Berketex Bridal

I have never heard of them personally, and I'm a little wary of getting a dress online, only because I have a strange body shape due to spinal surgery and need to try dresses on several times before I make a committment.

Otherwise, stores ise there is Wed2b, who have stores all over the UK (expect Northern Ireland I think!). All there dresses are between £100-600, and they look gorgeous (I am going to the Brighton store this week to try some on, so can let you know!) Also you don't need an appointment, which is great.

They look beautiful on the site but speaking as someone who has ordered dresses on this budget and been disappointed I would be sceptical about how they will look in real life. Brands are very good at photoshopping images so make them look amazing and they look terrible in real ice. I would order one anyway and return it if the quality was bad.

i am like you and didn't want to spend oafs on my dress! I tried a few asks dresses which were horrible. I would recommend going to some bridal shops just to try dresses on and see what suits you. The quality of designer gowns really is amazing and you can see why they are so expensive. I ended up going for a Grace Loves Lace gown for £900 which is more than I wanted to spend but I just felt that the cheap dresses didn't feel special enough in the end.

Berketex bridal are good, they had a stand alone shop which moved into Debenhams when they started revamping the city centre in Sheffield. I tried dresses on in there and had a really good day, the lady was kind and didn't push me which was great, they didn't have what I wanted but I didn't want white. What was really nice was she didn't have a problem with the fact that I went away without a dress I ended up getting mine from a boutique in Rotherham.

The range you are looking at is carried only in flagship Debenhams Berketex stores (I only know because I looked too I think it's the designer Emily Fox) and not in general Berketex boutiques, so check on the website before you pick anywhere to go. They have regular sample sales so keep an eye on the website as they are usually great deals. They also have a clearance store that has mega sales periodically, you sign up and go on the day I believe again it's linked from the Berketex website. My budget was £500 and I kept exactly within it, you can get a beautiful dress for that no problem x

While it looks like you already have all the help you needed, I'm just going to throw outlet stores out there. There's a few dotted all over the country, and while the experience may not be quite as "magical" they have good quality stock at a low price. The only problem is the dress you try on is the one you take away, you have your dress there and then so "care" and alterations are your responsibility and there's no ordering, what's there is what's for sale.

I know you said East Midlands (I'm West) but there are a couple in Birmingham if you're willing to travel, but like I said before, they are all over.

Final suggestion: sample sales, though this isn't always ideal for plus size brides, they are always worth a look

Happy hunting x

I looked at the website and it says that there's a store that sells Emily Fox in both Nottingham and Sheffield Debenhams (although they didn't have them in yet in the Sheffield branch when I went in), the next sample sale is the 29th and 30th July.

Good luck x

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm definitely not buying online, but like to be able to see what sizes and price point stores are before I start visiting them.

I'm happy to travel within in reason so Birmingham would be ok, there is a Wed2B in Nottingham which is 20mins from me so I'm gonna have a mosey over to then, especially since they don't require an appointment!

I fully understand why designer gowns are the price they are, the craftmanship and materials that go into making wedding dresses is amazing. As much as I'd love to spend £1000+ on a dress I just can't justify it to myself, I'm not a girly girl to start with so which I appreciate the work and look of those dresses they aren't for me.

The thing I'm finding with my web searches is that stores say they carry plus sizes but actually they maybe have 1/2 dresses and up to a 22 size. But from everything I read my street size isn't going to cut it with a wedding dress so I'm need bigger. My normal size is 22-24.

Have a look at and see if there is anywhere near you stocks White Rose bridal. They do a plus size collection. I got my dress from a store that carried them near Bolton. I had such a great experience there. They usually have a large stand at the national wedding show in Manchester with great discounts. They are called because I love you. The Berketex branch in Debenhams Manchester is nice. I didn't try on dresses but they were friendly when I went in looking for accessories. I found if I called shops before to check if they had any plus size samples I had a much better experience.

I wasa bit scared of dress shopping and i thought i'd want to curl up and die the first time i was shoe horned into a sample that was 4 sizes too small for me. It's surprising how quickly you get used to that though. I'm really really bad with anxiety and self confidence but ended up feeling really positive about dress shopping and enjoyed it. Bridal sizing is insane. Maybe I'm odd, but if I was a dress designer I'd go the other way and inflate my sizes so that people would be all 'woop! I'm a size 12 in this! Totally going to buy it!'

Figured I should report back, there's a Wed2B in Nottingham about 20/30mins from me so since they don't require appointments and I had nothing on today I had a drive out there. It was awesome, I tried on 5 dresses and I think I've found the one! which is really bad cos I don't have the money for it now.

However it was great, they have several gowns in my size range and all different shapes so I was able to try on different styles and didn't get the "shoe-horn" effect.

It's left me feeling a lot better about future dress shopping and a little heart sick for this one dress.

The consultant was lovely, didn't blink an eye at my size, was full of useful suggestions and made me feel relaxed.

My cousin got her Wedding gown at Berketex. Gorgeous satin dress, only £800.

Quality seems good, but service has been a little lacking in places.

If you felt like a little journey, there's a David's Bridal in Birmingham now which stocks loads and isn't horrifically expensive

x