Say Yes to the Dress – only by saying No to all others.

If you follow the program Say Yes to the Dress, you know how many times the salon bridal staff has to draw on nerves of steel in order to survive the bride-to-be and her entourage. No one said picking a bridal dress was easy, but it’s fascinating to watch a bride-to-be making a very personal decision with so many others voicing their opinions.

The bride-to-be has spent months if not years paging through bridal magazine and has cast a critical eye at the bridal dress of every wedding she’s ever attended. Now that it’s her turn, her dress must perfectly fit the image she has imagined for herself.

The reality within a bridal salon is that finding a perfect dress is more about saying “No” to lots of dresses before the right one emerges (regardless of what you had in mind coming in the door).

A bride-to-be is so excited about finding her perfect dress only to be surprised and disappointed by friends and family being far from agreement. Then, the decision process really begins. Trying dress after dress until at some point, there is one dress that stands out above all others.

Making a decision is a lot like being a bride-to-be with a vision of what the end result should look like. But, once you get into the decision making process its like sorting through and trying on possibilities you’ve never considered before.

Rather than trying to find the right choice, try on each possibility and see if it really works for you. If not, say “No” and go on to the next possibility. By continuing to say “No”, you’re saying no to what you don’t want and this eventually leads you to the choice that’s the right fit for you.

When the bride-to-be finally makes her selection, one of the salon staff looks her directly in the eye and asks “Are you saying Yes to this dress?” All their years of experience tells them the decision making process is complete if a bride-to-be can honestly answer “Yes”.

The same can be applied to your decisions. Say “No” first to everything you don’t want and then ask yourself is your final choice something you can honestly say “Yes” to.

If you have any bridal dress decision stories to share, I would love to hear from you.