Unhappy at La Couture Bridal Boutique Blakedown Kidderminster and Charlotte Balbier Dress

Hi ladies. Congratulations on your engagement and hope the wedding planning is not as stressful as mine has been so far! I recently visited La Couture Bridal in Blakedown near Kidderminster. An excited bride, looking for the dress of her dreams, armed with Mom and Sister in tow. Second shop I had been to, I tried on a Charlotte Balbier Annabelle dress from this years collection. I loved it! The material was amazing and to move felt effortless in it. I didn't have time to think, before I knew it, the Champagne was out and I was purchasing the dress with a 50% deposit required. I left the shop and immediately had a sinking feeling, WHAT HAD I DONE! How could I of purchased something so quickly without sleeping on it first? I just thought I was having a few jitters after being on such a high in the store, to then "that's it, dress purchased" so I decided to sleep on it some more. The shop had also mistakenly taken the full balance of the dress on purchase, and afterwards once I bought this to their attention, issued a cheque to rectify this mistake. Every day I was looking at photos of me in the dress, and the more unsure I was feeling about it. It was too plain, it wasn't the dress of my dreams, but thinking I had a 28 day period to change my mind, I talked it over with girlfriends and family. I went into the shop on the 7th day following purchase as I took a fellow bride-to-be in for fittings to see if she could find anything she liked. I quickly put the dress on again as I didn't want to encroach too much on my friends time in store, and did not get good feelings about it. I was about to tell the owner how I was feeling and she told me the dress had been ordered. That's it I was tied in. I got home in tears, spoke to my fiancé and he advised I must speak to the owner immediately. I raised my concerns about the dress on day 8, and was advised I had a 7 day cancellation period only and I was tied in to purchasing the dress in full as per their terms and conditions. I WAS DEVASTATED! I was invited back to store to try the dress on for a 3rd time, but the more I was in the dress the more I was starting to hate it. The shop tried a few ideas to change the look of the dress but no good. I also tried on alternative dresses to see if there was anything else I liked. There was one dress I liked but didn't love. The shop agreed to speak to the designer about potentially swapping to another one of her gowns. After several phone calls with the store, and them speaking to the designer, they offered me to transit alternative dresses to store for an extra cost of £50 but I was still liable for the full payment of Annabelle as the dress was in full production (after 8 days). After further discussions and me refusing to purchase another Charlotte Balbier dress, as a gesture of good-will the store would not charge me the full amount, but they would keep my deposit of 50% which equated to almost £600. Still not happy, the store offered a credit note of £500 towards a new gown only. I explained to the owner, that I did NOT want to purchase another gown from this designer after the way I had been treated, and there was nothing else suitable in my price range. The owner cancelled a couple of appointments I had made to visit store to resolve face-to-face. I had enough, I wasn't eating or sleeping, I was stressed out and just wanted this whole thing to be over. I picked up the phone and spoke to the owner who advised I legally had no leg to stand on and those are the terms and conditions with her store. I advised I wanted to come to an amicable agreement and requested just £300 back which was half the deposit, as I appreciated they had costs to cover. This was refused. I advised the owner that I was not happy and I would be telling other brides of my experiences. She replied I was blackmailing her and refused to speak to me any further!! I was not intending to blackmail the store at all and that was totally taken out of context, but having taken £600 of my hard-earned savings just one day over the cancellation period, I just wanted to advise all brides-to-be that it is really easy to get caught up in the high emotions of the day, especially when you are being pampered and dressed up like a princess. Please don't sign anything on the day, and take time to consider your decision. This is your big day and its so important that your dress is perfect. Should you have any issues, make sure the dress designer and shop you are dealing with have a track record of good customer service, as if anything should go off track, you want to be assured that the shops focus is on you as their customer. I don't understand why my dress was ordered immediately if there is a cooling-off period of 7 days, and how the dress can be in full production on the 8th day. The dress was not a rush order, and it takes an average of 6-9 months to arrive in store. I appreciate I changed my mind and originally I was prepared to purchase an alternative dress and the store had costs to cover, but after everything that happened I did not want to be forced to purchase it from this store. The last thing on my mind right now is wedding dress shopping and it has really taken the joy out of what is supposed to be the best day of my life.......