Marriage is one of the most beautiful declarations of love within a relationship, bound together in love and should be the most romantic time of your life. But marriage is one of the stressful times in your life too.

Unfortunately most of the wedding preparations are all done by the woman. If your man is anything like my husbands then they will not care much that you want the perfect dress to go with the perfect weather, perfect car, church/ceremony and reception. All that he will care about is that you are going to be his bride and that everyone has a good time.

For the woman, marriage is for most something that has been dreamt of since childhood. The white dress has been envisaged for many years and the dream has to now become a reality. Here is where careful planning and organisation will really play a major part. One of the major stresses will be the wedding dress and so I will concentrate on that here.

First of all decide a timeline, how long is the engagement going to be? Give yourself plenty of time and allow at least a year. Sounds like a long time but really it isnt, normally when you order a wedding dress it will take at least 2 months to arrive normally much longer.

Start looking for a dress as soon as you can. Buying a few bridal magazines will help you have an idea of what styles are around and what colours are going to look good. If you have a theme you will want to incorporate this into all aspects of the wedding including your dress, bridesmaid dresses, and all accessories.

Make a budget for the wedding, get a few quotes and arrange a budget around what you have available to spend and overestimate the costs to ensure that you wont have any nasty surprises come payment time.

Wedding dresses very greatly in their prices, most ranging from 500 upwards, however it is possible to have the wedding of your dreams without breaking the bank.

Shop around. Have a look at numerous shops on the high street, you may get a great deal online, or can get a second hand one that is equally beautiful from a charity shop, on eBay or in your local newspaper classifieds. Remember that a wedding dress is only usually worn once, and a bargain can be found for the perfect dress if you look for it.

Unless you are very lucky it will have taken you around 1 to 3 months of searching for the dress you want if you bought it second hand or off the peg at a shop make sure the dress fits, remember that your weight can fluctuate so allow enough room for an increase if needed, you can have the dress altered nearer the wedding date. For those ordering a dress, again remember to check how long the dress you want will take to come back, you will also need a fitting and time for any alterations including a last fitting before you take the dress home. Allow for any time lag in your dress arriving, most companies do not make the dress in the UK rather the dress is made in China or Indonesia the couriered to their head office in US before being shipped back to the UK office then to the shop you are ordering the dress from. Any part of the process can have a hiccup so be aware that this could happen so as to not panic if the dress is delayed slightly.

Once you have your dress chosen that is a major part of the wedding completed and you can enjoy the rest of the arrangements.