As many of you may have seen on Instagram, I recently went over to Spain to search for a wedding dress.... THE wedding dress! I thought I'd fill you in on how my search for the perfect gown went incase anyone is about to start the process themselves.

I do think it's important that the dress suits your venue to a certain extent so my hunt didn't begin until I had our reception booked. In my opinion a massive ball gown for a barefoot beach ceremony or a lacey boho number for a castle wedding just wouldn't make sense. Your dress should reflect both your personal style along with the theme and tone of your wedding.

I have dreamed of a Pronovias wedding dress for as long as I can remember, they had a shop in Marbella we used to drive by every year and joke about me one day getting in there! On our annual girls weekend in Marbella back in April (engaged about a month at this stage) we finally had an excuse to go in. I had just asked the girls with me to be bridesmaids so it seemed fitting to all go, most of my bridesmaids now live abroad so we're rarely all together and it was something I wanted them there for with me. I tried on a few dresses, we shed a couple of tears and I did actually quite like one of them. As it was April however, the 2016 collection had not yet arrived in store so I knew I'd want to wait and come back in September with my mum as I couldn't commit without her! Over the summer I did visit a handful of bridal stores in Ireland but sadly nothing compared to the dresses I had seen. Part of the reason I went to Spain in October was to view collections and labels not available in Ireland. I had a distinct idea of what I was after and unfortunately I found the shops in Dublin weren't able to offer it.

The other reason I wanted to buy my dress in Spain was so that I could have it made there and not have to transport it back and fourth for the wedding. My mum, my aunty and one of my beautiful bridesmaids Holly came with me to the appointments. I think it's important to think wisely about who you want there as you try dresses on for the first time. Too many opinions can be overwhelming and remember that not everyone has the same taste. Make sure the ones you choose to have with you will be supportive, only offer opinion when it's appropriate and not bash something you may love, tainting your feelings towards a gown. I was lucky with my bunch as we were all on the same page and I couldn't have chosen without their help. I did find that getting organised before I went to appointments was key. Nearly every label now has an app or website that you can preview the dresses on and ear mark favourites. I had a list of about 6 gowns from each designer that I was booked in with that I wanted to try on. Going in blind would have been extremely over whelming, confusing and time consuming. Getting in and out of dress after dress is tiring so while the idea of trying on 100 may seem fun now, come number 10 the novelty has believe me worn off.

The other thing I should stress is in the beginning try being open to all shapes and styles. While I did start with an idea in mind I did end up choosing a gown slighly different to what I had imagined. Had I not tried other styles on I would never have known what worked for my body, I soon realised that the girls who work in these shops know their stuff and will guide you in the right direction. Lastly I know after watching ten thousand episodes of "Say Yes To The Dress" and "I Found The Gown" it seems like tears are a must have the second you put 'your' dress on but it doesn't always happen like that. I loved several of the dresses I tried on, cried in many and lived in torment for 24hours as I tried to decide between them before returning to the shop the next day to make a decision. Champagne was produced and we all cried with happiness, more over the fact that I'd finally made up my mind than over the dress but anyway... The dress I ended up choosing was the one I woke up thinking about and funnily enough the one my amazing assistant Florie announced "this is your dress" to as she zipped me in. The dress I know I will feel comfortable, myself and beautiful in, and the dress Will better be crying over as I walk down the aisle!

Good luck to any of you who are still on the look out, your dream dress awaits! X