Your mum spotted your dress first…how fantastic! She must’ve known what you were looking for. Did you have any idea of what style or shape of dress you were looking for?

Yes, she did, so it was really special. She obviously had a keen eye for Ronald Joyce dresses too as she also ended up picking a Ronald Joyce dress to wear on the day from their Veni Infantino Mother of the Bride Collection. I nearly went for almost the exact style I initially thought I would like. I’m quite petite so I was pretty sure from the start I didn’t want anything too big. I did try on a ball gown just to be 100% sure, but it wasn’t for me. I found myself drawn towards the more figure hugging, fishtail style dresses from the start and I was certain I wanted lace with a bit of detail. I then found the Erin _style number 69009 dress and it ticked all of the boxes. I loved the lace and the sparkly detailing down the front of the dress and the beading on the back was really different to anything else I had tried on.

Did you try a lot of dresses on before you found the ONE?

I would say I tried on around 10 dresses in total. I tried on the Erin dress at my first dress shopping appointment and fell in love with the dress then, but as it was the first time trying on wedding dresses so I decided to try on a few more at another appointment, just to be sure. Needless to say none of the other dresses came close and I went back to a week later to try it on again before deciding it was definitely the one.

Where did you buy your dress from?

I got my dress from Anya Bridal Couture in Wickham, Southampton. It was a lovely barn style building, in a small rural business estate and all of the staff were very welcoming and not at all pushy.

Who went with you to try on dresses?

I had my Mum and my bridesmaids with me, which was great as they all know me so well so the whole experience was really good fun, trying on gorgeous dresses with your girls and a glass of bubbly…perfect! They were a great help in spotting dresses they thought I may like and It was great to have their opinions.

Any tips for future brides?

Be as organised as you can as early as possible. I found it makes the whole planning process a lot less stressful and gives you time to focus on all the little extra wedding ideas and details that come with planning a wedding.

I swore by using a spreadsheet for every little wedding detail and although it sounds a bit regimented it really helped me having all of my planning info, supplier contacts etc. in one place for easy reference. I really enjoyed all the planning and the day itself ran really smoothly due to putting in a little bit of extra work early on, which allowed me to really relax and enjoy the lead up and the day.

I was told by numerous people the day itself goes by in a flash, and it really does. My advice to future brides is make sure you take time to stand back and take it all in together, after all its you that has put in all of the hard work to arrange the day, so make sure you take the time to enjoy all your hard work. It’s really nice looking around and watching your friends and family enjoying themselves, knowing they are all here to help you celebrate your special day.

Also, the day itself goes so fast so if possible, try and have something nice planned for the day after to alleviate the post wedding blues! Maybe a lunch or BBQ or something so you can reminisce about the day with your new hubby and closest friends and family. It’s nice to have something to do after the buzz of the day itself.

For more wonderful stories or bridal tips check out our real brides page.