The Process of Making Designer Wedding Dresses

When you shop at bridal boutiques, you have the chance to try on different wedding dresses. You’ll never forget the way you looked in the mirror and how your bridal party gushed over you when you found the right one. Not all women find their perfect dress right off the bat though. You might visit multiple shops before you find the one that makes your heart skip a beat. No matter which designer wedding dress grabs your eye, you can learn how the designer made it.

It Starts With Trends

Many brides do not realize how much time designers spend checking out and staying on top of the hottest trends. It can take months for a dress to go from the drawing board to the store. Designers need to make sure that the new dresses they make will be popular with future brides. Many designers travel around the world to see what styles are hot in different markets. They get inspiration from those markets to create their designs.

Sketches and Designs

The best wedding dress designers spend a lot of time in their studios as they come up with new ideas. They usually start with a simple sketch and go from there. That sketch might go through dozens of revisions before it makes it to the factor. Designers also use mood boards that they can add to and remove from as needed. A mood board might feature multiple dresses along with fabric swatches and paint colors. Different types of fabric are suitable for different types of women. While silk is so thin that it shows every imperfection, cotton is more forgiving.

Prototypes and Samples

Depending on where you live, you might get lucky enough to attend sample sales. Sample sales offer big savings on clothing that designers used to show off their work. Though you might find it hard to believe, wedding dresses also go through the sample process. Designers will revise their concepts multiple times before they decide to make a sample. This allows them to see how the dress flows as well as what it looks like in real life. They often make multiple samples and revise them a few times before they get the look they want.

Adding Embellishments

When you hit bridal stores Columbus pros can help you find the right dress based on what you want. Though some women prefer simple designs that are sleek and elegant, others like dresses with more embellishments like beading around the neckline or embroidery on the train. Designers do those embellishments by hand. Though some of the top designers allow their interns and other workers to add these decorations, some still do all the embellishment work by hand in their studio. The designer must approve all the work and decide if it looks right before it goes to the factory.

Purchase Orders

Every company that makes designer wedding dresses creates a purchase order. A purchase order is essentially the order they place that shows what they want. It should include how many dresses they need in each size along with what they want to pay. The manufacturing facility or factory is responsible for making the dresses in larger numbers. Very few designers make dresses from scratch today. They rely on these factories to create hundreds or even thousands of dresses that sell in stores. In addition to designers, bridal boutiques can place purchase orders too.

Dress Inspections

Have you ever visited a bridal shop before and wondered how they had so many dresses in different sizes that looked the same? If you aren’t sure what size you need and try on the same dress in multiple sizes, you’ll find that they all look the same. You can thank manufacturing factories for this. The factories have large machines that cut the fabric to match the patterns they have. They also stitch the pieces together. Some factories use workers who add some embellishments by hand. Each dress must pass an intensive inspection to ensure it meets the factory’s standards before it leaves.

Choosing Your Size

If you never tried on a wedding dress before, you may not realize how small the sizes run. A woman who usually wears a size 12 may need a wedding dress in a size 14 or 16. One of the nice things about bridal boutiques is that they stock dresses in a range of sizes. You can bring your entire family with you to try on dresses or just a few of your favorite people. It’s helpful to try on more than one designer wedding dress to make sure you find your dream dress. To make the day easier, wear clothing that you can take on and off quickly. You should also bring shoes with the same heel height as those you plan to wear.

Dress Fittings

Women shopping for wedding dresses usually need to attend multiple fittings. It’s rare for a bride to find a dress that fits perfectly off the rack. Your first fitting is when the seamstress will make your measurements and decide what they need to do to your dress. The seamstress will also talk with you about what you want and make suggestions for your dress. Did you find a designer wedding dress you loved but wanted a different neckline? A seamstress can add a lace panel for more coverage or lower the neckline slightly.

Working with an alteration pro also lets you change the train on the dress. You might prefer a longer train to trail behind you as you walk down the aisle or a shorter one that won’t get in your way. While most bridal boutiques have a seamstress on staff who can perform alterations, you also have the option of working with someone you know or another seamstress. You usually need to attend at least three fittings before your wedding day. The last one should happen around a week before your wedding.

Designer Wedding Dress Basics

Wedding dresses come in hundreds of styles. You’ll find sleek dresses that hug your curves and ballgowns that make you feel like a princess. Designers spend several months traveling around the world to find new trends that they can add to their designs. They spend even more time in their studios as they put those designs together and look for ways to improve them. The wedding dress you buy tomorrow might relate to a design the person made 12 months ago or longer. While the process takes a long time, it helps brides like you find the perfect wedding dresses for their big days.