Cheap Wedding Dresses in Kent

Peter recommended Oxfam bridal wear shops, they're either preloved or new donated by designers, snip of the price, but also you get to go in and try it on in person.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/local-shops/oxfam-bridal-departments

I think everybody has their own personal opinions on what is important to them with their budget. When I got married the 2nd time my total budget for everything was £4000. We had a very beautiful day, flowers were fantastic, hotel was first class etc etc. We decided early on that we would spend a large percentage of our budget on a good photographer (it was £1200) as they would be our lasting memories. My husband is now dead so Im so pleased that we made that decision as I have some lovely pictures of our day.

Wedding dress shops have quality gowns that are constructed well, finished properly and have a good fit. You also have the benefit of our experience and have someone you can go back to if you have a problem like one of my brides did recently. She bought a red maribou shrug to wear over her dress and brought it into the shop a week before her wedding to try it. When she took the shrug off it had died the lace red on her dress. I was under no obligation to do anything, she had not bought the shrug from me and I was simply storing the dress for the wedding. However I spent the weekend removing beading, unpicking lace, cleaning it with cotton buds then reattaching the lace and beading. I had 5 weddings that week so its not as if i was sitting doing nothing, however I could not see a distraught bride. I didnt charge her to do the work either.

At the end of the day you get what you pay for but before resorting to buying from China try the local wedding boutiques as many will have end of season sales on at the moment and you should be able to pick up a beautiful dress for your budget, although not the Pronovias I would have thought.

Good luck with your hunt.

There are a few good bridal shops in Maidstone and Jodi's in particular have quite good sample sales, got my dress for £500 when it was usually £1300 new!x

Thanks for the link but those are all very far away from me..

I am sorry your husband has died and I understand the photography... I have my best friend doing the photography which I am very thankful for as I am saving a lot of money on that.

I have noticed in the one shop I went to that the woman was very helpful, very nice and she was aware of the huge responsibility she had. I wouldnt buy one of those cheap dresses from China - I need to try it on as I found out first hand that no matter how much you love the dress, it might not love you... The Pronovias I tried on was originaly twice as much but it was a dress that they stopped making thats why it was so "cheap" (for a Pronovias anyway). But saying that, the quality was obvious.

But I am sure that there are affordable dresses in these shops I just dont know which ones to go to and which ones to avoid as some might have some cheaper dresses and others might sell only higher priced dresses.

Thanks for explaining your dedication I am sure the bride was very happy with your help and would recommend you anytime.

Hi Monsoon have some really lovely dresses and have a sale on at the min! Have a look on website, but think they have some different ones in shops! ?

Thanks for the advice about the Maidstone shop - will check it out

I have checked the Monsoon website and didnt find anything I like. I suppose I shouldnt be so fussy with a lower budget...

Hi there,

Look out for wedding fairs at Ashford International - the one I went to had a load of wedding shops selling off their samples at bargain prices. I bought my dress at one for £250, retail was £700+ . It did need cleaning as folks had tried it on which was another £100 but all in all not bad.

Only other downer was that I had to take it away there and then - approx 9 months before the wedding and it had to live in my Mum's house...BUT, it was a perfect fit and absolutely beautiful.

A tip... take someone with you and try on dresses that don't take your fancy, you might be surprised by what you love once you've got it on - good luck! x