All guides
Everything we have published, newest first. Or browse by topic.
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Style
Beach wedding dresses: fabrics that survive sand, wind and heat, the silhouettes that work, and what to skip
What makes a dress suitable for a beach, six fabrics rated for heat, wind, sand and creasing, the silhouettes that move over sand and the two that struggle, hem and train length, shoes, veils in wind, ivory in sunset light, and how to get the dress to a destination wedding.
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Style
Long sleeve wedding dresses: sleeve types, fabrics that let you move, and how to choose for the season
The five long sleeve types and what each does to the shoulder line and your arm movement, the fabrics that stay cool, the arm-raise test to do at a fitting, and how a sleeve changes which necklines you can have.
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Style
Open back wedding dresses: the back styles, what holds them up, and what to wear underneath
The six open back styles and how low each one goes, an honest account of what actually holds an open back dress up, the fabrics that suit bare and illusion backs, the sit-and-bend test, and how veils and hair work with a low back.
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Silhouettes
Wedding dress train lengths explained: sweep, court, chapel, cathedral and royal, with measurements and how each is bustled
The five standard train lengths with their typical measurements, what each one needs from the venue and the bride, the three ways to bustle a train, and how to decide whether you want one at all.
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Style
Vintage vs classic wedding dresses: what each term means, how they differ, and which one to choose
Vintage means a dress that revives a specific era; classic means a dress built to look right in any era. The differences in lace, silhouette, fabric and photographs, with a comparison table.
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Silhouettes
Wedding dress silhouettes explained: A-line, mermaid, trumpet, ball gown, sheath and empire
What each silhouette actually does to the body, where the skirt starts to flare, how much you can move, and how to walk into a first appointment knowing what to ask for.
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Fabrics & Lace
Wedding dress fabrics: tulle, satin, mikado, chiffon, crepe, organza and lace compared
How each fabric drapes, breathes, creases, weighs and photographs, which silhouettes it suits, and the questions that tell you what you are actually buying.
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Silhouettes
Which wedding dress suits my body shape? A guide without the fruit
Forget apple and pear. Three relationships decide which silhouettes suit you: shoulders against hips, waist definition and waist height, then height and pregnancy.
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Planning
When to start looking for a wedding dress: a timeline from engagement to the aisle
How far ahead to begin for made to measure, ordered from a maker, or bought off the rack, what happens at each stage, and what to do if you have eight weeks left.
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Fabrics & Lace
Types of lace in wedding dresses: Chantilly, Alençon, guipure, corded and embroidered tulle
What each lace looks and feels like, how it changes a dress, why two lace gowns can look nothing alike, and the questions to ask about samples, swatches and care.
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Planning
Buying a wedding dress online, made to measure: how it works, what can go wrong, and how to protect yourself
Ordering a made-to-measure dress from a designer you will never meet: how measurements are taken, what a sound process looks like, the questions to ask, and the red flags.
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Style
The boho wedding dress: what defines it, its three sub-styles, and how not to end up in costume
Three traits that make a dress boho, what only looks like it, the romantic, clean and free-spirited versions, the fabrics that work, and what venue and weather change.
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Style
Ivory, white, champagne or blush: choosing the colour of a wedding dress
What separates stark white, diamond white, ivory, champagne and blush, why names shift between makers, and how undertone, fabric, lining and light change the result.
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Planning
Twelve questions to ask before you buy a wedding dress
The twelve questions that separate a clear purchase from an expensive misunderstanding: what you are buying, how the process runs, what is included and who dresses you.
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Planning
Wedding dress fittings: what happens at each one, what to bring and what to check
A fitting-by-fitting account of what the seamstress is doing, what you should test in the dress, when big changes are still possible and when they are not.
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Accessories
Veil lengths, jewellery by neckline, and shoes: finishing a wedding dress without overloading it
Which veil length does what, which jewellery suits which neckline, how to choose shoes you can stand in for six hours, and when to leave something off entirely.
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Accessories
What to wear under a wedding dress: bras, cups, shapewear, petticoats and the things nobody tells you
How to choose support, shapewear and petticoats by neckline, fabric and silhouette, what each one does to the fit, and why it must be settled before the second fitting.
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Care
Cleaning and preserving a wedding dress: stains, steaming, and what to do in the first week after
Stain emergencies on the day, why the first week after matters most, how specialist cleaning differs from dry cleaning, and how to store a dress so it stays white for decades.