Women share the wedding dress mistakes they wish they hadn't made.

Wedding dress shopping is stressful, people. There’s a lot of expectations, a bunch of emotions, a s**tload of tulle – and sometimes – even a whole lot of sweat and tears involved.

You’ve got limited time to find the perfect dress that will not only look great and be comfy on the day, but which will stand the test of time (taffeta, anyone?).

Luckily for you, some very clever women – who have been there, done that – have shared their biggest wedding dress regrets and their best tips to make sure your shopping experience goes a whole lot smoother than theirs.

• Manage your expectations. 

One bride said she had very unrealistic expectations before going bridal shopping and she was left feeling stressed and disappointed from the experience.

“I went in expecting it to be like the movies – champagne, trying on heaps of dresses,” she said. “But reality is if you’re not a size 10 it can be really stressful.”

• Be prepared. 

Most been there, done that brides admit that you need to do your research way before you start dress shopping and you must be super prepared on the day.

"Book ahead," one woman suggested. "You need to book in places to even try a dress on."

"If you're going to wear your hair up, wear your hair up trying it on," added another.

"Take your own shoes or they make you wear shoes they supply which are just gross," warned another.

"Wear the right bra," someone shared. "My mum says that's her biggest wedding regret, she wore the wrong bra and spent her whole wedding day adjusting it."

• Take the right people with you. 

Contrary to what the movies would have us believe - you don't need to take your whole bridal party/extended family dress shopping with you. Most women recommended taking one or two people who you - people you can trust to give you their honest opinions and who will make you feel better after any disaster fittings.

"Take your mum with you or a woman in her 50's who is a no-nonsense type," one woman suggested.

"Take a bad cop with you. You can be good cop bride," added another.

"Do NOT take your future mother in law," someone warned. "She will never tell you what she really thinks."

"You don't want to take someone who is too brutal because it can be an emotional time trying on dresses."

• Shop around and take your time. 

Don't buy the first dress you try on. Or the second, or the third. Shop around and take your time - your wedding dress is a big investment.

"See more than one designer," one person suggested. "Do not let those f**king bridal boutique women talk you into ANYTHING you don't want."

"When I thought I'd found my perfect dress, I told the shop assistant it was only the second one I had tried on. She told to me go away and try on more - and if I still loved it, come back and put a deposit down," another woman shared.

"Step off the box and walk around and sit down, it looks different to you standing on the box," someone suggested.

"Get your ladies to film you walking, dancing. Don't get a sheath dress if you want to kick your pins around the dance floor all night."

"Get them to try the whole kit on you - the dress, shoes, veil and jewellery. It's incredible what the finishing touches can do."

• Shop for your shape. 

The biggest mistake brides-to-be make is going into the experience expecting to buy one particular dress and expecting that dress to suit their body shape.

"You need to shop with your own body in mind - not a particular style," one person commented.

"Four words: Big boobs. Strapless. No."

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"Strapless dresses suit approximately 15 per cent of the population, I was not in that 15 per cent," admitted one bride.

• Choose a shade of white that suits you. 

There's many shades of white and you need to find with that suits your skin tone and hair colour.

"This is probably obvious but you've got to spend plenty of time working out which TYPE of white suits you,"one woman suggested.

"White is not everyone's colour, so off white or ivory," added another.

Do you have any other tips? Share them in the comments below.