Planning a wedding is an exciting, albeit rather stressful time, with lots of different things to consider - from the venue, to the number of guests and the food you want to serve.
Another wonderful part of the planning experience is going shopping with your nearest and dearest to find your dream dress.
However, it turns out there are some all-important dos and don'ts when it comes to bridal shop appointments that many people might not know about.
Thankfully an expert has shed light on the mistakes people commonly make and the comments you should avoid making when a bride-to-be is trying on different gowns.
Shannon Martin, the owner of Dotty Bridal in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, and a former candidate on The Apprentice, explained that one of the biggest mistakes brides make when arriving for their appointment is not coming in with an open mind.
Speaking on behalf of Hitched.co.uk, she told The Mirror: "A lot of the time, brides come in with pictures that they've seen on the internet or that a celebrity has worn, or pictures of dresses from Pinterest that you then can't ever find because they don't exist, which is all good and well, and we do encourage people to have a vision of what they like and what their style is, but where they then go wrong is not letting the stylists pick out other options for them.
"In our store, we work very much like a stylist basis and treat the appointment as though it is like a personal shopper appointment that you would get in a high-end department store.
"However, sometimes brides don't want to listen to the stylists, they want to just pick out things that they want to try, or send their friends and family downstairs to pick out dresses for them, which is obviously great – it's dead exciting for them, but they do need to be open to letting us pick out dresses for them too as we are there to help."
Another error would be to try and bring too many people along to the appointment with you - especially if your friends and family members don't see eye to eye.
"I think three [people] is a good number, and we will always suggest to our brides that they don't bring people who will all not agree with each other," Martin said.
"Yes, you want other people's opinions, but you don't want overbearing opinions so you want opinions from people who matter the most. I took my dad to my appointment because I knew he would be honest and blunt with me. But if you're a person who can’t cope with people being blunt, then don't take your bluntest friend along!
"It's not about the number of people you take, it's more about the type of people you take."
The expert went on to share some of the things guests at the appointment should avoid saying and the 'worst' comments that people can make.
She explained: "The worst thing a friend or family member can do is give their personal opinion, without it being constructive feedback. These people can be really overpowering and can completely overshadow the bride. More recently, we've had a lot of family members body-shame our brides, which we find really difficult to handle as this feels like critical judgment and not feedback that is helpful.
"We find it really hard to manage and have had girls in tears over it, so that's a really big thing for me that should never happen in an appointment. If you're going as a guest to a bridal appointment, then you should empower that bride into making her own decision, by only giving your opinion when it's needed.
"We will always ask the bride’s opinion first, so the guests have the chance to mirror their thoughts, but we do sadly get times when friends or family will give their opinion before it's been asked of them…"
And once your appointment is over there are a few more mistakes Martin warns against - including continuing to look at wedding dresses and 'window shopping'.
She adds: "After the appointment, the biggest thing to avoid is more window shopping! Looking at social media or bridal accounts for other dresses once you've chosen your dress causes a nightmare.
"We allow our brides to take pictures during their styling session, but we also encourage them to delete them after because all they're going to do is sit at home and look at the pictures of themselves and absolutely rip themselves apart – I know, I did it!"
Do you have a wedding story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email courtney.pochin@mirror.co.uk
