Buying a dress online

I personally wouldn't but that's because I had an idea of what I loved and was determined it was the dress for me but when I tried it on it didn't look good at all! I ended up with something totally different. If you were going to buy online could you maybe go to a shop to try on styles to see what suits you first?

If you do a search, there are a million threads on this subject.

Personally I'd go try on dresses to find out what suits you, as a picture and real life are very different and either buy a sample or search preloved for something second hand.

Its not juat a case if having it altered if you order it early. Some gowns are so poorly made that no seamstress will touch them. Sizing can bw wrong, theres no support boning, seams are wonky, beading wrong or non existent. If your going to go down this route make sure you check feedback and read reviews.

Hey hon. I know its really tempting but may be look around and see what you can get in the shops. A bride of ours bought bridesmaids dress on line and when they came the sizes were mazzive far too big to be altered.I very nearly order my wedding dress on line and then I managed to find it in a shop. When I tried it on it didn't look that good so ended up with a completely different one.

Happy Planning

Laura x

Thankyou you have all basically confirmed what part of me was thinking.

this may be an obvious question but going from shop to shop looking for dresses is my idea of hell, are there any websites for designers where I can then look for a stockist... My budget is £500 max.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I would be very careful about purchasing your dress online. It may seem appealing for a host of reasons, however, without trying a dress on you can never entirely be sure of suitability, comfort, etc. Often the dresses are poorly constructed, fabric and embellishments may not appear as shown on the photograph etc. When it comes to your wedding dress I would advise patient, careful consideration and going to a couple bridal shops to see what is available within your budget. Shopping for the dress is a major part of wedding planning fun, and I would highly recommend you not miss out! Good luck!

KCW x

Hi Monkeynutter.

Like a couple of other people have said, it's about patience really, especially if you have a strict budget.

I happened to notice one day that a venue local to me was having a wedding dress sale, as they have a dress shop on site. I went mostly to get an idea of styles etc, and ended up falling in love with a dress that was worth £900 but was half price in the sale so I only paid £450 for it.

So my advice would be to wait for a sale, there are designer bargains to be had!

Lauren

Hiya

A friend of mine got her from the Zinnia Bridals, now known as quickgowns http://www.quickgowns.com/unique_wedding_dresses.htm

They were amazing quality, the dress fitted brilliantly (just needed adjustments as she lost weight between delivery and wedding day) and as she had the red emboridary ones, it was adored by all the guests for being so different!

Hopes that helped

Hi check out this website. It will help you find who stocks what you like

Hi,

This is very risky. I think you really need to try some on. Many places offer these dresses and they are much poorer quality when they arrive than they seem in the photos.

Lynne

This is exactly how I felt when I started dress shopping; I'm the biggest tomboy in the world- I hate clothes shopping (I'll only go if something I have literally breaks or develops holes) and combined with the pressure of shopping for a WEDDING dress- this huge, mythical...THING...with no idea of what I wanted, no idea of what a dress would even look like on me...well, I was dreading it.

It's REALLY not that bad. I'm not exactly confident with my body (putting it mildly) and I just kept putting it off. However, ALL of the places I have been to so far have been brilliant and I'm so glad that I did go out in the end, however nervous / belligerent I was about the whole thing.

It's not like normal shopping- there aren't other people there to get in your way or annoy you and the advice you get from the shop staff is invaluable. If I'd gone with the style of dress I *thought* I wanted, the wedding guests would have been able to see what I'd had for breakfast. Not pretty.

I'd say, give it a go! Nothing ventured, nothing gained! You might want to go by yourself to start with (I did) just to get a feel for the experience and the styles of dress that suit you. Then you can increase your entourage as you get used to it and maybe even start to enjoy it a little bit. I've got another appointment on the 2nd Feb and I CANNOT WAIT! ?

You can get some bargains too. My friend, who isn't short of a bob or two, recently got her beautiful (and I don't 'do' dresses!) dress for about £350 in a 'high-end' bridal shop.