BEHIND THE APPOINTMENT

BEHIND THE APPOINTMENT: SHOPPING FOR YOUR DREAM DRESS

Wedding gown salons like Georgio’s Bridal and Main Street Bridal sell madeto-order, designer wedding dresses and are the most traditional places to shop. They’ll carry collections from a wide variety of designers with a large variety of styles and options to choose from. You can expect full service (a salesperson well versed in the world of wedding gowns helping you), and your dress is going to be custom-ordered and altered to fit you. You can also buy bridal accessories such as veils and headpieces, shoes, earrings, necklaces and more!

At a salon, a specific salesperson (sometimes called a “bridal consultant”) will be assigned to help you. You will work with this person every time you come into the store and after you buy the dress (for alterations, etc.). A bridal consultant will ask you questions about the type of wedding you’re having such as style, formality and how you envision yourself looking. They will discuss what kind of dresses will flatter your body type, height, and weight. Then she’ll bring you dresses to try on.

Main Street Bridal | Belton, Texas

DRESS FITTINGS Every wedding dress needs alterations. Alterations can be as simple as taking in the waist a bit and hemming the dress, shortening the sleeves, taking in the bodice, or even adding beading or lace. Most bridal salons do alterations in-house, but if they don’t , chances are the bridal consultant you’ve been working with can recommend a good seamstress. Bring your wedding-day undergarments and shoes to all your fittings. A simple bra switch or change in heel height can cause your dress to fit very differently.

You’ll probably have at least two or three fittings, though more may be necessary. You’ll want to do your first fitting six weeks before the wedding day and your second one a month before. The final fitting typically takes place one or two weeks before the wedding day when you pick up your gown and try it on one final time to adjust for any last-minute weight fluctuations.

During the fittings, speak up if you see something you don’t like. Now is your chance. If there’s a problem, continue to schedule fittings until you’re completely satisfied. When the day of your final fitting arrives, ask your mom and maid of honor to come along so they can learn how to bustle your dress and help you get dressed. QUESTIONS TO ASK

1. How long will the dress take to come in and can it be rushed if needed? 2. Can I see fabric samples so I’ll know the exact color I’m ordering? 3. Manufacturer/designer name, and style number 4. Exact color ordered (white, ivory, champagne) 5. What is the full price including any additional fees? 6. What is the size ordered and/or detailed measurements? 7. What is the actual date the dress will be in? 8. What is the deposit amount required? 9. Special order requests and costs (tape sleeves, chance bodice, etc.) 10. Other costs (pressing/steaming, delivery, cleaning) 11. Alterations estimate, specifying what type of alterations it covers. 12. What is the future payment schedule? 13. When is the balance due? 14. What is the Cancellation and refund policies?

GEORGIO’S BRIDAL

GEORGIO’S BRIDAL

510 Lake Air Dr, Waco, TX 76710 (254) 772-0265 | georgiosbridal@gmail.com

Georgio’s is celebrating its 18th year! They are a proud familyowned and operated business catering to your whole wedding party, including tuxedos. Georgio’s pride themselves on their customer service and individual attention to details from your gown, the accessories, and even through your alteration appointments. Brides travel from across Texas and all over the United States to enjoy the experience, diverse, and beautiful selection from some of their exclusive Central Texas designers.

Whatever your budget, Georgio’s can almost always accommodate. Book your appointment now with their easy online scheduling. Choose from a classic appointment to a VIB offering cupcakes, strawberries, and champagne. Follow them on all media platforms. Georgio’s hopes to see you soon!

Silhouettes

During your wedding dress appointment, one of the first things you’ll be asked by the bridal stylist is which type of wedding dress shape or silhouette you’d like to wear. You might already have an idea of how you want your dress to look, but knowing exactly how to describe your dream gown can go a long way when working with your stylist. Choosing the perfect design for your bridal gown will not only enhance your figure and beauty, but also reflect your elegance, grace, and individuality.

When selecting your gown keep these timeless silhouettes in mind rather than trying to look trendy on your wedding day. This will ensure your wedding day gown style will never continue to look timeless. The silhouette you select will be based in personal taste, the style and tone of your wedding and what best enhances your figure.

A-LINE A-Line wedding dresses are the epitome of classic beauty! The Silhouette is considered to be extremely figure flattering, especially for brides wishing to minimize their hips and thighs. A-Line dresses are fitted through your waist and then flare out softly to create an “A” shape (hence the name). It’s a very popular style as it compliments brides’ proportions and flatters the figure with a romantic, feminine cut.

Who it is flattering on: A-Line wedding dresses are praised for their ability to look good on just about any body type. From athletic builds to pear-shaped brides, A-Line silhouettes are forgiving on a wide range of sizes.

FIT-AND-FLARE Fit-and-flare wedding dresses hug the body in all the right places! The top of the gown is fitted until the skirt flares just below the hips, which helps accentuate a brides’ waist. Fit-and-flare gowns are a hybrid of the A-Line and Mermaid silhouettes; this style accentuates the waist and still allows for a dramatic flare.

Who it is flattering on: Fit and flare wedding gowns are often selected by brides with a pear and hourglass builds, as the shape highlights your curves. The shape also adds length in the torso, which can help petite brides look taller. BALL GOWN The true “princess” dress. The ball gown has a fitted bodice and a full skirt. Ballgowns are referred to as the most popular wedding dress silhouette thanks to their whimsical, romantic essence. They offer a traditional, classic shape that is the epitome of wedding day looks.

Who it is flattering on: Ideal for most body types, but can be overwhelming on petites with very small frames.

SHEATH Sheath wedding dresses are the embodiment of simple sophistication. This contemporary style is equal parts sexy and polished. Sheath wedding dresses are a form-fitting style that follows the body’s natural shape and doesn’t flare out at the waist or knees like many other bridal dress styles. Thanks to the straight lines and modern style, sheath wedding dresses have a flattering lengthening effect.

Who it is flattering on: Ideal for lean frames, and athletic body types. Also great for hourglasses who are looking to flaunt their curves!

MERMAID/TRUMPET Mermaid or trumpet wedding gowns are one of the sexiest silhouettes a bride can wear. This style amplifies all of your feminine curves in all the right places. Frequently accented with a sexy sweetheart neckline, mermaid wedding dresses feature an elongated bodice that highlights the hips and flares out below the knee. Trumpet gowns on the other hand flare out at the knee, making it easier to move in.

Who it is flattering on: Hourglass, straight and narrow shaped brides look best in this style. It is perfect for brides wanting to show off their curves. “Finding “The” gown starts with finding the right silhouette. Silhouettes dictate how gowns fit and flatter a body, so you will want to start by knowing which shape will look best on you. ” - Belva Harvey, Georgio’s Bridal

WEDDING PLANNER

PHOTOGRAPHER / CHRISTINA CARROLL PHOTOGRAPHY

Planning, organizing, and designing every aspect of your big day will take a lot of timing, organization skills, and talent. The key to a successful, stress-free, wedding is hiring the right vendors. Wedding planners and coordinators play a huge role in how your day will be executed. From setting up a realistic wedding budget, helping with floor plans, finding the best vendors, coordinating setups and deliveries, managing the wedding day, creating a timeline and so much more. Executing a wedding takes exceptional skill, and although you may throw the best dinner parties, when it comes to one of the biggest events of your life, hiring a wedding planner or coordinator is a must in our book!

wedding planner

Planners take the guesswork out of the process, making planning a wedding as seamless and smooth as possible. A planner will keep track of your budget and handle the logistics. Some planners also provide design or styling services, helping with the creative specifics of your wedding day as well as the logistics. Below are a few wedding planner duties you can expect.

1. Puts in 80 to 250 hours

2. Helps create and maximize your wedding budget

3. Creates a overall plan for your big day

4. Pairing you with the best vendors in the area

5. Negotiates contracts, schedules, and attends all vendor meetings

6. Reading over all of your vendor contracts to make sure everything is correct

7. Creating detailed timelines and floor plans

8. Manages the rehearsal

9. Managing the wedding day, coordinating your other vendors with setup, breakdown and deliveries

10. Handling any emergencies without you knowing so that you can enjoy a stress free day

coordinator

A wedding coordinator is logistically focused, but on a shorter timeline than a planner. They usually begin helping you prepare a month before the wedding and are the point on contact on the wedding day. Coordinators make sure that everything is in order, nothing is forgotten, and you’re free to enjoy your wedding day. Below are a few coordinator duties you can expect.

1. Puts in around 25+ hours

2. Meets with you four to eight weeks before the wedding to get a handle on what you’ve planned thus far

3. Checks in with your vendors to review the signed contracts and confirm logistics

4. Creates detailed timelines and floor plans

5. Completes a final walk-through of the ceremony and reception sites

6. Addresses any overlooked details

7. Manages the rehearsal

8. Oversees everything on the wedding day

HONEY W EDDINGS & EVENTS

HONEY W EDDINGS & EVENTS (254) 721-5809 | honey.coordinating@gmail.com

Sarah Hill, the girl behind Honey, is located in Temple but travels all over Central Texas to plan and design flawless events. Weddings became Sarah’s passion when she merged her creativity with her love of happily ever after moments. Her experience in the wedding industry has shaped her into a professional who knows a wedding inside and out.

Sarah began her experience in the wedding industry as a caterer, bartender, venue manager, and coordinating assistant. With the ability to thrive under pressure, she loves to find any excuse to plan a party! Honey Weddings & Events is prepared to create the day you have always dreamed of and cannot wait to make beautiful memories for you and your family!

CELEBRATIONS W EDDING PLANNING

893 East, FM93, Temple, TX 765028

Celebrations Wedding Planning and Event Rentals provides only the best quality wedding & event rentals to Central Texas! Visit their showroom in Temple, and chat with one of their highly experienced design consultants or certified wedding planners. They offer everything you need to throw the event of a lifetime. Rentals include tablecloths, specialty linens, custom-made archways, unique centerpieces, tables, chairs, and more! Celebrations is ready to make your wedding, corporate event, baby shower, or any other occasion a huge success!

Robin Rogers Photography Bear Moose & Fox (254) 314-2415 | info@celebrationsshoppe.com

CM DESIGNS

(254) 709-9514 | caitlin.cmdesigns@gmail.com

CMDesigns is a wedding and event planning company specializing in thorough and informative planning and seamless day-of coordination. With over 10 years of experience, CMDesigns offers honest and insightful vendor recommendations, help with budgeting, full-service design help, and so much more! Their love for weddings stemmed from a love for design. They want to help with designing every couple’s dream wedding. CMDesigns pays special attention to every detail and loves mixing in a little of the couple’s story and personality. With the understanding that every couple is different and unique, there are no cookiecutter weddings! Perfectly capturing a couple’s unique personality among all the wedding decor is what this company lives for!

CMDESIGNSWEDDINGS.COM CELEBRATIONSSHOPPE.COM

HEAVENLY WEDDINGS

Heavenly Weddings is your premier wedding planning service specializing in the Central Texas area. Planning your wedding isn’t easy to do alone. They are passionate about weddings and building personal relationships with each couple to create beautiful, timeless weddings. They know just how stressful wedding planning can be. From finding the best vendors, perfecting your vision, and sticking to your budget, they will keep the stress out of your special day. Heavenly Weddings will make wedding planning as fun and as effortless for you and your family as possible. If you’re looking for someone you can trust with the big and small parts of your biggest day, all while doing it in style, then you’re in the right place!

heavenly.weddings@yahoo.com Pine and Blossom Photography

KARLA MCNEILL EVENTS

(254) 458-9334 | karla.mcneill@yahoo.com A Central Texas wedding and special event company with over 20 years of wedding industry experience. Karla McNeill Events understands what goes into making a successful event! They offer various services from Mini Planning Sessions & Month of Coordination to Full-Service Planning and Design.

With a specialty in design, Karla McNeill Events’ passion lies in all the details, creating beautiful and memorable events for each of their clients. “You don’t always have to have an extravagant budget to have a beautiful wedding; it’s about having the right team,” Karla says. With 12 years of experience in floral design, 5 years in event rentals, 2 years in catering, and hundreds of weddings under her belt, it’s safe to say, Karla understands the logistics of an event inside and out. She has the team to make your wedding dreams a reality!

KARLAMCNEILLEVENTS.COM

| BLISS BRIDAL

HEAVENLYWEDDINGSTX.COM

W ATSON W EDDINGS & EVENTS

Velvet & Wire info@watsonweddings.com

Watson Weddings is a wedding planning and coordination service. They provide 3 main packages ranging from Month of Coordination to Full-Service planning but don’t strictly stick to those. Every bride is unique in their own way, and they want to make sure they provide unique service. To make sure each bride gets exactly what they need and are looking for in a planner, they can customize something special for you and

your big day!

W EDDINGS BY SHAUNA

weddingsbyshauna@gmail.com

Weddings by Shauna specializes in translating your vision of your wedding day into a magical reality! Their company was born out of a desire to cater to couples who want a highly personalized, upscale, and unique wedding planning experience. They will be there every step of the way to help you choose the right vendors, work closely with those vendors and assist you with design, details, timelines, and the creation of exclusive touches for your wedding! Weddings by Shauna truly believes that it is not just how your wedding looks….it is how your wedding feels! It is their belief that from the first meeting to your wedding day, your experience should be creative, fun, and stress-free!

W EDDINGSBYSHAUNA.COM W ATSON W EDDINGS.CO

Patti Darby Photography