Wedding Gown Styles

“There are so many wedding dresses to choose from, where do I start?” This is an all too often question asked by brides everywhere. The first step is to figure out what style wedding dress is the best for your body type. Then you can start paying attention to the train length, décor, and accessories. If you stay within the most complementary body style you can find the perfect wedding gown. Decide what your favorite feature is that you would like to accent and also the feature you would most like to detract from. Brides come in all different sizes, short and tall, over bearing bust lines or over bearing hips, lots of curves or no curves. Whatever the shape, there is a perfect dress for you.

For a more petite bride looking to elongate her legs and body, empire waist gowns sit right under your bust line and gives the illusion of longer legs and more height. Also a dress with princess seams elongate the body. Usually a princess cut dress is a fitted bodice with a slight A-line cut at the skirt. A tall bride should look for lines that separate and distinguish the different components on her body, such as a distinct waist line in a basque waist or a wrap waist line on top of a princess cut.

Brides wanting to accent their waist but minimize the bust area should look for a wrap waist line and heavy beading on the bust area. Basque waist lines are also great for accenting the waist. The key is a fitted bodice with something that makes the eye go to the waist. When the bust is covered with beading people’s eyes look at the beading and not the actual size of the bust line. Full busted brides should also look for scoop necklines and thicker straps. Lace up backs are great because they can loosen where you need them to and really tighten where you want them to. Instead of getting the dress to fit your bust and then having to alter it to fit your waist.

Smaller busted brides who want to give fullness and lift to their bust line should look for dresses that have little beading on the bust line and more beading at the waist and elsewhere. If you want to detract from your hips choose fuller skirts such as A-lines and ball gowns, they hide the hips and the fuller the skirt is at the bottom the smaller it will make your waist look.

To accentuate curves or make it look like you have curves, a bride should a choose sheath cut dress. The bride with curves would look for pencil skirts to show off her body rather than a mermaid which could make her look to curvy. A mermaid skirt is great for someone who has little curves because it gives the illusion of having them. Also, delicate draping on sheath cut dresses will provide amore curved body shape.

If you are wanting to bring in your waist line, wrap dresses and basque waists are great. The wrap, while looking like it is just a bunch of draped fabric across the mid section while it’s hanging up, is actually one of the most flattering styles for a bride wanting to minimize her waist line. It will put more focus on the bust while it trims down the waist. Basque waists with heaving beading on the mid-section will, and boning in the bodice really accents the waist nicely while holding everything together.

Once you and your bridal consultant have picked the right cut for your body, accenting your best feature and detracting from your not so great feature, you can then move on to the décor and embellishments.