Who to invite wedding dress shopping?

It is down to who's opinion you want/need the most to be able to choose your dress. I was in a similar predicament but I knew the only two people who I really wanted opinions from were my mum and my sister. I've kept the dress a surprise for everyone else, some of them weren't happy about it but have soon got over it an hopefully it will be worth the wait for them!

You may find some bridal shops have limits on how many people you can bring with you as well; limited seating, knowing that too many opinions can be trouble being some reasons.

On a personal note... I would always include my mum as the first on the list to invite, I know not everyone's relationships with their mum's are the same but I've always thought of it as the ultimate mother-daughter moment when you try on 'the one'.

I only took my mum to mine, having too many opinions can sometimes make it harder to decide, especially if you think you're picky to begin with! I just involved my bridesmaids in other decisions, and I took MIL out veil shopping!

My bridesmaids didn't mind at all that they couldn't come, they understood that it's a mother-daughter thing for me and were happy with a promise of them coming to my fittings instead!

I've been to one appointment so far with three of my bridesmaids and that was okay. They liked one dress on me more than I did though! I have another appointment with one of my other bridesmaids tomorrow which I think may work better as I won't have so many opinions and I can think more about what I like. I have an appointment at the end of the month with all four bridesmaids and my mum so that will be interesting! I think it depends on what you want to do but remember that, at the end of that day, the dress you pick should be your decision X

I just went by myself - I am not very close to my mother but also didn't want to be swayed in one direction. I have a different style to both my mum, FMIL and bridesmaid so I doubt they would have picked the one I did.

Also going by myself meant I could try a lot more on as I could go yes/no rather than having to go out and discuss them!

dont worry about the sizing - they will pin them, but also sizing are odd in bridal dresses. I'm normally a 10 and tried some 14s on that were too small and also tried on some 10s that were far to big. In the end I've ordered a 12 that will need taking in, in all areas but the chest!

It took me ages to find my dress as like you I didn't like most of them on the hanger. I'd try to keep an open mind though as the one I chose was not one I would have picked from the model picture or on the hanger. I only tried it because I didn't really like anything in the shop and felt like I had to try something!

I went to a lot of different shops and took my mum to all of them. We're really close and it was important to me to find my dress when she was there, plus I knew she'd be totally honest with me. My MOH was supposed to come with us on a couple of occasions but she was ill and couldn't make it.

I'm a size 8 and out of the 60 or so dresses I tried on I can only remember one or two that weren't far too big. It's not ideal but you can get an idea of what the right size would look like when it's been pinned.

Thanks for the advice, really helpful.

How long did you all leave it in between different days? I'm worried i'll go one week and then a month later when i can go again i'll have forgotten!

I'm taking my two BMs to the first one, & then two weeks later going to another two with my sister & niece - the second shop has two of my all-time fave dresses in so I am hoping to get some sneaky photos from the first shop of any I particularly like so I can remind myself of them in the second shop!

If I don't find any I like in these two shops I'll probably visit a couple of other places on my own as I live quite a way away from everyone & can't expect them to spend weeks on end traipsing around after me!

I'd have liked to have taken my mum but she's pretty disinterested. I would say if your mum is willing it must be lovely to take her.

I went to one with all my bridesmaids (5 of them) and although it was fun it just felt like too many so the second time I went to another shop with just a couple of them. My mom was working so only took her once I found the dress but wanted her opinion on it before buying it, I also took my sister to that one. Having other peoples opinions is always helpful!

I tried on about 12 dresses in the end I think and would never have picked mine from the hanger. It was actually the lady in the shop who made me try it on and I loved it straight away so do take the shop girls opinions on board, they really know their stuff!

I wouldn't pay too much attention to sizes either and it should be made to measure for you. They just clip it all together so you can see the style and fit and you will know when you find one! Just try as many on as you want and loads of different styles, you really do never know!

Don't be deflated by it all, I did find that some shops are not like the dreamy film scenes you see but they should still be enjoyable and not rushed.

Let us know if you find anything! We love a good flash

Just a quick tip, when I went I didn't realise that they have to dress you and my underwear was less than... flattering. Wear a strapless bra if you can and wear neutral / white coloured items. I was extremely embarrased...

I'm going to have a trip with a few people to include them in the process but ultimately intend to make my decision at a later date by myself because I don't want others to sway my opinion as they have in the past.

Good luck x

I took my mum every time and my sister a couple, both of them have come to all my fittings. I know my mum will always say what she thinks (sometimes when it's not wanted haha!) so I wanted her opinion. My sister I know will always say it looks nice so I didn't want her opinion but just the experience of her being there. I didn't consider taking anyone else really.

If you want them all but are concerned about taking too many, what about inviting some of the others to fittings? I'm planning to show my nanna my dress beforehand but she didn't come shopping with me. Although if you think you'll need a few fittings you can always take different combinations of people on different days, and get an idea of who you find most helpful to have with you.

I invited both bridesmaids, my mum and my partner's mum. I just booked the appointments then let everyone know what date and time if they fancied it - in the end I think I had four trips, my mum made all four, MIL made two, one bridesmaids made all four and the other only made one! The one that everyone made it to was the one where I finally found the dress!!

Although one of the bridesmaids had food poisoning and it very nearly ended up like a scene from Bridesmaids! Although she didn't tell me she almost chundered till afterwards!