Fuck. I am never going to find a wedding dress that I like.

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Have been looking at loads of dresses, but I just cannot find anything that I like. I don't want strapless (looks awful on me) or low backed (have seen some low backed dresses that I adore, but have a back tattoo that I would prefer to cover). Don't want a hugely full skirt. I don't want to traipse around loads of different dress shops, so am narrowing down my options online. I literally have not found anything that I like.

I'm usually really low maintenance and not too bothered about what I wear. I live in jeans, Cons, and t-shirts. Somehow, this is really important to me though. I want a really amazing wedding dress. I cannot find anything that I like. Aargh! How does one find the perfect wedding dress?

What is your budget? My wedding dress was custom made for me by an amazing lady called Janice. Have a look at www.uptight-clothing.co.uk

I have a friend who is a make-up artist, apparently it would take about 6 hours to properly cover my back tattoo. I have a decent budget but am definitely not creative enough to come up with a design for my own dress. I've seen loads of amazing low backed dresses, but I definitely don't want to spend the morning of my wedding having camo applied to my back. My extremely fussy sister found her perfect wedding dress in about 10 minutes, I really am thinking I'll never find anything I like. And I'm supposed to be the laid back one!

So tell us what you do like, lace, beading, full length or what? Do you have a budget? What colour, white or something less traditional? An what sort of size/height/shape?

MrsCakes, I'm around 5'9''. Size 10. Tall with broad hips and shoulders. Very broad shoulders, hence my objection to anything strapless. Full length, with a train. My sister tried to talk me into a ballet length dress, but while it would be amazing on her, it would look utterly daft on me. I like lace and beading, and want a sleeve of some sort. Something like this but with more of a train. Budget wise, in the region of €7000. That's the maximum.

Korma, really? I would be over the moon if I could get my back tat covered up in less than 6 hours! How long do you reckon it would take? It extends across my shoulder blades, but ends above my bra line, is all black, and all lines of text. So no solid work.

darkside, they are absolutely gorgeous gowns. Not my style, unfortunately, but they are gorgeous. I will pass that link on to a friend, who would adore that style of dress .

Get thee to a bridal shop. I went and tried a few on, and the one I liked on was exactly what I would have thought I would have hated, whereas the style I had originally had in mind didn't look nice on me at all. Go with an open mind and try on some different styles.

Have you actually tried any on or are you just going by the pictures on the internet?

As I can tell you the two are very different things! Dresses don't look anything like the pictures and are totally different in real life and when you're wearing them. Which is why it's a good idea to try every style on and see what suits you.

So many people think they know what they like and end up buying something completely the opposite!

The other thing you could do is look at high street lines.

My sister got hers (custom) from www.courtesan-boutique.co.uk/

The will customise any dress they have, e.g. the top from one + the bottom from another. Or will design one for you from your ideas. For my mum's MOB outfit, they took an existing dress & added sleeves. And they're very reasonable!

Wedding dresses come in only 5 styles. 1) A line 2) Drop waist 3)mermaid 4) Fishtail 5) Column. First job is to establish which of these styles suits your shape, its all to do with your waist and proportions. Once you know what shape you suit, its a case of narrowing down what you like in terms of embellishments etc

forget wedding dress, think stunning dress. Trawl the charity shops, second-hand shops, remainder shops etc.

strapless doesn't flatter ANYONE.

I agree it is a very boring way to spend time!

A few lovely sleeved options here

Oh and I got married at 23 and 7 stone something my stapless dress looked amazing. I would look like a sack of spuds now though

Do you want a brand new dress? I got mine from a lovely woman who collects and sells vintage dresses. Would this work for you? There are so many different fits and styles, and you can just try them all on. It was pretty much the best day of playing dress-up ever!

www.bhldn.com/shop-the-bride-wedding-dresses/lita-gown/productoptionids/fbcaeb8b-b90b-4e9a-9313-32da085940dd

bit of a sleeve, not too low at the back, lace, beads, skirt not too full, bit of a train.

Any use?

Anything here?

Airbrush is a quick way of covering tattoo's ..... Also water/sweat/rub proof... Search airbase fir your local artists.

You seriously have to book an appointment at a local salon and try on loads to find out what you really want.... Doing it from online images just won't work IMO!

Have fun.... Just take one trusted friend with you fur advice....x

This is lovely.

You can always wear a chapel/cathedral length veil to give you a train.

Definitely agree that you need to go to a shop and try them on. And I mean try all the styles not just what you think you like. I am a jeans and top kind of person and i think it makes it harder to imagine yourself wearing a big dress. The idea in my head of what would work couldn't have been more different to what I ended up choosing.
Ask friends locally for recommendations of dress shops with helpful staff and plenty of stock and get it over with. You never know you might even enjoy it!