I needed a wedding dress that would be suitable for both our wedding day and the DIY photo trip. On the wedding day, I wanted an ivory dress with a chapel train that would look perfect when I walked the aisle. On the other hand, I needed a dress that would require little ironing, and be easy to put on during the trip.

After browsing magazines and the Internet, I short-listed my favorite wedding dress styles and went shopping with a friend who had got married not too long ago. Her experience helped reduce my shopping time to less than a day! She took me to two shops, a large store to try out different styles and a smaller boutique to actually buy the dress.

The stylist in the bigger shop suggested and let me try out different styles, in addition to the ones I had requested. It is good to be open-minded as I ended up choosing a dress — a strapless bodice with a slim skirt — that was different from what I wanted originally but looks really elegant on me.

Then, we went to a smaller shop owned by a new designer. After I told him my requirements and the preferred style, he designed the perfect dress for me at half the price offered by the bigger shop.

In the end, I settled on a two-piece silk white wedding dress: the strapless bodice is embroidered with artificial pearls; the skirt has three layers and a chapel train. The dress has a hidden hook for folding up the chapel train, allowing me to move around with ease. The material doesn't need much ironing. So, it was easy to bring it to the scene during the trip with a carry-on travelbag.