The hunt for The Dress can be a lot of things: fun, exhilarating, exciting, exhausting, frustrating. Many girls' first wedding dress experience comes when they try on their mother's gown as a child. They picture their own wedding day and fantasize about feeling and looking like a princess. (Or not. If you never played dress-up or imagined what your wedding dress would look like, you're in good company!)

Here are the tips I give brides-to-be when they begin searching for what is likely to be the most expensive item of clothing they ever purchase.