Most women look forward to wedding dress shopping as one of the most fun parts of planning a wedding. You may dream of the moment when you step out of the changing room in the perfect white gown, met by tears and sighs of admiration from your Mum and bridesmaids.

                                             

For some lucky brides this magical moment happens with the first dress they try on. However, many brides can be left feeling slightly overwhelmed by the choices available as well as the cost of the dresses and numerous accessories. It's such an important dress and the pressure to get it right can make decisions difficult.

For any of you about to start wedding dress shopping, here are a few top tips:

• Make appointments well in advance as most wedding dress shops are very busy, especially on Saturdays
• Take a couple of people with you who will be honest with you like your Mum, Sister of best friend
• Don't leave dress shopping too late as many dresses take 6 months to arrive in the store and may require several fittings and alterations.
• Wear good smooth and neutral underwear as you will need to be helped into the dresses by the shop staff and don't want a black bra under a white dress.
• Do your hair and makeup and try on veils and tiaras to get the whole bridal look. The pretty jewellery featured below is by Bridezillas

                                         

• Try on lots of different dress shapes and listen to the shop staff as some dresses will look nothing special on the hanger but can be amazing on.
• If you are curvy, a dress built on a lace up corset will give you a great hourglass shape
• Choose boutiques that will give you a private appointment so you have time to try things on
• Never feel pressurised by sales assistants into buying something that you don't totally love
• Don't feel you have to go strapless as there are dresses available now with sleeves or illusion necklines offering more coverage.

There are some great wedding dress and accessory boutiques in Bristol. For beautiful designer dresses, try The Mews of Clifton Village (shown above), who offer a stunning range including Amanda Wakely and Temperley. A Class Brides is regularly nominated by brides for numerous industry awards and Bridezillas in Keynsham is the place to go for veils, jewellery and gorgeous accessories.

Local photographer Albert Palmer was a nominee in the Best Wedding Photographer category. Make sure to check out his blog for lots of swoon worthy local weddings.

Bristol Bridal Shop A Class Brides was nominated in the Best Bridal Retailer category.


                            

Ambience Venue Styling was nominated for their chair covers, venue styling and for tying "the best bows in the business". Ambience have a franchise covering Bristol operated by Kathryn King.


                          


Finally a massive congratulations goes to Bristol based I Do Wedding Films who won the Best Wedding Videographer category.

Well done to all of the nominees and winners. Over 10,000 brides nominated their suppliers and the winners were chosen by a panel of wedding industry experts. It's great to have so much talent on our doorstep.

For a full list of winners, visit the Wedding Ideas Magazine website here

Image credits: Wedding Ideas Magazine, The Local Data Company, The Wedding Community