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Weddings

8 Telltale Signs You’ve Found the Perfect Wedding Dress

After trying on dozens of gowns, how do you know you’ve found “the one.”

Allyson Johnson
Allyson Johnson

bride looking at wedding dress

With programs like Say Yes to the Dress and bridal gown fashion shows hitting the runways (and your Instagram feed), it’s hard to avoid the frenzy when trying to find the perfect wedding dress. And many of us have dreamed about our fantasy wedding gown for so long. But how do you know you’ve actually found the wedding dress of your dreams? It can be trickier than you might think. Despite what you see on TV, not every perfect dress produces waterworks (though many do!), and after trying on dozens and dozens of gowns, you might find yourself overwhelmed to the point of indecision.

Here’s how to know you’ve found the perfect wedding dress:

You aren’t thinking about flaws.

For the first time, you’re staring at yourself in the mirror and not thinking about any of your personal insecurities. There’s not thought of “my arms look too big” “my waistline isn’t right” or “man, these hips!” When you find the perfect wedding dress, you feel, well… 100 percent perfect! The dress should make you feel your absolute best, and distract you from any of those unwarranted insecurities. In fact, you’re probably thinking your body has never looked better.

You get a tingle…

For some, the perfect gown will bring you to tears. For others, it’s just an excited feeling. Remember how you felt when you bought your prom dress? You should be feeling that same rush of excitement. It makes you light up from the inside out, and makes you more excited for the big day to come.

You can picture yourself walking down the aisle.

Or having your first dance. Suddenly, flashes of your future wedding album are popping through your head and you have a vision of what you will look like walking down the aisle. The other dresses were okay… but this one, you can picture make your spouse-to-be light up when they see you walking down the aisle.

bride getting ready with bridesmaids

Someone in your entourage is crying.

Even if you didn’t come to tears, maybe your mom or your grandma did. Trust us, the group that’s shopping with you has been equally overwhelmed and dazzled by the number of dresses you’ve tried on, but when you bring one—or more— to tears, that’s a showstopper for sure.

You don’t want to try on any other dresses.

There’s a sea of dresses to get through, and an equal number of bridal shops you can keep going to. But when you find the perfect wedding dress, you have no desire to shop anymore. You should have zero desire to say “let me just try on that one dress, just in case.” No, this dress is the last dress you want to put on.

You can’t stop thinking about it.

Even if you walked out of the store without making a purchase, your mind can’t stop going back to that one dress. And it’s not in a “did I make the wrong choice” kind of way. This dress stays in your mind. The vision of yourself in the mirror stays in your mind. And you just can’t put that gown out of your head. If you can’t stop thinking about the dress, well, then you’ve probably found the dress.

No one else’s opinion matters.

You’ve spent the day getting yays and nays from your entourage, but when you put this dress on, you didn’t care at all what they had to say. When you’re that certain that you love something, you don’t need anyone to tell you otherwise. Plus, that rosy glow on your face says it all.

You want to try on the veil.

Do not put on a veil with just any dress you’re trying on. Save it for when you have that special feeling. Once you’re ready to try on the veil, you’ll know you found a dress worth keeping. And if that extra touch doesn’t affirm your opinion, well then… keep shopping!