no point looking at any other dresses after that...

I was always insistant that i didn't want a strapless big dress. However I went to several shops and the final one the lady pulled out a new dress she had that had a huge train, lots of detail and was strapless and i fell in love with it! Total opposite to what i ever imagined i would get. However that was back in January and now we are in August and i haven't seen it since (mine hasn;t arrivedin the shop yet) or had any photos of me in it so i am having serious doubts about it, but i am hoping that is just down to it being the total opposite of what i usually like and me not really remembering how i looked in it! It should be arriving this month though so I am going back to try it on and look at shoes etc, fingers crossed i still love it!

I only looked on the high st as I knew I didn't want a full on wedding dress - definitely didn't want strapless, blingy, corset back, big princessy skirt.

Initially I thought I would get a floaty/boho non-wedding dress from Temperley London or similar, but in the end I have got a slim fitting, satin wedding dress from Monsoon. I did try more floaty things on but they looked a bit tent-like on me. Plus the dress I chose was £75 so a bit of a no brainer for a skinflint like me. ?

I actually only went to two shops and tried on about 6 dresses in all.

I didnt look online or buy magazines and fall in love with a dress before going shopping. I tried on all different styles and became pretty obvious quickly the style/shape that suited me.

Once I tried on my dress I didnt want to take it off and my mum burst into tears when I walked out which was a good sign (I think!), I think it was the 8th dress i tried on x

I had no idea what shape suited me I just tried anything and everything on until I found it. I thought I wanted a high necked dress but it didn't suit me. The girl in the shop picked what she thought would suit me best & that turned out to be the one. It does amazing things to my shape, sucking me in at the middle and making me look much less pear shaped! I loved it my mum loved it at no other dress compared. So I bought it!

I can't imagine my mum crying on the main day let alone at a dress, so sadly I won't have that kind of criteria to go by Might have to settle with something that makes me look like I have an ace bod!

My main priority was price, my budget was £500, that meant looking on the high street, sample sales etc.

I looked online for and tried a few high street dresses and although they were lovely they weren't the one.

When I went to my first and only bridal shop I had more choice there, I knew I liked and suited a-line and full length dresses and love lace dresses, so those I picked first (only one or two). I then just picked anything else off the sample rail in my size. The dress I ended up buying I didn't like on the hanger and it was the last one I choose, it has loads of detail up top and I kept telling my friend I didn't want that. In the end I did get a-line and full length but it has appliqué and sparkly beads instead of lace. But when I put it on the dress looked totally different and beautiful. It made my waist look tiny and I felt amazing in it. I felt like a bride in it.

Was also open to the shop assistant getting a dress for me try - they know a lot about this shizz.

Before you even start all that, have a think about which dresses suit your personality and figure. Then go on Pinterest and pin a few dresses you like the look of to see which styles you like or look through wedding mags and make a mood board of the dresses you like.

When I went wedding dress shopping, I so wanted something different to what everyone was expecting me to have, as since I had gotten engaged people had kept saying to me how they envisioned me in a short 50s style dress. Usually, this would be totally fitting with my normal style, but I kinda wanted to make a statement on our big day and surprise everyone.

So, off I went with Mother dearest to her local bridal shop for a Mother-daughter moment, fully anticipating that I wouldn't find 'the one', or be able to afford anything in there. I tried on a few, and each time liked one thing about it - the neckline, the skirt, the ruching - but mainly hated that they were all full length. Being 'vertically challenged', I felt like I was drowning in material. The shop assistant suggested buying one and then having it shortened, but there was no way I could justify the astronomical cost of that.

Then, just as I was about to leave, the shop assistant mentioned a ex-sample dress they had in their outlet store that would be a touch too small for me, but could be adjusted that she thought I would like. Well, the second the assistant brought it round on the hanger, my Mum started gushing, as did I when I saw it. And of course... It was a tea length 50s style dress, just like everyone predicted.

That was that - 30 minutes of dress hunting in all, and I had a dress! Not had a single dress wobble since, and am now only 10 weeks from the big day!

My Mum isn't a crier either Marianne (to the point where one of my BMs offered to pinch her to make her cry when I tried my dress on!). During one of my fittings I got a thumbs up through the window from a gas engineer working in the street outside the shop and that was good enough for me!

Hi, I work in my daughters wedding shop. Most brides come with an idea of what they want, and end up buying something completely different.

Just have a good luck through the dresses and try on any you like the look of. I'm sure the ladies in the shop will throw in some ides.

We just let brides try anything they want and they soon get a better idea of what they like or don't like. If its a good bridal shop they will let you do this without any pressure.

Hope you have fun trying lots of dresses. Good luck xx

LOL teabag that's hilarious!! It's like when they say if a bloke notices you've cut your hair...

I thought I was the anti-bride, I definitely didn't want a poufy princess dress, wasn't even sure if I wanted a 'bridal' dress (I don't do dresses). I was going to just buy a dress from Monsoon, elegant little knee length lacy number. Mum really wanted to go dress shopping so I gave in and went to 2 shops. The first one I wanted to cry but not with happiness, it was awful and I felt like an imposter with all these posh dresses and snooty women, I didn't stay very long. The second shop was nicer but I didn't feel in love with any dresses, though I did realise that what I thought I wanted wasn't for me. I thought if I was going to have a proper wedding dress it would be a slim fitting lace type affair. I looked pretty awful in them, I'm a bit scrawny, not helped by some unplanned recent weight loss (stress related), and those dresses just hung off me and I looked completely shapeless. Funnily enough the poufy princess dresses that they told me to try on that I thought I would hate made me look like an actual real girl, with a waist and boobs! So after feeling pretty traumatised by the first dress shop thing I went back to online browsing. Someone on here posted something about BHS dresses which I would never have thought of otherwise and I saw one I felt drawn to so I ordered it and it arrived this morning. It is everything I swore I would never wear, it's poofy and has ruffles and a train and I actually felt awesome just zipping myself up, I think I love it, haha. Sent my mum a photo and she said "Tell me you bought it!" (which I could tell is real excitement, not the usual fake mum excitement I get even wearing a bin bag). She's coming tomorrow for a girly day so I'll get her to take a proper pic.