One of the other ladies on here asked about my experience of buying my dress from Wed2b so I thought it may be useful to make a separate post as I found it useful when searching on here for previous Wed2b reviews. I went to the Wednesbury shop.
I had a great experience though probably a little different to the norm as I can't compare to a standard bridal shop. I have not been in a 'boutique' bridal shop where you make an appointment and have the place to yourself. I had looked at a lot of dresses online and none of them really stood out to me and were priced at £1400+ (not a problem I just didn't want to spend that if I didn't have to) So I can't compare Wed2b to a 'normal' experience. I honestly thought I would love to have my entourage with me and have the glass of prossecco and be waited on but it turns out I did just fine with just my FML.
I popped into Wed2b to pick up a sample of the bridesmaid dresses, I was on my own and no one knew I had gone apart from my partner. My idea was to also try on a wedding dress of each style to see what I liked or what suited me before I had to do it in front of family/friends who may put their opinions on me. I had a list of 4 dresses I wanted to try on (Aline/Ballgown / Fishtail / Sleek Sheath and Fit and Flare. The Ballgown called Brynn was my number 1 choice from looking at it on the website and I made her aware of this.
As soon as I walked in the shop the lovely lady on reception Sophie greeted me and got me signed in using my name, date of wedding and email address. She first provided me with the bridesmaid swatch I requested. I then gave her my list of dresses and she advised there would be a 30-40 minute wait for a dressing room but this would give her time to locate my choice of dresses and for me to look at the bridesmaid dresses. All of the Bridal dresses are hung up on long rails front to back of the front of the shop in dress bags. As I already knew the dresses by name that I wanted to try I didn't bother looking through the rails. At this point I felt a bit silly being there on my own and wondered if I had made a mistake, I actually felt a little sad. (I have some issues with my family being difficult and letting me down)
I was then called into the back of the shop where the dressing rooms are, and I was dealt with by a different lady then who really put me at ease. She was lovely and we popped the Brynn dress on first! I knew straight away it was the one. The other brides trying on their dresses do get to see you as you also get to see them but this didn't bother me in the slightest as I was so focused on myself.
She was very patient with me and talked me through the different dresses I was trying on and what type of dress they were etc. I knew then that I wanted to buy Brynn but knew I shouldn't really do it without my mom / sister or FML seeing it first.
I then called my mom/sister and FML and explained what had happened and explained how the shop works where by when a certain dress has sold out it's gone forever as they don't restock them (bare this in mind if you go and find one you like. I would enquire how many they have left) I had already gone on their online chat and knew there was only one Brynn left. I arranged for my sister and mom to meet me at the shop the next day which both said would be no problem (they travel from Telford) and I would bring my FML from Worcester. I was so excited!! Anyway the next morning I got the call from my sister I was fully expecting to say she had changed her mind about going, it wasn't convenient and why can't we just do it another time? I explained that there is only 1 dress left and I don't want to miss out on it.... made no difference. As my mom doesn't drive and relys on my sister to take her this then meant my mom couldn't go either... I was honestly devastated and it really ruined what was meant to be a very special day for me.
Anyway my mom agreed I should still go so I didn't miss out and we arranged that they could see me in the dress on facetime! You can imagine I wasn't really looking forward to the day now and I had no excitement on the drive there. As I walked back in the shop the lovely Sophie greeted me again and said 'Oh yay you came back!' she really made me feel so much better! She got the Brynn out straight away and surprisingly for a Saturday morning at 11am there was no one else in the shop so I went straight in to the dressing rooms. I could not fault the ladies who work there, the experience or the dresses. She didn't rush me at all and helped me try on veils and they even have bouquets of flowers for you to hold to get the full 'look' She helped advise me on what alterations would need to be done to the dress as it was a little too big for me and she also allowed me to video her doing up the corset back.
I did buy the dress and accessories and left on Cloud 9 even though the morning felt a little tarnished the ladies in the shop really made me feel great.
A few things to bare in mind at Wed2b
1/ You can only try on 4 dresses at a time if there are other people waiting, you have to leave the dressing room pick your next 4 dresses and join the queue again. This didn't affect me as I only wanted to try 4 dresses on the Friday then 1 dress on the Saturday.
2/ Not all branches stock every dress that you see on the website. If you go on the chat on their website and provide a list of the dresses you like and potential sizes they will let you know which stores have them available.
3/ the other brides and whoever they have bought with them will see you in various dresses. Again this didn't bother me, in fact the bride who was there on the Saturday when I bought my dress was very complimentary.
4/ Wed2b don't store the dress, if you buy you take it away that day and will need to arrange your own alterations/seamstress. (you can purchase the dress bag and a storage fabric box. I was offered a list of their recommended seamstresses but as the shop was over an hour drive for me I decided to find my own closer to home.
If you see a dress you like I honestly wouldn't let the fact you don't get the place to yourself or not being able to make an appointment put you off. x
