I’m a bridal stylist – a dress style that looks good on everyone & a quick crayon fix for last-minute wedding disasters
IT'S practically a given that something will go wrong at your wedding — but one bridal industry pro is sharing her secrets for averting the big issues.
She outlined some of the biggest wedding dress stresses, from opinionated mothers to body type woes, and revealed her fashion hacks for saving everything from stuck zippers to ill-fitting gowns from last-minute weight loss.
New York-based Julie Sabatino is the founder of The Stylish Bride, a fashion company dedicated to helping women find the dress of their dreams.
She offers hands-on support and constant communication so her clients look and feel their best, no matter their shape or size.
"It can be really hard for brides to see something on Instagram and accurately understand whether or not that's suited for them," she told The U.S. Sun.
"They sometimes have a difficult time kind of figuring out what they want for themselves."
Even when they find the right dress, a lot can go wrong on the big day or in the last-minute lead-up— but Sabatino has plenty of tricks up her sleeve to help in a crisis.
OH NO, IT DOESN'T FIT
Ideally, a bride has her dress months in advance, leaving plenty of time for alterations to get the perfect fit — so it's smooth sailing as the wedding gets close.
But that's not always the case.
"I've had people come to me like two weeks before their wedding that bought a dress before we met and we've fixed it, gotten them a new dress, or totally changed things," she said.
In one case, a bride lost a ton of weight between her final fitting and the wedding day, which was only ten days away.
Sabatino got to the venue a day or two before the wedding and found a local seamstress to rectify the issue on New Year's Eve.
"I have a dressing service where we go on-site and steam, sew, prepare, and dress, but it was way more than that. We needed somebody with a machine," she explained.
"I think that losing a lot of weight between your fittings is a huge problem for a lot of brides.
"Once your fittings start, you should be at your desired weight and not fluctuate too much."
LAST-MINUTE FIT ADJUSTMENTS
Even if you do lose five pounds, a few tricks can keep you protected.
"First thing is making sure that you have a grosgrain ribbon in the waist of the dress so that you can make it tighter on the inside without altering the outside," Sabatino suggested.
"Dresses grow throughout the night, so when it's snug when you put it on three hours later, it's going to have loosened up and drop as jeans do."
Another important backup plan is to add a couple of extra hooks on the grosgrain to ensure that it can be taken in to make the bride feel more secure.
STUCK ZIPPERS, STAINS, AND MORE
Sabatino's company sells a Wedding Day Emergency Kit, $90, filled with tools to fix the 18 top fiascos she has seen over her career.
Inside is what you'll need to fix the issues, plus instructions for how to do it.
For example, if your zipper gets stuck before walking down the aisle, simply refer to a pouch with a number on it that has the item you need to use and instructions on how to do so.
sHE said that a messed-up zipper is almost always caused by it not being positioned properly and suggested using wax to loosen it.
If you're in a pinch and can't find zipper wax, she said you could use a white crayon.
"You basically need something that can lubricate the zipper and help it slide easier to where the seam comes together," explained the pro, whose book, Dressed, Styled, and Down the Aisle: Becoming a Stylish Bride, will be released next month.
The kit also has fixes for tears in veils, stains, and too-small bowties for the groom.
SHOPPING STRESS
Stressful situations can start ages before the actual wedding, and for some, simply shopping for a bridal gown is a minefield.
Sabatino said that many brides struggle with deciding whether or not they've chosen the right dress and worry that a better one exists,
It can often feel like a "never-ending stream of dresses and options."
Budget can also be a huge cause for concern.
"I think for some people it can just feel really overwhelming," the bridal expert said.
While her brides tend to spend around $10,000, she said "the price goes up from there" and she has created many custom gowns that are "well into the six digits" and "very special."
MOM KNOWS BEST?
Shopping can get more complicated when the mother-of-the-bride is paying for the dress — and has some strong opinions.
"I have to walk a very fine line between understanding the parameters that the mother is putting out as the donor and how to come up with a solution that they're both happy with," Sabatino said.
Sabatino knows how precarious that scenario is because it happened to her when she was planning her 2001 wedding.
"I was young, I didn't know what I wanted. All of that laid the foundation for me starting this business," she said.
"I tried on this puffy dress and it was a beautiful dress. My mother loved it. She cried, all of this stuff, and I didn't want it, and she was devastated."
"I don't want to look like a princess. I want to look like a woman. So, navigating that was tricky. My mom was paying and I wanted her to be happy and I wanted to love it. It just became this struggle."
According to Sabatino, many mothers often have their hearts set on their daughters wearing a traditional white wedding dress or ivory.
But today it's trendy to opt for more color, floral details, and nude underlays.
"It's about making small modifications that aren't permanent to satisfy both parties," she said.
For example, that could be a dress that has a nude underlay but add an ivory veil and accessorize it with ivory details.
HOW MUCH SKIN?
While the bride might want something sexy, that may not go over well with mom, the in-laws, or a religious venue.
"So, if you have a deep V, you don't want to go down the aisle with that. But if you put a lace bolero over it, you don't even know it's there," Sabatino suggested.
"If she really wants a sexy moment, rehearsal dinner and after party are on the table and we'll really blow it out for that."
"I am personally not a fan of something overly sexy going down the aisle. We want to be appropriate and elegant going down the aisle," she said.
In the end, the basis of each woman's wedding look correlates with their body type.
"I've had brides who love their curves and I can't believe they want to wear some of the stuff they want to wear and I'm like, 'Good for you. That's awesome,'" she said.
"A woman needs to feel confident and comfortable in what they're wearing to love it and look good on the outside. They have to feel great on the inside, and what that is for every woman is different."
ROOM FOR A BIGGER BUST
Not many brides are aware that most wedding dress samples are done in a B cup size.
A consultant might open the cup to a D to accommodate larger busts, but Sabatino admitted that it does change the look of the dress a little bit.
"I've seen it both ways, where let's say she's a D cup and they order her the next larger size than what she would normally be to accommodate it," Sabatino said.
As a general statement, A-line dresses look pretty good on most people, there's going to be a variation of A-line for almost any body type that would be flattering,
Julie Sabatino
"If somebody at the store is recommending something like that and you have doubts, I recommend asking the seamstress who is hopefully on-site."
On a bride's big day, the entire outfit isn't complete without the right undergarments, but the bust size and body measurements make a difference.
"We'll do everything from taping and lifting to a longline corset and putting that on. We pull out every trick in the book," she added.
PEAR-SHAPED APPEAL
Sabatino often hears from pear-shaped brides who say that they want to accentuate their waist because it is always the smallest part of their body.
Then generally they would ask for a "little more forgiveness on the bottom," but it isn't always lots of volume or a ballgown skirt.
"As a general statement, A-line dresses look pretty good on most people. There's going to be a variation of A-line for almost any body type that would be flattering," she said.
APPLE-BOTTOM GIRLS
Sabatino said that there are some exceptions, like if you're an apple shape and carry your weight in the middle.
"I think that's why wedding dress shopping is so hard because every dress is a different fabric, different ways, different cut, even within the same designer, so it does get a little complicated," she explained.
"Believe it or not, a trumpet-style dress or a column dress a lot of times looks great. But in their minds, they don't necessarily think that," she added.
What she finds works well on apple-shaped women as a means of camouflage is sometimes a ruched bodice or ruching details around the middle just as long as it's "not too bulky."
"Sometimes adding more fabric just adds more volume. Whereas you want long and lean," she said.
SLIMMING ARMS
Sabatino also shared some tips for women who are a little wider around their arms and want to both conceal and feel confident.
"Almost every mother that we've ever worked with has hated their arms. I think you just reach a certain age and you just despise your arms," she joked.
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"The popular off-the-shoulder style right now is great for women who hate their arms, as long as it doesn't make them look too broad."
She also suggested opting for a detachable sleeve, flutter sleeve, cap sleeve, lace overlay, or removable donut jacket that isn't optimal for dancing.
