(Please note, this series on brides comes from my book. You can buy the book here.)
The “Unrealistic Expectations” Bride
Ok, here we go. Sometimes a bride is clueless about clothing construction and has some very unrealistic expectations for how her dress should look. You have to keep a straight face and be respectful as you educate these brides.
I think as BAS we assume that brides understand how clothing is put together. And some of them do. But some of them have never even tried on a dress before. Some have looked through some photo shopped pics in bride magazines or pinterest and assumed that’s how a real live dress looks on a body.
These girls aren’t trying to drive you mad. They just don’t know how clothes construction or alterations work. I always want to know a bride’s vision of how she wants her dress to look. Sometimes there are easy adjustments I can do to refine a neckline or make lace hug your back. So I never want to discourage a bride from pointing things out that bug her.
Sometimes I see things that hurt my eyes and I will ask the bride if she is ok with me adjusting this or the other just a bit. They are sometimes surprised at what can be done. I never point out refinements to a bride on a budget. I just do what she requests. You can break their budget if you insist on having the fit perfect when they just want a hem. Use good judgment on whether to make suggestions or not.
But…there are some brides who demand unrealistic fits.
There’s the bride in tears because her sleeves wrinkle when she bends her arms. Queen Ann necklines will be the death of me. I settle them down onto the bride’s neck. But then she turns her head and wonders why the neckline doesn’t turn with her neck. Or she extends her neck forward and back, freaking out because the neckline is gaping when she does that. Sigh…
I had one bride who after her final fitting was standing in the mirror doing the different poses she imagined would happen at her bridals. She turns her back to the mirror. Puts both hands on one hip and looks over her shoulder into the mirror. Horror! She sees wrinkles in the bodice side and back. Oh, that won’t do! I had to kindly and respectfully explain that the dress isn’t spray painted onto her skin. It’s fabric. Fabric with much boning and structure. It’s not skin and making the dress fit tighter won’t make it stop wrinkling when you move. If the dress is tighter, you just won’t be able to move and risk tearing your dress.
Do your best to stay calm, and remember that these brides are a work in progress. I’m still a work in progress.
This is the fourth part in a series about brides. This is taken from my book, “The most important dress a woman will ever wear”
