Manchester/Cheshire wedding shops - info and experiences

Great idea Mrs*W*2B!

Ok, I have also been to both Sense & Sensiblity and Maria Modes and have had similar experiences as you, although thankfully not quite as bad as being left in many dresses I didn't like. Will summarise my experiences below so far.

Timeless Bride - Poynton (dresses from about £800 upwards)

This was the first shop I went to and it was a lovely experience, if I could have found "the one" there I would definitely have got it from there as Michelle and her mum who run the shop couldn't have done more if they'd tried. Michelle was really friendly and obviously knows her stuff, was really helpful and happy to recommend other places if they didn't have what I wanted. I would say the shop is ideal for anyone looking for a plainer elegant type dress without too much bling detail or anything going on (although they are happy to add things to any of the dresses). Would definitely recommend the shop and the staff there, but sadly they did have quite what I wanted.

Alison Burgess Couture - Stockport (dresses I tried were between £700 and £1200)

We had made an appointment but was on a day the owner wasn't there. Whilst the staff were attentive and friendly enough, they didn't really offer much advice on what might suit me best or suggest other dresses to try, they seemed happy for me just to decide myself. The dresses were nice styles but the material of a lot of them looked quite cheap to me and I didn't think they compared to the quality of those I'd tried at other shops, despite being in the same price bracket. The sample dresses didn't seem that well looked after eaither, with a few of them being quite grubby and ripped in places, which put me off a bit!

Sense and Sensibilty - Great Moor (dresses I tried were between £800 and £1300)

The ladies here were both really friendly and were excellent at suggesting other dresses I should try as well as those I had already picked myself. Although the shop looks quite small from the outside they have loads of dresses to choose from inside, and as long as you've made an appointment you will have the shop pretty much to yourself to try as many as you like! They are a massive stockist of Maggie Sottero, so if you like her designs you should def go here as they can get any of them in for you. I actually went specifically to try a number of Maggies I'd seen I liked and ended up falling in love with a completely different Ronald Joyce dress which the lady picked out for me!

Maria Modes - Macclesfield (dresses I tried were between £700 and £900)

As per Mrs*W*2B this is probably the shop that I liked the least. They were very helpful when making my appointment etc but once I went in to try a particular dress, they were quite pushy about keep asking when I was thinking of ordering I didn't being asked, but it was more that they kept saying I needed to order sooner and what a great price they were offering me the dress for. I started to feel a bit like they were trying too hard to get the sale, which makes you wonder if they're struggling financially or something! Could just be me being overly suspicious but none of the other shops were that pushy! Also put me off, that when I said I was deciding between the one there and another dress and that I wasn't ready to order yet, the woman still wanted to measure me up in preparation so that when I decided they'd have it all done already! A bit presumptuous if you ask me!

Ooooo what a great Idea!! I want to play too.

I also went to Sense and Sensibilty Excellent customer service and like what has already been said, encouraged to take photos and try straps, not pushy atall and really nice, gave me and my aunt a bottle of water as it was warm in there. The only thing I didnt like was she didnt lock the door during my appointment and while I was there 2 children wandered in 'looking for a tiara to buy their mum' If this is true then how cute (they looked about 12, boy and girl) but the cynic in me kept a close eye on my handbag!

I also went to Maria Modes with my friend who is also getting married and maybe there were different people working that day but they were really nice and helpful and have their full attention. My friend also managed to get a discount off a Maggie dress too. They didnt stock the type of dress that I was after but they were nice and gave us cups of tea. They did point out their 'over £3500 dress section' i didnt even go in, just in case I saw an amazing dress ha.

I went to 7th Heaven Bridal in Congleton, they wernt pushy atall BUT were a little too laid back, they didnt realy offer me any suggestions and kind of left us to it, which I suppose can be good and bad. They didnt have a huge amount of stock but they did say they were getting more in.

Glamour Bridal and Prom in Bolton, nice shop, not so much boutique but the customer service was amazing, they really cared about you and your big day and were so helpful and great at communication, they really couldnt do enough for you. Even after my appointment - where I didnt get anything the lady kept in touch via facebook to see how i was doing, yes i know she was after a sale but it never felt like that as she wasnt pushy atall, just a really nice lady. you know when you really want to buy a dress of someone because they are so nice!

The White Closet in West Didsbury, OK, im biased as this is where my dress is from but wow, amazing shop. yes the prices are £1200+ BUT they did advise me of a designer sale coming up for 10% off in a few weeks (rather than me ordering my dress and being gutted a few weeks later). The shop itself is so beautiful and they really look after you, tea and cakes etc, Its really an experience. They girls are all so lovely too, they really know their stuff and advised me on how to 'change a dress' if i wasnt sure, by adding straps, belts that sort of thing. They also have 'nights' too like underwear nights and accessory nights which have been so much fun. Again the girls made it for me, im a size 16 and they made me feel at ease standing there in my pants!

Hope thats helps someone. x

Thought I'd add after my experiences this weekend and others prior to this. In order of appointments:-

J'adore - Timperley (now moved to The Downs, Altrincham)

Prices: £800 - £2000

Lovely shop which stocked a good selection of Mori Lee & Ronald Joyce. We were offered tea/coffee/water on arrival. She told us about the the designers and prices before we started looking and asked about my budget. The woman (Lydia) was so helpful, offering opinions on styles and suggeting jewellery/head pieces that would match. I was allowed to take as many pics as I wanted. This was my first shop so I was there for 2 hours, trying on every style going! This did not bother her in the slightest and she offered a 15% discount if I decided to go back and order any of the dresses. I almost wanted to buy a dress from her just because she was so lovely. They are moving to expand there collection.

Agape - Knutsford - (Also moved to the downs, Altrincham)

Prices: £1000 +

I arrived in the shop and it was all a bit busy/flappy. No drinks offered and we stood there for 5 mins kinda looking at the dresses before anyone spoke with us. The woman who was perfectly pleasant asked me which dresses I liked (not many really) and then we followed her upstairs into a small room. Some of the dresses I chose had a large train which you couldn't really see as the room was so small. If I wasn't sure about a dress for one reason or another she was very quick to tell me that it could be changed to exactly how I wanted it. This was all very well but it was very difficult to imagine all these fancy ideas she was suggesting. Overall not a bad experience but a little rushed and didn't really feel special. Pic's allowed

Berketex Bride - Manchester Central

Prices: £800 - £2000

I only visited here as it was the location of www.theweddingsale.com. The staff were very pleasant and although it was busy they were very helpful and made some good suggestions. The sale section was pretty much non exsistant so I mainly tried on Berketex dresses anyway. They were offering 25% off but I didn't find anything I liked. It's difficult ot comment on how they would be if I had booked an individual appointment, but not a bad expereince over all. No pic's allowed

Bridal Couture - Altrincham

Prices: Not listed although the ones I picked ranged from £1000 - £2000

Woman very friendly and even opened up especially on a Sunday for me. No prices on the dresses and she wouldn't tell me who the designer was until I'd placed an order. No pic's allowed. Quite a presuure sell with a "one day only special discount" Beautiful dresses though! I don't want to say a bad experiencve because it really wasn't. However looking back I don't agree with her sales tactics!

The Wedding Boutique - Cheshire

Prices: Under £1500

Agree with MrsW2b's comments. I thought I'd already found my dress at the previous appointment so I let her know as soon as we arrived. She was really lovely about it and told me not to worry if I didn't want to try anything on. I decided i'd have a look anyway. We were offered tea/coffee/water and tried a few things on. I ended up finding something very similar to the one i'd just found and ended up buying it for the baragin price of £200, reduced from £900. Had a few wobbles about it today on another post but other hitchers have reassured me ? She only has a very small selection but some very different styles and they tend to be local designers. I would say worth going to one of the sample sales as you may just find what you want for a really good price. Fiona was lovely and really helpful.

Hope this has helped fellow dress hunters!

I can add on a few of the ones I remember that haven't already been mentioned:

Brides at Bestman - Denton. Awful service, sales lady had no manners, threw dresses at me, put others on the floor, didn't help me get changed.

Once Upon a Bride - Denton. Fantastic. My 2nd choice dress was here and the ladies were wonderful.

Pronuptia Manchester - hit and miss with sales staff. The girl who helped me originally was fab but no longer seemed to be there when I was going back for fittings. A good range at al price levels, however the shop can be quite dark in places so check your shades carefully.