If you are choosing your wedding dress you must

The shop where you buy your dress should lend or hire you one cheaply but if they expect you to buy it, and most of them do, then do not pay shop prices but look on the internet. When you try on your dress check how many hoops are in the petticoat you wear and how much netting there is over it. Then you will know which to order online. You may find a second hand one on ebay but before you buy it check with the vendor that the hoops can be removed. The better makes have removable hoops which means you can wash the petticoat but the cheaper makes have them stitched in so washing is very difficult. There are several sites selling petticoats including styles by Jupon which is the biggest supplier of them in the UK and they are good quality. Do check the prices of online shops because the price of a Jupon petticoat can vary by several pounds depending on the site. The largest one like the one worn by Jordan varies by as much as 50 on different sites. We have found that the best prices are on www.princesssparkle.co.uk and they offer excellent service. Whichever site you buy from do price check with others. Just because they are being sold online does not mean you will not be 'ripped off'. Some sites sell at high street retail prices. When you have your dress you must wear the petticoat to fittings because the skirt will be lifted and thus effectively shortened when you wear a hoop. Sometimes if a dress is just a little too big wearing a hooped petticoat will mean you do not need to have the hem taken up thus saving money. When you go for your fitting you should wear the lingerie that you will wear on the day or at least something similar. Remember that padded bras will change your shape considerably and if you intend to wear one on the day you must be measured when wearing one when you order the size dress you need. If you want to wear a basque or bustier you must wear it for your fittings. We once had a customer in our bridal shop who had a dress made to her measurements. She was rather overweight so it was important to get all her measurements correct to ensure a good fit. The dress fitted her perfectly until the second fitting when she wore a basque which pushed all her surplus flesh up over the top of the dress. She insisted on wearing it so the dress had to be altered which cost her unnecessary money. Had she told us that she intended to wear a basque we would have measured her over it before ordering the made to measure dress. If your dress is of a lightweight fabric we recommend you wear a plain satin basque, bustier or bra rather than a lace on. Under sturdier fabrics and more structured bodices you can wear lace. Bridal lingerie can be bought in department stores but the sizes and ranges are rather limited and the quality is not always the best. Shops selling only lingerie may have a better range but most still only carry a few styles. Buying on line may be an alternative and there are a lot of sites selling bridal underwear. One make that is very popular of top quality is Carnival and one of the sites selling it at very competitive prices is www.princesssparkle.co.uk. Which ever site you buy from do price check several before ordering because you can save yourself money.