Ása Steinars' Wedding Diaries, part 2: The search for the perfect dress

Shopping for a wedding dress is a dreamy (and hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime experience. But with so many gowns to choose from, finding ‘the one’ can be stressful. After all, you've likely never tried a wedding gown on before, or even decided what type of gown you’d like to wear: with sleeves, without sleeves, A-line or mermaid? Or do you even want a dress? So, with only a few months to go until my big day, it was time to begin the search!

I started looking for a dress four months before my wedding date. I booked my first appointment in Iceland and when I showed up for my fitting, the stylist told me that I was "very late" in beginning my search. Many gowns take four to eight months to design and make, and this doesn't even factor in time for potential alterations. I was quite shocked to hear this and the nerves well and truly set in! At this point, I didn’t even know what sort of style I wanted to wear, which I didn't tell the stylist. A dress which reflects my personality would be key, and to me this is more bohemian, and not full 'princess mode'. But wedding dress shopping really is the perfect time to go all in and try on all the dresses!

With my anxiety-inducing reminder about how many wedding dress shopping days I had left, I set to work. I browsed Pinterest and Instagram for hours, endlessly looking at girls in wedding dresses trying to figure out which style would suit me best. I was always fascinated by strapless gowns and big A-line skirts. I found a few that I liked from Israeli designer Galia Lahav - the designer's dresses kept popping up on over and over again. However, with such a small selection of retailers in Iceland who stock these dresses, they’re difficult to see in person.

I was heading to London for the weekend to attend a friend’s wedding and it was the ideal opportunity to continue my search. Everything lined up perfectly and I managed to get an appointment with Browns Bride, a retailer that stocks many incredible designers, including Galia Lahav.

I brought two of my friends along with me and we were greeted with champagne and many beautiful dresses. After trying on around eight wedding gowns, two stood out in particular. I could see myself getting married wearing either of them – what a relief!

With the perfect dress secured in London (I’m not revealing which just yet!), I continued with my to-do list.

The 'Jessie' gown by Galia Lahav came close to being my wedding dress. It is a strapless ball gown made of soft tulle, with beautiful floral lace. It felt ethereal and dreamy, and with a very lightweight skirt, it would be ideal for the temperatures in Croatia. It had 'summer bride' feel to it, but wasn’t 100% what I had imagined wearing. However, it does make me want to get married twice, just so I can wear this one as well!

The second, almost ‘the one’ option, was the 'Rhiannon' gown also by Galia Lahav. This dress had a very different vibe to the Jessie: unique sheer long sleeves, pearl details on the back and a vintage rose pattern. It was such a special dress on, but I felt it would be better suited to an indoor wedding. The dress I opted for is more summery and perfectly suited to the Mediterranean heat.

With the perfect wedding dress chosen, it was time to figuring out what Leo was going to wear – this was a more relaxing task and we had plenty of fun shopping! We spent the day in Malmö, visiting stores and trying on different styles.

Leo is a very relaxed person who normally runs around in boardshorts, so we wanted to find something – not boardshorts – which reflected his chill personality. He tried on both less formal looks, and a traditional blue and black tux. We quickly came to the conclusion that we wanted to dress formal for the ceremony, and have a second look which would be more casual.

Leo opted for a tuxedo from Stiliga Högtidskläder in Malmö.

The clock is really ticking, there’s only one month to go! Our schedule is very busy with appointments and planning and decisions that need to be made. Before we know it, our guests will arrive and fill a small island in Croatia, happy and eager to spend a whole week with us. We’ve ticked some significant things off our list: hiring the band, photographer and DJ, but there are still some smaller details to nut out that will ensure our wedding is magical.

Luckily, I have Leo by my side, who has lots of experience in hosting events all over the world – The Ski Week and Vanlife Iceland to name a couple – so I have a feeling he will come up with some brilliant ideas. Our guests will have a busy schedule: we’ve planned a boat day, a traditional Croatian countryside dinner, a gold-themed party, an oceanside brunch, and of course the wedding day itself!

As the countdown goes on, we will be flying to Croatia where we will be getting our hands dirty! We will be building our wedding arch, choosing our flowers, starting on the decorations, and of course, finalising all the other little details that seem to prop up by surprise! Next time I'll be sharing more details into our preparations for the day – hopefully I have enough time to get them ticked off the list...