Our Top Tips for an Engaged Pageant Girl and How to Shop for a Wedding Dress

Just a little background..

Hello beautiful brides! Most of you probably do not know me yet but my name is Isabel and I am one of The Bridal Finery’s newest additions. I started as an intern this past fall and was lucky enough to be able to continue my time here as an Accessories Stylist and Assistant to our fearless leaders, Tali and Roberta. While I may be new to bridal, I grew up surrounded by beautiful gowns and tons of sparkles as a pageant competitor. Beginning at the age of ten, I have competed in all sorts of systems from my local Corn Festival competition, National American Miss, Miss America’s Outstanding Teen, Miss America, and now the Miss for America Organization. From experience, I am sure my pageant sisters out there can agree that with every new competition comes the next journey to find that heart stopping, crowning moment worthy gown, and as a bride it may be intimidating to begin this journey again for your wedding dress. The purpose of this blog post is to ease your mind and take you out of the mindset that this will be difficult. You're bridal appointment will not be anything that you do not want it to be, this is simply to help keep in mind that while you may be used to walking the runway on stage, this dress is for a very special type of runway, the aisle, and it will symbolize the greatest title you could possibly achieve, becoming a Mrs. to the love of your life. So, let’s relish this experience and conquer it like the queens you all know you are. 

You have found “the gown” multiple times throughout your life.

If you are like me and have been competing in pageants for as long as you can remember, or even if you only competed in a couple, it is no secret that the evening gown portion is a big part of any pageant. Whether it is Miss Universe, Miss America, or even Miss Strawberry Festival, surely, you have had an experience where you were trying on gowns for the competition and had that “wow, this is it” moment. See, pageant girls are unique in that most women do not spend a good chunk of their lives in show-stopping, rhinestone encrusted evening gowns, but that doesn’t mean you're wedding dress has to be less special, in fact, it should be even more special. Go into your bridal appointment with the mindset that this is the dress you have been dreaming of since you're were a little girl, and the gown you begin your love story with. When you are looking for the fairy tale and not the crowning moment, you will be surprised how you're mindset will change.

The top wedding dress designers for Pageant Girls

For our brides that are queens, through and through, here are some designers worthy of royalty.

Berta Bridal

• First and foremost, Berta Bridal. I honestly could leave it at that and let the beautiful wedding dresses speak for themselves. Berta Bridal has that bridal look, while also being sexy with sheer fabrics and silver beading that is to die for. No one does glam quite like Berta Bridal and is the number one designer on a lot of our bride’s lists when coming into our boutique. Berta is definitely worth looking into for the bride who is looking to be an absolute show-stopper when she sashays down the aisle. 

Ines Di Santo Wedding Dresses

• Ines Di Santo is next on our list as it provides that high quality and structure that pageant girls love to see in a gown. A fitted gown by Ines Di Santo will hug you in all the right ways and give you that “winning” bridal look you are going for. On the other end of the spectrum, Ines designs some of the most beautiful “princess-bride” ball gowns that will take you right back into your childhood dreams of marrying your prince charming. Ines Di Santo is known to offer a range of various styles of wedding gowns while maintaining her unapologetic glamour that she is known for. We know our pageant girls will look and feel stunning in a wedding dress by Ines Di Santo.

Pronovias Wedding Dresses

• Pronovias Fashion Group boasts beautiful beading with hints of sleek and sexy all while really maintaining the bridal look. Pronovias is known to make a wide range of wedding dresses that celebrate every bridal style. From chic fitted dresses with that celebrate the minimalism in bridal to glam ball gowns, there is something for every bride. Their clean and chic wedding dresses are perfect for the girl who really wants there to be a stark difference from her pageant look to her bridal look.

Galia Lahav Wedding Dresses

• Galia Lahav is another great wedding dress designer for our former pageant queens. Galia, worn recently by Miss USA 2015 Olivia Jordan. Galia Lahav is another Israeli wedding dress designer. Galia Lahav is aesthetically similar to Berta Bridal, however, the design name has been around longer than Berta. Galia Lahav is also known for offering all different cuts, colors, and styles of sexy and unique wedding dresses. Galia Lahav wedding dresses are best known for the long trains and intricate silver beading that pageant girls love. No one will forget you're bridal look when you come down the aisle in a Galia.

Lazaro Wedding Dresses

• Lazaro is another great designer for former pageant competitors, but also all brides because let’s face it these gowns are pretty amazing. Also, coincidentally, worn by Olivia Jordan as her ceremony gown for her wedding day. Lazaro wedding gowns are known to be the glamorous line of wedding dresses under the JLM Label. Gowns range in endless colors, fits, fabrics, and never-ending sparkle. This collection of wedding dresses is perfect for the pageant girl who doesn’t feel perfect in ivory or white and wants color options for their wedding dress. Lazaro is a glam and elegant designer that will give you all the feels, so be ready to bring the tissues when you find you're perfect Lazaro gown. 

Tip: Choose a bridal boutique with a variety of wedding dresses.

While you may be an expert in everything from Sherri Hill, to Tarik Ediz, wedding dresses are pretty different from pageant gowns. When deciding which bridal boutiques you want to go to on the hunt for your  wedding dress, it is important that you choose a boutique that can offer you multiple styles, colors, and designers. If you are living in Orlando, Florida, then you are lucky to have The Bridal Finery as the hub of multiple designers, styles, and colors; all with an in-house seamstress for all of your customization desires! It is so important for any pageant girl to have access to options because while you're go-to gown may have been a sleek, fitted gown on the stage, you may be shocked to find that you're style down the aisle is a bit different. Here are a few big name former queens wearing their pageant gowns vs. their wedding dress, notice how different their styles are from stage to wedding dress. Now this is not to suggest that your perfect wedding dress cannot be nearly identical to the style you gravitated towards as a pageant competitor, but just do not be afraid to change it up during your bridal appointment because you may be surprised at how you're taste differs as a bride!