Duh! Start saving images. Pinterest is an obvious choice for this. Even if you don't yet have a vision, one should emerge from repeated themes in your collated imagery. You might find you're attracted to the futurism of Y2K, the sparse minimalism of the 1990s, or the drama of the 1980s. You could be drawn to romantic corsetry, voluminous skirts or form-fitting sexiness. You won’t know until you start saving.

Different events – Bachelorette, Bridal Shower, Rehearsal, Ceremony, Reception, & Day After – offer overwhelming opportunities to express yourself!

I don't necessarily think this all has to be a cohesive aesthetic. It's really more of an excuse to sample different eras and looks. For me, I wore a 1990s ballgown to my Bachelorette, a 1940s gown to my ceremony, 1970s to my Reception and 1960s for my Day After event, all pictured below. If you're indecisive about nailing "The Look" this is how you can take the pressure off and really have fun with it.

There are so many places online where you might uncover the perfect dress. My tip is to locate a broad selection of marketplaces and bookmark them. GEM.com is a good place to start, but there are many sites it doesn't cover. It is also smart to save specific searches. You'll need good keywording that is not too broad or too narrow, like 'pure silk gown' or 'origami taffeta' or 'draped disco.' If you're seeing certain designers pop up frequently and you like their work, create saved searches for them too.

As you can see this is is becoming a LABORIOUS process, so why not take advantage of those whose eyes you admire and let them do the looking for you, and you might find 'the one' pops up in their offerings. My full time job is to find beautiful vintage which is why I had the luxury of spending an embarrassing number of hours per week for many years hunting for my wedding looks. In my searching, I also had the chance to notice a lack of elevated wedding-ready vintage online, so have dedicated myself to bringing Art Garments Bridal to life. I am an example of a great shop to bookmark.

This is essential. Think of how many vintage enthusiasts are out there seeking their perfect wedding look and there is ONE of each piece. Let the stress / thrill of this motivate and propel you forward and check every morning if you can!

I worked with the idea of GOOD BONES. If a dress is well constructed, or is made of reams of fabulous vintage silk you cannot get anywhere anymore, or has unique detailing like handmade rosettes or lacework, you can customise to make your own. In an upcoming post I will talk about my own dress journey to illustrate this.

The internet is a wonderland for sourcing vintage but it sometimes doesn’t look the way we planned. Fortunately there are innumerable platforms to resell. I bought 4 dresses that weren’t right that were snapped up super fast when I listed them. This should hopefully give you the peace of mind to take some risks and see how your vision pans out!