WTF
WEDDING

DRESS
GUIDE

WTF DOES A NORTHERNER WITH A BEARD KNOW ABOUT CHOOSING AND WEARING A WEDDING DRESS? A LITTLE, BUT NOT A LOT, SO HE ASKED A FEW BRIDES TO HELP HIM OUT

A WTF Wedding Dress Guide for Brides who are fed up of Wedding Dress guides.

REAL BRIDES, REAL STORIES AND HONEST ADVICE.

The kind of Wedding Dress Guide that ignores Trends, “Whats Hot” lists and “Must Do’s and Dont’s” articles because ultimately the best dress for anyone is the one that THEY love and feel comfortable in.

As a photographer I honestly don’t care what anybody wears as long as they are happy and comfortable. Happiness looks great on everyone and even though the camera can tell the odd fib, what it cant do is fake happiness.

But WTF does a bearded middle age bloke know about choosing and wearing a Wedding Dress I hear you ask?

Well more than you would think BUT not as much as some of the awesome Brides I have hung out with over the years. And when I reached out asking them to tell their stories they DELIVERED

So much so that this is going to require more than 1 post. So here’s part ONE

PART TWO COMING SOON

SOPHIE

Pre Loved.

I started my dress hunt by visiting local bridal boutiques to get an idea of the styles and shapes that might suit me.

I have very pale skin and found that classic ‘white white’ dresses were not for me. I soon discovered that Ian Stuart made beautiful, unusual dresses in a variety of stunning styles and colours (pinks, champagnes, and blues) which were more in keeping with my personal style and which better suited my skin-tone.

I tried on several of Ian Stuart’s stunning dresses

in boutique shops where only his most recent designs were available. Having researched his back-catalogue, I fell in love with many of his older designs which were no longer available to buy new. After a quick search online, I could see that women were selling their once-worn Ian Stuart dresses on websites such as Pre-Loved, eBay and Gumtree. I contacted sellers and made appointments to visit their homes to try on their dresses. All were very welcoming and friendly and gave me the time and space to try on the dresses.

wedding dress guide image of bride lit by window light

I purchased my champagne ‘Antionette’ style Ian Stuart dress (pure silk with beaded tulle and worn only once) for just £600 from Preloved.co.uk. It was in perfect condition. If purchased new, this dress would have cost between £5000-£6000. I paid approximately £200 for a fantastic local seamstress to make the required adjustments ahead of the big day.

I wanted to style such an opulent dress with a show-stopper headpiece. I purchased my veil and bird wing taxidermy headpiece from Etsy. It’s a bit ‘out there’ but I loved the look, it’s very me.

I have since found out that Ian Stuart very sadly died in 2022. Ian was an enormously talented designer whose design, Flower Bomb, was featured in the V&A Exhibition of Wedding Dresses 1775-2014.

PEARLS OF WISDOM

Don’t follow trends. Trends don’t last but your pictures will.
Go for what suits your body type, skin-tone, and personal style.
Search for a pre-loved dress. You can find excellent quality, high-end, designer dresses online for a fraction of the price of a new dress. Any good seller will let you try on the dress, answer any questions and will be happy to see their beloved dress take another trip down the aisle.
If you can think of it then you can find it on Etsy. There is such a great range of choice from fantastic independent sellers.

FRAN

Embrace Your Inner Celeb.

My Dress Was From Eva Lendell

who is based in Ukraine and continues to make her beautiful dresses despite the Russian invasion.

I got it from Love Bridal in Crystal Palace, recommended by a friend. Had a really lovely shopping experience there and they were great throughout. I also used their recommended seamstress for my alterations.

Shoes were Steve Madden. Only jewellery was my engagement ring by Vrai – ethical, carbon neutral diamonds, and wedding band.

When it came to finding my wedding dress, I had a really fun day at an enormous wedding shop out in Surrey. They had what felt like thousands of dresses. I tried on every style – tight, princess, long train, sequin, classic, mermaid, tulle. And that got me to a style I was pretty happy with but not ‘the one’. I’d really recommend trying that approach if you’re not sure what you’re looking for.

Then I searched online for dresses in the shape I liked, finding stockists of those brands and found Love Bridal. So off I went, to try on this very specific dress I knew they had in stock………

THE MAGPIE EFFECT

But when I walked in the door I saw this ridiculous sparkly dress on the rack and (such a magpie) immediately asked to try that on too. It sounds ridiculous, and I never thought I’d be that person, but as soon as it was zipped up I just felt right in it. Both my friends immediately saw it and said – yep that’s it! I was a tiny bit cautious about how sparkly it was – but I got the advice to embrace your inner celeb on your wedding day, so I went for it.

Having it tailored made a huge difference. So I’d also recommend that if you’re able to. Retrospectively if I had known how many great places there are online to get second hand dresses, I would have looked there too.

I’ve since sold my dress on Still White. So it’s gone to make another brides day which I’m really pleased about. I’m using the money to buy a piece of jewellery that I can keep & wear to remind me of the dress.

SOPHIE AND FRAN THANK YOU FOR YOUR NUGGETS OF KNOWLEDGE. LEGENDS!

I hope you found that all useful and as I said less of a standard Wedding Dress Guide and more of a story behind the images kinda thing. Its easy to forget how much of a story and relevance a wedding dress can have both pre and post wedding day and even though both Fran and Sophie chose very different styles their ethos and approach to it had a definite synergy and I hope gives help and reassurance to anybody about to start their search.

And of course in the diverse and ever changing (for the better) world of wedding outfits there is more to discuss and focus on beyond just dresses. So keep an eye on my INSTAGRAM for updates.

WEDDING DRESS GUIDE. Photography by Alternative Wedding Photographer Matt Parry Photography. If you’re getting married in the future anywhere in the UK or planning a Destination Wedding get in touch by visiting my photography website at www.mattparryphotography.co.uk or you can find me on Instagram. Offering an alternative apparoach and style I photograph weddings across the UK in tipis, barns, country houses , iconic hotels, Industrial warehouses, town halls and cool city boozers . For more information and to check availability head for my contact page or call me on 07904 710687

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