Tips on Finding the Perfect Ring & Wedding Dress - Apocalyptic Events faced by To Be Brides

How do I find the Perfect Engagement Ring?
How much stress for the Perfect Wedding Dress?

I thought it would be a good idea to share some of my learnings from the Wedding Prep Madness while it is still fresh in my mind from 2016

The Ring & the Dress

 It's like dating, you spend a ton of time worrying you will never find the one but given that you did find the one, the rest will work out as well; so Breathe! Also "People" will keep cropping up in these discussions esp what will "people" say or will "people" think its tacky but I personally am not sure who these people are so you should focus on your own sense of style & values.

1. The ring is something that you will probably wear everyday so choose something which works with the "everyday" you (your regular clothes & lifestyle)
2. If your fiancee is picking the ring then perfect but I picked my own ring and I looked at a lot (~300) before I found something I liked so don't despair and keep looking. Research online on metal, shape & setting options to get ideas
3. "Forever" and "Perfect" need not apply to your ring so don't worry if you don't feel 100% sure you can change it later. I actually fell in love with a ring which wasn't "expensive" looking enough but I chose it anyways and it is sitting happily enough on my fingers
4. The Wedding outfit depends a lot on the kind of wedding function you are having as well as the customs of the family you are marrying into or your own family customs so think about these factors before deciding what kind of outfit you would like
5. It wasn't top of my priority list so I let my mother in law pick my outfit (I can see jaws dropping) but somehow everything fell into place and I loved my wedding outfit. What I loved about it were the colors & the material (A lovely bright red chiffon lehenga) & also how light & comfortable it was.
6. Invest in a comfortable pair of shoes as you will probably need to wear them for long hours and the last thing you want to worry about on your wedding day are shoe bites.
7. I valued feeling comfortable on my wedding day very highly so my choices reflected that, you need to figure your priorities
8. Invest in a good makeup artist and photographer - those photographs are gonna last a very long time.
9. While we get married only once is pretty good logic to keep expanding your budget, do remember you may not wear your wedding outfit again so maybe it would make sense to re allocate the extra $$$ to something else you value like your new house or your honeymoon.
10. I actually rented my wedding jewelry as I wanted to wear real kundan & gold but did not want to invest as my usual style even at weddings is understated and I was unlikely to wear such heavy jewelry again.

Finally remember that it's your day and what you think & feel matters more than fashion trends or what your peers think. In the end it's is a party your throwing to celebrate a life event & will have little to no impact on the rest of your married life so try to not overthink this - easier said than done!