Having touched on previously on the subject of shopping for the perfect gown, I thought it was prudent to expand and give some general tips on gown shopping. Here are the top 5 tips for when you go gown shopping:

1) Bring a Camera. Besides being a fun way to capture an exciting precursor to your wedding day, it gives you an excellent reference tool so you can revisit the dresses with you in them and really make a choice without feeling pressured while in the store. An added bonus is that you’ll be able to know if a dress is photogenic or not, which is an absolute must!

2) Don’t Bring too Many People. Bringing a large entourage will only distract you and slow you down. You don’t want things turning into town hall discussion. Keep things intimate and with opinions you can really trust. You’ll find things will go much smoother.

3) Try on as much as possible! Being sure to keep your options wide open when trying dresses. It is the gown you don’t want to try on that may blow your mind! In the end, will you really regret trying on that other dress? This is your only chance to make sure!

4) Get pampered. You are getting married and you are the spotlight of the show. This is your opportunity to revel in that spotlight, enjoy every moment!

5) Sleep On it! Don’t make an implusive purchase! Falling in love with a gown is great but only after careful consideration and proper review of all the photos you took of yourself inside the gowns! Changing your mind can be costly if you wait too long.

When shopping for the perfect dress, it can be a very difficult knowing which dress is truly the “one” dress for you. Here, we present the 5 ways to know you found the perfect dress:

1) You and your entourage cry. There is no bigger indicator than just seeing yourself in your gown and envisioning yourself in it on your wedding day. If your bridesmaids start to cry, this is probably a good sign!

2) You can’t stop thinking about that “one” dress. You wake up in the middle of the night, the dress you tried on the night before is burned into the inside of your eyelids. You cannot stop thinking about it and there is just something about that dress that just haunts your thoughts.

3) You compare all other dresses to this “one” dress. Every other gown just pales in comparison. This is pretty much just code for, “get that “one” gown, get it now!

4) You linger in it the most. You try on 7, 8, 9, or even more gowns when you come in to find that “one” dress. But there is one that you try on that just seems to be the one you stay in. You already have a connection and it shows.

5) You feel beautiful and confident. You stand in that mirror and you just feel a sudden sense of power. You are a rock’n'roll bride and your dress truly compliments your confident nature and it simply screams “match made in heaven.”