Guide to Wedding Dress Silhouettes - Whether You're Slim or Trim or Otherwise - Know What to Wear...

As with wedding dress necklines, there are specific wedding dress silhouettes for specific body types. The basic guide below can give you a pretty good idea as to what to lean towards when selecting the right body dress silhouette for your particular body type. Each promotes different assets and has their strengths and weaknesses so consider all of your options before settling on a selection - self-education is always the best policy.

Silhouettes carry names that are a bit more ambiguous than are necklines in terms of describing their look and function - these names are usually passed down from their original historical references. As with the necklines, you will want to accentuate your physical "strengths" and not promote your weaknesses in turn. Silhouettes, as opposed to Necklines, can be a bit more forgiving and generally cover as much or as little as you want to hide. You can (generally) get away with any selection matching almost any other neckline but keep in mind that you will spend a good portion of your wedding day in this dress - either walking, sitting, going to the restroom etc... Of course leave some space in the dress for basic comfort.

Screenshots below are representative of their graphical selections in our Wedding Dress Creator program available here. Note that these are not hard and fast rules to live by when selecting your silhouette. Think of these suggestions as more of guidelines than anything else and settle on the style that is, of course, best for you - it's your wedding after all.

Selection Summary Chart:

	A-Line The A-Line silhouette works well for most any bride. Comes complete with a fitted bodice and the skirt portion of the dress flares out from the body ever so slightly creating a general elegance about you.
	Ball Gown Probably the most traditional of the selections, the Ball Gown flares out from the waist noticeably and can come in many varied forms. In the WDC program, you'll notice long and short options as well as ruffled, pin tuck and short pin tuck among others.
	Dropped Another basic dress silhouette that begins flaring our at about the waistline. A safe selection.
	Empire A basic dress silhouette that flares out from just under the chest line. You retain freedom by your legs, which helps in walking and sitting - two things you'll do much of on your wedding day.
	Mermaid The Mermaid silhouette is another fitted dress design that hugs the contours of the body and then flares out at the extreme bottom end. This fitted-style dress may make it difficult for some brides to sit down or kneel comfortably but the look is wholly unique.
	Sheath Similar to the Mermaid silhouette, the Sheath is another form-fitting style sans the bottom-end flaring found in the Mermaid and A-Line dresses. It is a most basic of choices and, depending on your body type, may serve you well.