Lovely brides please read and give me your honest opinion xxx

Sounds good but it would of course depend on the price!

Honestly? No, I wouldn't use such a service. Part of the whole experience is flicking through magazines and choosing the styles you like, then visiting different bridal shops with your mum/sister/BMs to see what suits you. The same goes for BM dresses. On teh day, my mum/BMs will help me into my dress.

That's not to say that others might not go for it.

Good luck.

It sounds like a great idea, especially for brides who live away from their families so would otherwise end up doing a lot of that stuff by themselves.

Sorry but it wouldnt be something i would consider.

WSS.

I wouldn't like the idea of a stranger helping me find my gown, or getting into it.

Me neither. Part of the wonderful wedding dress shopping experience for me was the look on my mum's face when I walked out wearing a wedding dress (even if it did'nt end up being the choosen one).

And i'm really looking forward to shopping with my girls for their dresses and bits.

For me it's the fact my mum and two girls are there for me every step of the way helping and offering advise.

I interpreted it as a similar sort of service to Doulas for pregnant ladies. They're not midwives, but they're experienced with pregnancy and birth related stuff, and basically you pay them to keep you company during the birth. Very, very popular for ladies who don't have any female relatives around them. I know a few people who've gone to Doulas when they've had their babies, and that is such an intensely personal experience that I imagine something comparable for wedding planning would reach out to the same sort of people. I don't see it taking off as the next biggest craze, but it could be handy for a certain demographic.

For me, half the fun was trying on some of the ugly dresses or dresses that looked awful on me until I finally found 'the one'. And I loved picking out my own dresses to try on. So I wouldn't have wanted to use a service like this. Though I'm sure there are brides who hate trying on a million dresses who might appreciate that kind of help.

What were you thinking of charging and what would the packages include exactly?

Hmmm sorry wouldn't be for me either... Aas someone else said, I really enjoyed the whole researching different dresses and going off to try them on, and wouldn't really want someone limiting my choice of dresses because it theoretically suits or not, if you see what I mean. Also I found that the shop assistants were very knowledgeable with what suits and flatters different body shapes so its not something that I personally would pay extra for from someone else.

Can understand that it might help some people who don't like the whole experience though, but just not sure how large that number of people would actually be.

It doesn't sound like something that I would do either - I am taking my two best friends with me (and a camera so I can send pics to my mum). For me its not just about the dress, its the whole experience that goes with it.

Tracey

I think you would be flogging a dead horse IMO, the biggest and most exciting part of all the wedding planning is choosing the dress and it is such a personal experia ncehence why we generally shop with our nearest and dearest. I really cant see such a thing working.

Thank you ladies for your comments so far - they are much appreciated.

It not something i would consider at all- and to be honest i'd have better things to with that money too

My guess is that it's along the same lines as the whole "wedding planner" thing.

Some people want to do everything themselves for their big day, therefore no "external services" are required.

Some people don't have the time, organisational ability or inclination to do all the "exciting bits" so they pay someone else to make all the arrangements for them

As others have said, there's probably a market for it (as there is for everything wedding related) it's just whether it's big enough to be your sole income if that's what you desire from it. After all, it's really no different than the service you should be getting in a decent dress shop, is it?

Ok we've all heard horror stories about "just trying on" dresses way beyond the budget or feeling like you "have" to buy something today to get a special deal even though you aren't sure it's what you want , but then isn't that why people take bridesmaids/mother/friend with them dress shopping in the first place?

I can see where you are going with this and think there are people who would use this service but i donmt think that it would be a large proportion of brides. Cost will obviously play a huge part as for many people budgets are tight.

Personally i would not be interested in this service I know my own style and tastes and have very strong ideas about what I wanted and to be honest the feeling I have from using hitched is that the vast majority of brides do too