Wedding Dress help/rant

rachie29

Stephb1986 wrote: »

This is where I got my dress from http://www.alwaysandforeverbridalboutique.com/301.html

It's in St Helens I don't know if that's far from you? The ladies are really really lovely in there.

Steph xx

Thanks Steph B. It's not too far. What are their prices like?

rachie29

notanewuser wrote: »

OP, you need to go and try on dresses to work out what you like and dislike, what suits you, what you do and don't want. You can have the names of hundreds of shops and dressmakers, but its pointless if you don't know what you want!!

Thanks Notanewuser. I have tried on quite a lot so far! But going to try on more. If i don't find what I want, then i'll look at having one made.

chronicwhimsy

Have you tried a Wedding Dress Factory Outlet? (if you google their name, will come up with website - I'm not allowed to post links!)

They have a couple of stores - one in Midlands, one in London - and they do dresses for about £400ish. Worth checking out! They have quite a big selection, and a large stock turnover.

rachie29

chronicwhimsy wrote: »

Have you tried a Wedding Dress Factory Outlet? (if you google their name, will come up with website - I'm not allowed to post links!)

They have a couple of stores - one in Midlands, one in London - and they do dresses for about £400ish. Worth checking out! They have quite a big selection, and a large stock turnover.

I hadn't seen that, thank you! I am going to visit a similar thing in Liverpool, if that isn't any good then I will consider the one in the Midlands. It's just a bit further but the website looks fab. Thank you :j

reformedEffortmaker

I got married in Dec 2012, but didnt start looking until June 2012 and after 2 shops was fed up of sales assistants trying to bully me into making a decision there and then. The cheapest I had found one was £900 PLUS alterations :eek: and a bolero, veil etc etc.

I heard about these guys from this forum http://www.bridalbasement.co.uk/ and they were great, bought the second dress I picked up from the rack and was very pleased! Nothing in the shop is more than £400 and they just left me and mum to get on with trying them on without hassling us, they also have a seamstress on site which can be handy if you have a 'vision' of something but cant explain it accurately in words

rachie29

Reformedeffortmaker, thank you! That is my plan, to go there next. In Liverpool, is that right? You have made my night, I was hoping someone would tell me about a good experience there! So thank you!:j

rachie29

P.s. how was the wedding?!

reformedEffortmaker

haha....wedding was great thanks, funny thing was, my dress was the one of the things I stressed about most in the run up to the day, but was the thing I thought about least on the actual day!.:o

Also, not sure if this will apply to you, but if you are a plus size bride (I was), I would ring up first as they only had 5 or 6 truly different styles in the larger sizes.

I have seen your other post about copplestone, and would like to try and manage your expectations a bit more.
Whilst it was great for me as a MSE'er and someone who didnt like wedding shops taking the P out of me with their pricing strategy, I would say copplestone is more like a TKMAXX, in that presentation is not their sales focus. also, its not quite the massive warehouse their marketing leads you to believe though, I would say they have about as many dresses as your average wedding shop but the big difference is that there will be no damask wallpaper; velvet covered seats, chandeliers or nice pictures on the wall. You will have tosee past this and have patience and energy to go through the racks, and if you are a size 8-12, I think you will be there for ages!!

I would probably go to a few more posher shops first, so that you have a clear idea in your head of the style you are looking for, then it will be easier when you get to liverpool to decide what to try on.

I would also advise you to be imaginative!. I started off with a relatively plain A-line strapless dress made from taffeta with a lace top layer. I had lace sleeves added (from an old bolero), and a shallow sweetheart neckline cut out and also added some sparkly bits to the bust area. All for £100 (plus the cost of the dress obviously) so totalled £450.

Also, again, horses for courses, but I would just think about what you plan to do with your dress after the wedding as it will impact on how much you spend. I was adamant I didnt want to keep it as it would just sit in the wardrobe, then the loft and I couldnt think of an occassion when I would need it again. I have just sold it on ebay for £95 so am very pleased. One of my sister-in-laws however spent nearly £3000 on her dress and hasnt had any offers over £250 for it (she was hoping for nearer £1000 which I think it completely unrealistic), 3 years later it is still in a cupboard and the style is definitely no longer 'en trend'.

Also, if you find 'the one' somewhere else, dont forget to try ebay/preloved/sellmyweddingdress etc for someone else selling one.

I wish you luck on your search, and look forward to hearing loads more about your plans on this site!

Jessycat

My plan at the moment is to go to the bridal shops, find the style (or dress if I'm lucky I want) then hope (if I'm extremely lucky) that I can track it down elsewhere.

Has anyone every been to one of these events? http://www.theweddingsale.com/?gclid=CM_j9t3thrUCFYLHtAodo0MAjQ They seem to be on fairly regularly.

jtr2803

Wedding fairs! Most will have stores selling last season stock, the one I went to last summer was full of dresses around the £300 mark, I bought one there.

I then changed my mind and found a preloved version of a Sophia tolli I dress I have fallen in love with when trying on in a shop and paid £320 for it, the shop wanted £1350, it was immaculate too.