The Perfect Wedding Dress.

 By Oritsegbubemi Peace Pessu

I grow mushy and onion-eyed with a tug to my heart at wedding venues, thinking about mine, oh! I’m all so dreamy about it too, you know, ‘Cinderella-ish’, expectant and wide eyed. But my jerk to reality is the arrival of the bride and like a bullet, I shoot straight out of my whirlpool of emotions to look at the wedding dress. Believe me when I say no bride wants to be a captive of bridal satin and lace on such an important day of her life but some fall, unfortunately. Therefore ladies, intending brides, let’s take a little class that will enlighten us and help us make that day memorable. To choose a wedding gown that will put the focus on you; you have to have knowledge of your body type: Inverted Triangle Body Shape: This shape is a bit top heavy with broad shoulders, large bust and narrow hips.  To create the illusion of an hourglass, it helps to balance the lower body with the upper body. It is best to wear flowing fabrics, low to medium-low necklines, well-fitted bras and dresses that flow from the waist. The Rectangle Body Shape: Typically known as the boyish, athletic body type. The bust and hips are roughly the same size and the waist is undefined. This type usually has a small to medium bust and slim legs and arms. The Apple Body Shape: This shape is full-figured from the hips up, though your legs can be on the thin side. A fitted bodice does wonders for this shape. The Pear Body Shape: When the bottom half of your body, hips, thighs and bottom having more weight than your top half. The Hour Glass Body Shape: Has the shoulders and hips at almost the same width, as well as a well-defined waist. Fitted gowns show off this curvy shape well. A whole lot of us ladies have no idea of the types or names of wedding dresses and the body types they fit, so, here they are: The Trumpet Wedding Dress: Trumpet style wedding dresses hug the curves closely and are a great choice if you feel like to want to accentuate your curvy figure. This popular style is most flattering to hour glass and rectangle shapes. Women that are petite may find that it shortens their appearance and so may find this unappealing. This is a beautiful shape for the fit, yet curvy girl. The A-Line or Princess Wedding Dress: A-Line wedding dresses are wonderful choices for almost any bride. This flattering dress shape balances out top heavy shapes and helps hide some tummy bulge. Body shapes that look great in an A-Line wedding dress include the Inverted Triangle — because it balances out the top heavy shape, the Rectangle, the Pear and the Hour Glass. This style is also known as the Princess Wedding Dress style. A most forgiving style, it’s a great choice for most brides. The Empire Wedding Dress: A very forgiving wedding dress shape, great for many body types,  it tends to flatter the Inverted Triangle, the Apple, the Pear and the Hour Glass. Classically has a high waistline and the seam is just underneath the bust and the fabric below the waist falls gracefully to the floor. Slim brides with small busts tend to like this shape as well and pregnant brides find this the most comfortable shape to wear. The Sheath or Column Wedding Dress: Also known as the Column, the wedding dress runs pretty much vertically from the shoulders down to the floor and the hem does not flair out, like it does in the A-Line, Empire or Ball Gown. Usually body-hugging wedding gowns, they work best for slim brides with balanced figures and also suitable for petite brides on the slim side since it tends to elongate their shape. If you are not super confident in your shape, you might want to mark this one off your list, as you want to be happy and confident on your wedding day. A slim Hour Glass may like the body hugging features of this dress style, but the best suited shape seems to be the Rectangle for this Column wedding gown. The Ball Gown Wedding Dress: The Ball Gown wedding gown is also called the Fairy-Tale wedding gown, or the Cinderella wedding dress. Usually paired with fitted bodices, these gowns flare out from the hips, adding drama and over-the-top glamour. Pear shapes love this type of wedding dress, but the Hour Glass, the Inverted Triangle, the Rectangle, and the Apple also find this shape attractive on them. A fitted waist is ideal for this shape but petite body types might find these dresses a bit overwhelming to their small frames.   Some other things to consider are color of dress, length of  dress, skin tone, your hair, body height, shoes, features you want to hide or enhance, bouquet style, location, space, time of the day, transportation, comfort level, photography, jewelry, undergarments, cost or if you love it. I believe that these considerations, tips and choices are a sure way to make our grooms stand shell shocked in awe as we come in as ‘floating glories’ down the aisle. Hope your day surely will be one you would never forget.