Real Girl Road-Test: How to Buy a Wedding Dress

So, you have a shiny rock on your finger, and a wedding to plan. . . What next? Finding the perfect wedding gown is no easy feat, and it will probably be the most important dress you ever wear. But don't sweat it, we spoke to an expert to find out exactly what's involved in designing your dream wedding dress.

If anyone knows the process inside and out, it's Pallas Couture Sydney company director and style director, Rebecca Burrow. Known for their red carpet gowns and beautiful bridal looks, Pallas Couture counts Teresa Palmer and Tahyna Tozzi as bridal clients, and has dressed everyone from Anna Heinrich and Cheyenne Tozzi to Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Lisa Wilkinson for Australia's biggest red carpet events. So basically, this lady knows special occasion style.

I stepped into the wedding wonderland that is Pallas Couture's Sydney boutique to chat with Rebecca about what's exactly involved in picking a bridal gown, the latest wedding trends, and, if I'm totally honest, to look at all the pretty dresses. This is what I discovered.

When looking to have a wedding dress made, the process is probably going to begin with a phone call to your short-list of wedding dress designers. Here, you can go over all the basics, like timeframe, budget, and the general look you are going for.

"I’ll go into an in-depth conversation with them for that initial phone call, and then we will have the bride come in for an appointment," Rebecca said.

To be perfectly honest, the Pallas Couture boutique in Paddington, Sydney, is completely beautiful, and a little bit overwhelming. It's literally brimming with bridal gowns — so go in with an idea of what you're after. Then, they will work with you to find the perfect shape and silhouette you want.

"The first appointment is like a meet and greet and we will get our brides to try on two gowns. We’ll work off shape, because all of our gowns can be customised. We get a bit of a feeling about what shape the bride is looking for and to make sure the bride loves the Pallas Couture look," Rebecca explained.

Rebecca added that wedding style was being heavily influenced by fashion trends at the moment, saying, "We have found there is actually a huge fashion influence. Brides don’t want just your traditional wedding dress anymore. We are finding beautiful blushes, natural colours and greys are trending."


Appointment two is much more in-depth. Here, you will really nut out the design of your dress, and spend a lot of time trying on gowns, just like the movie montages in your favourite rom-coms. If you go with Pallas Couture in Sydney, you'll be met with the lovely Rebecca Burrow, who will help bring your dress dreams to fruition.

"From the first appointment, if they love what we have, we offer a lovely long second appointment. At that second appointment appointment we have time to try on a lot of other lace wedding dress, and finalise the design of the dress," Rebecca said.

Fact: you will get giddy over trying these gowns on, guarunteed. You will be asked to strip off to your underwear (no bra) in the change room and put on a pair of heels from those available — or, you could bring your own if you know what you will be wearing on the big day. If you are wearing makeup at the time, you'll be asked to put on a face mask to protect the dress, which is kind of like the hair masks you wear to get a spray tan. Someone will then come in and help you into the dress.

The key when having a gown customised is to work far in advance, Rebecca explained, "The brides usually order their dresses a year to eight months before the wedding. There is a bit of a process that happens."

You will have about five fittings: measurements, the calico fitting, back seam and hem fitting, and the final dress rehearsal.

"There may be another fitting just depending, but generally there’s around that five. It’s a really lovely process that we nurture the bride through right from the beginning through to the end," she explained.

If you're planning on losing weight before the big day, Rebecca says your dressmaker should factor this in, "If a bride is losing weight for the wedding, we often tell them the date when they need to maintain their dress size, and they’re pretty good with not moving from there."

Probably not something you've thought of yet, but it's key to plan ahead which shoes you will be wearing on your wedding day, so the dress length can be adjusted accordingly.

"Generally we need the shoes for the back seam and hem fitting. So that’s around the third fitting in, and about three months before the wedding. Brides might also choose the shoes right from the beginning, and we'll factor them in from then on," Rebecca said.