Bridesmaid Dresses Dilemma - custom made?

Hi and welcome

My sister is a BM for her friend and they got 7 dresses from this site https://www.jjshouse.com/?gclid=CP-6z9bVlrgCFaTItAodoCwAUA

They have turned up and are lovely fabric and well made, but did need quite a bit of alterations. I suppose if you are prepared for that then they could be a good option? I am looking to do a similar thing but the other way round, the same colour but different styles and I may still use this company but will wait until nearer the time.

Have you got a date set yet?

xx

Hello! Thanks for your reply!

Are you based in the UK and if so do you know if there were any charges / import tax etc to pay on delivery?

Im just trying to work out if its actually going to save me money buying them from a custom made site what with the alterations and delivery as well :-)

Yes we have set our date.. quite a way off 16th May 2015.

But we have already booked our church and venue and almost the photographer and videographer.

I will probably leave the dresses until next year before ordering them but I feel better 'knowing what I am doing' if that makes sense... LOL... also having a dilemma with the colour scheme / theme where we keep changing our minds.. seems like we will never get it all planned when we cant stick to a decision haha!

How about yourself?

Hi

Yes I am in the UK, there weren't any extra charges as far as I know, but I will certainly double check. I know what you mean about knowing what you are doing. I still have a year to go and 2 BM are pregnant so can't choose any now anyway but I keep flitting between ordering them from here and just going shopping with each of them and hoping they turn out to be similar in colour (although I am not too worried about that as it isn't a colour theme as such).

Yes we have done pretty well and got most things sorted now. I did actually order my wedding dress online from China and obviously was wary and that has been brilliant. Having a few alterations but it is still going to come in under £200.

What sort of themes do you have in mind?

x

Hi Em1986,

I was thinking of ordering custom made bridesmaid dresses from abroad too as they seem so much better value than some shop bought bridesmaid dresses so I was really interested to see what responses you got to your post. I want to go for chiffon and it appears that basically a lot of these foreign made dresses come in that material.

As I have a good while until my wedding (September 2014), I was thinking of ordering a "test dress" so I could look at the colour, fit and style (as well as work out any hidden charges). Of course, I guess that there is always the risk that the dress would be horrible, but at least it would only be one. I suppose I could really like it and not be able to get the same one for the other bridesmaids, but that's a risk you take. Think it's a good thought though if your wedding is quite a way off.

Well we were thinking initially country /rustic /vaillagy as we are getting married in the village church and the reception in the village hall.. so think jam jars, hay bales... then we went more village fete... not a million miles off but bright colours, bright flowers, but the same general theme ... now I am leaning back towards the more greens / pinks /pastels and more country than fete but I cant decide!

OH wants bright bright but he wanted to wear stilts and for me to be bought in on a llama so his opinion is not to be taken too seriously

Yes thats what I was thinking of just ordering the one, but i really dont know what to do for the best.. Lets hope we get loads of replies from people that have ordered them before with glowing reviews!

Girls after my own heart! I've just ordered my BM wrap dresses from Coralie Beatrix on Etsy. They're each having a different colour and I really wanted them to be able to wear them again. CB has a load of options, but we went for a simple wrap dress. It took a bit of time to sort colours & sizing, CB has been super helpful in it all. They're coming from the US & cost £344, but import tax will add a bit on. I'm totally confident & excited. Really worth a look. I've seen a similar UK version & researched her feedback, of course. Oh & her FB shows lots of real weddings.

Hi, just a suggestion but with thevillage hall/ fete style idea what about 1950s style dresses. My bridemaids are haviiny these. I got mine from www.lindybop.co.uk, they were £30 and all styles come in lads of colours. I also got sashes woith a bow at the back in another colour from the internet www.formaltailor.co.uk.

Childhood sweetheart just read you ordered your wedding dress online, what website was this from?

I have been considering ordering mine online but I am so wary...

I just read loads of bad reviews about bridesmaid look.co.uk that looked so professional online so its a real worry for me.

That said I dont relly want to spend 100's of pounds on my wedding dress if I can get it for much less!

Thanks!!

Hi

I ordered my wedding dress from China. It's gorgeous & fits well & there was no import tax.

As I have so many I am having my bridesmaid dresses made by a local seamstress. The material (chiffon with satin underskirt) for 9 adults & 1 junior has come to just £160 & she's charging £55 per dress to make them. I have designed them myself & they'll obviously be made to measure. If you ask around I'm sure someone will be able to recommend a seamstress in your area.

Thank you Sarah I will ask around as I think thats going to be the only way to cut costs really, getting them made.

Where did you get your wedding dress from if you dont mind me asking?

Did you have any issues ordering it and with the size etc, I may start a new thread on this as well as there may be more people that have had their wedding dress custom made.

I think it's the perfect solution for you with you wanting different colours

No I don't mind, I ordered from Yourbridalwear & it was £195.

I didn't have any issues ordering it. After asking them questions via email for months, they put a link especially for me on their website when I decided to go ahead and order from them. I paid via Google Wallet & there were no hidden charges. They have a UK agent that they ship everything to & then the agent sends it out via Royal Mail so there's no import tax. They have a measurement guide on their site to follow.

My dress is boned & lined & quite heavy. The organza is nice quality too. It's a bit small on the bust but I did send slightly smaller measurements to allow for me losing weight so I'm hoping it'll fit better once I've lost more! I don't think it'll need altering much if at all.

Just be careful, as with custom made you might end spending more. My sister in law got her sister to buy material from thailand and she got a dress maker to make them up.....to cut a long story short, the material just didn't look expensive enough! So choose carefully

Thanks Sarah, Ill check them ou.

yes thats my main concern, that I wont get exactly what I want hence asking for recommendations - its a big thing so I dont want to get it wrong!

Hi Em,

Sorry I have only just seen this message.

I ordered mine from ASOS Marketplace from this seller https://marketplace.asos.com/seller/weiweik

I just wanted to say thank you for this post! I have ordered a dress and petticoat from here from my very awkward bridesmaid and she loves it!! Let's hope it is as good when it turns up! xxx

If you have reservations about looking online, have you looked at bhs, a lot of their dresses are on sale at the moment and most of their dresses are available in all colours, not sure how well the colours look together and whether you'd be able to get the right ones though?

Thanks Guys, thats relaly helpful. A few people have recommended sexyher which actually have a shop in Croydon which is only an hour from me so you can try on the dresses you will be ordering .. they are then tailor made by their suppliers in China, but the shop has them sent to them before the buyer and so you dont pay any import tax and other fee's... this sounds perfect!