Almost every bride we meet has chosen her skirt and her colour before she walks into the atelier, and almost none have thought about the blouse. That is understandable, and it is also backwards. The skirt hangs from your waist; the blouse is built around you, and it is the piece that will decide whether the day is comfortable.
Start with the ceremony, not the photograph
A muhurtham blouse and a reception blouse are different garments. One has to survive heat, a long ritual and a great deal of sitting. The other has perhaps three hours and a stage. Tell your designer which is which before you discuss necklines.
The back is the front
For most of your ceremony, the people behind you will see more of your blouse than you will. This is where the design budget belongs — a considered back is worth more than heavy work across the bust, which rarely photographs well and never sits comfortably.
Ask for a canvassed bodice
A layer of canvas between the shell and the lining is what keeps a structured blouse from collapsing by the afternoon. It adds a week to the making and it is the single most useful thing you can request.
Two trials, not one
The first trial finds the fit. The second finds the fit after you have eaten, walked and raised your arms. Insist on both, and schedule the second no earlier than two weeks before the ceremony.
