Wedding dress disaster

Oh god that sounds awful keep calling them, keep going down there, keep on bugging them until you get what you want. Then try to push for some discount!

Also... your dress shop should not underestimate the power of social media. If you get their name out there and give them a bad rep their business will fall flat on its face. They do not want that. So if they let you down again make sure you go public!! No one else needs to go through what you have.

Well you could go the whole hog and ask them to show you the order and something from their supplier confirming the order size and dates.

I wouldn't email or ring them I would go in. And keep going in. And speak to the manager.

Tell them at this point you just don't trust them and if need be tell them you will make it known etc. in for a penny in for a pound.

whats happened is awful and extremely stressful but I can't see them wanting a load of bad publicity so it's not like they are likely to do anything about it.

i think I would want a back up in place. Maybe Check whether other stores have one in in your size even if it's a sample? Obviously depending on what joy you get.

im sure once you have your dress at home and put it on when not stressed you will love it again.

Fingers crossed this will all be fine and just a nasty memory.

I'm not sure when the dress was due for delivery?

You need to write to them immediately stating "I am making time of the essence to our contract.." and stating your case. Eg when it was due and why the delay is not acceptable. Give them a date by which they must supply the dress or you will cancel the contract.

Trading standards will be able to help you with the letter.

Can you contact the supplier direct and see if they can give you an update?

Oh sweetie, I'm sorry to hear this. Have you got a seamstress lined up? If not it's worth trying to get hold of a local one so you can take it there for any alterations you might need. You'll need to make sure they have availability for those couple of weeks. Don't think about anything else at this stage, I'm sure it'll be the right dress! Have you got everything in writing e.g. what you ordered and what size? That way if it comes in wrong you've got written proof. If all else fails you could look for your local outlet and try and get a dress there. I hope it doesn't come to that and you get the dress you loved

Indeed My only suggestion for getting a last minute dress is to look somewhere like wed2b. I got my dress from there (they have branches all over the place). Its an outlet, but the dresses are all new. They carry sizes 6 to 30, and the top price is £449. If you find a dress there you buy it and take it home the same day.

However, I'm sure that everything will work out with your dress, but I thought I would suggest a backup option ?

Thanks everyone for your replies. It does make me feel better (and a bit calmer!).

Luckily I had booked a seamstress for alterations. She's been wonderful, re-arranging our appointments because of the delays. I feel bad that she's ended up being inconvenienced because of the useless shop.

Unfortunately the woman that runs the shop also owns the dress design company. She clearly couldn't care less. She doesn't take any responsibility and blames 'the supplier'. It's her dress company - she is the supplier!

The dress should have arrived by end of July, and even if it was delayed they had said beginning/early August at the latest, which is on my receipt. What is stressful is that they've been so unhelpful the whole time. Even in the last week of July, the manager got cross on the phone and said I shouldn't expect a delivery date yet! And they didn't bother to email me until the last day of July to tell me it would be delivered late.

Last week they said it was being delivered from China and gave me a DHL tracking number and it might be there by Saturday. Then on Saturday they emailed that it was the wrong tracking number! It's so useless. If it was any other time I'd laugh, they are so incompetent it's farcical.

Now I have another tracking number. So a package has arrived at Heathrow now but who knows what's in it. Fingers crossed it will be the right dress although I'm absolutely dreading going to the shop and collecting it. Who knows if it will be the right size given what they said at the weekend. This should be a happy day. Instead I have to deal with these unpleasant people.

I just don't want this worry and stress to be hanging over me. I don't want to hate the dress because it's now associated with them.

Thanks for the tips about wed2B and phoning other shops to see if they have sample sizes in stock. That will be a good back up plan if the dress is all wrong.

I really wish I'd bought my wedding dress somewhere else! It's such a shame that buying my wedding dress, which should be a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime experience, has been completely spoilt by the shop.

And I suppose a few weeks late is better than several months late - that's terrible CityGirl29! It's amazing you managed to re-arrange everything in time.

I'm pleased that you have got another seamstress - I was going to say that if the shop are doing the alterations to find someone else ASAP as they seem so reliable! I hope that you get something soon, otherwise like the others have said I would get down to the shop and not leave until you get answers!