Congratulations! You're engaged! This should be one of the happiest time of your life and you should look forwards to hundreds of awesome things to come! You are getting married, hopefully soon after your engagement. You m may be planning on buying a house and possibly planning for future children. What a joyous time! But first things first. Let's start with the wedding planning.

The next few weeks will be a whirl of planning and choices, and you'll be overwhelmed with the selection of options available to you in everything - the cake, the location and honeymoon. There are so many different options on everything. Do you go low budget, medium budget or maybe you have no budget at all. Possibly, you might want to spend more money on one aspect and less on another. However, none of these will cause you as much trepidation and anxiety as the wedding dress. Most brides can go ballistic before their wedding in their stress for the right dress!

On an average, a bride will try on close to 20 dresses before she decides on the one. While it may be tempting to get carried away and go on and on with the dress trying spree, it's recommended that you get done with the dress buying at least a few weeks before the wedding. This will ensure you have enough time to plan our the colors for your bridesmaids, your flowers which should match your dresses, etc. This way you have time to make any alterations if necessary, and to customize the other elements of the wedding with your dress.

If you're looking to buy a dress on a budget, attend trunk shows and sales. You might find a gem of a dress on a 50 percent marked down price. These sales are really popular with brides to be, so make sure you're there right at the front of the queue to dash in when the doors are opened. Take along a group of friends who can pick out dresses for you that you might like. In most likelihood, you'll need to alter the dress to suit your measurements. Get to this task immediately. Everything has to be just right for the big day, and you'll need more than a few trials and fittings before you get the perfect look.

If you're looking to buy a customized dress, make sure to order it at least 6 months before the wedding. A custom dress maker will require a 50 percent deposit. It might be expensive but you'll have the satisfaction of wearing some thing that's been created just for you.

Whether you're going in for a store brought dress, or a designer gown, never spend more than you can afford. Your budget could go dramatically haywire - never a good start to any marriage. Take along friends who have the same taste as you for your shopping sprees.

Be daring and different. If you want a bright red dress or a mauve creation, go right ahead and buy it! It's your wedding, and you can wear whatever shade you like!