How to Choose Your Dream Wedding Dress 70 Things to Know(21~30)

While they most likely won't work for a formal wedding, for a more casual, rustic, or beachy wedding, untraditional lengths can be a fun way to bring your personality to your big day dress. Tea length is fun for a quirky bride, whereas a white minidress has a rocker-chic party vibe.

In addition to silhouette, color, and embellishments, fabric makes a big difference on how a gown will look on you. A heavier, more structured material (think silk shantung, taffeta, or guipure lace) will hold its shape and smooth your figure. Unstructured silk and filmy chiffon are less flattering for those brides with curves.

Some bridal salons have communal high heels you can borrow, but that's a little icky, and a dress will look a lot different with flip-flops than stilettos. Be prepared by bringing heels of the same height you think you'll likely wear for your big day, so you'll have a better idea of how the dress will look.

Whether it’s printouts of dream dresses from your secret wedding Pinterest board you’ve had since college or a page from a magazine, come armed with a photo collage of the wedding dress styles you like best while shopping.

In addition to gowns you pull from magazines or Pinterest, bring photos of your ceremony and reception site to the appointment. Seeing the venue ambience can help your consultant pull gowns that will be the most appropriate for the location.

Wedding dresses often have heavy details that can make it sag on a hanger. "Unlike shopping for a shirt, you won't really know what a wedding dress will look like until you actually try it on, so be open if your consultant promises the dress will look better on you than it does on the hanger," says Anne Chertoff, bridal expert at You & Me TV.

You can often take 10 percent off a gown that way and get to meet the designer, who may also "waive or discount certain changes, like raising or lowering a neckline, extending the length, changing the color, or adding straps," says Terry Hall, fashion director at Kleinfeld Bridal in New York City.

"Salons frequently have sales to move older inventory, so you'll find designer gowns for 25 to 50 percent off. The only downside is most sales are stocked with sample sizes—that's bridal 8 and 10, comparable to ready to wear size 6 and 8," says Mark Ingram, president of Mark Ingram Atelier in New York City.

"Handwork like embroidery or beading always adds to the cost of the dress," Hall says. Of course, if simple isn't your style, those embellishments are worth it—just factor that into your budget.

If you can't afford it, there's no point in trying it on—you're just torturing yourself and making a standard that no dress you can actually have will live up to.