Another morning arrived, and everyone got up early because they had an important task today: the ladies were trying on wedding dresses.
The groom's and groomsmen's outfits were really just extras. The wedding dresses were the biggest styling headache.
A suit, from head to toe, including all accessories, had fewer than ten pieces. A wedding dress, just counting the garments, could easily have over fifty.
An all-in-one wedding dress would have been fine, but to follow tradition and achieve a better effect, all the brides were using separate dresses that had to be secured on-site.
In other words, the wedding dresses arrived as components and had to be assembled directly onto the brides.
Apart from the underwear, there was first a silk lining, then waist padding, a belt for securing the hoop skirt, the hoops fastened around the waist to support the skirt, heavy fabric to give the dress texture, thick tulle layered for depth, thin gauze for an airy feel, decorative lace, silk ribbons used to shape and secure the lace...
The hair had to be styled first. If their natural hair was not thick enough, extensions were needed. To make the hairstyle look good, they might also use hairpieces or chignons, and then they could start trying on veils.
Putting on a veil was not as simple as tossing it over their heads. First came the large veil, the one with the train. It was extremely heavy and had to be secured in the hair through some bizarre method, and it could not be crooked, or it would get pulled increasingly out of place.
Then came the smaller veils, the decorative ones worn on top of the head or at the side. Professionals had to shape the gauze before securing it, and the shape often needed repeated adjustments.