HELP! I'm getting married in May and need a dress FAST! Post Reply

[Editrix]

I'm supposed to be getting married next May, having just found a venue ... but have NO idea where to start on wedding dresses!
I'd rather not spend more than a few thousand but having spent several hours saturated by images on pintrest wondered if anyone knew , well , where to start really.
I've already been recommended Brown's Brides and will book an appointment but their dresses are around £6,000 and take 4/5 months. Frankly, with two children already, i just don't feel the need to spend that much and would rather put it towards a honeymoon (for 4!)

I do want to try a few on somewhere to get a feel for what suits. Any thoughts or suggestions very gratefully received ...


xx

[SJ1979]

Definitely try here, http://ritvawestenius.com/
Good value, don't need a long lead time, and great service, I loved my dress from here.

[pie81]

Browns Brides dresses are quite "directional" ie high fashion, rather unusual styles as I recall. Not everyone's cup of tea but interesting.

I suggest starting with a boutique that stocks a range of designers, for example Morgan Davies in EC1 or Teokath in Wimbledon. You usually have to book appointments and Saturday ones can have a long waiting list so trr to go weekday if you can. Needless to say they are NOT child friendly places I'm afraid.

Budget for a "designer" wedding dress from these place is probably £800 through to £4000 with most around the £1.5-2.5k range. If you want to spend much less then look at off the peg from Monsoon or Debenhams or just look for a non wedding evening dress, off the peg is obviously quicker too. Sample sales are an option but you have to be lucky and ideally size 10-12.

Once you have an idea of what style you like (corseted/floaty/vintagey etc) then you can focus on designers in that style and in your budget.

Do you have any ideaa already as to what you want?

[pie81]

Forgot to say, there are also lots of second hand dresses available, a great way to get a very expensive dress for much less. You can have it altered to fit you.

[windmill26]

Congratulations!
Have a look at J.Crew www.jcrew.com/uk/wedding.jsp
They have lovely off the peg Wedding Gowns . Also have a look at the Bridesmaids selection if you are open to different colors instead of white.

[Editrix]

Thank you so much for such detailed replies. Been at child no Christmas service so only just replying .
I am happy to spend around £3,000 or so but not much more. I just don't know where to start - the Wimbledon boutique is certainly a good idea. Thank you
I'm very keen on sample sales - where do you hear about them?

[sarahjlevans]

off the peg or sample is a great idea. I bought off the peg in a sale (lots of shops will have them after Xmas then got it altered in bride & alter in Battersea, the service was excellent and it was a very quick turnaround.

Places to try:

All that glitters (Wimbledon)
Orange blossom (Sydenham)
Blackburn bridal (blackheath)

Good luck xx

[lemonzest]

Just to say - don't let the bridal shops panic you. I was engaged for 6 months, and they all went "OMG you must order your dress immediately". Clearly I had it hanging in the flipping cupboard for months before the wedding...

I love Pronovias.

[SamT]

I second Ritva Westinius

[pie81]

Sample sales:

Some bridal shops have a permanent "sale rail" where they sell off old showroom dresses. Others have a sample sale once or twice a year, annoyingly the time of year varies from shop to shop so it's best to call round some of the bridal shops which stock the kind of thing you like and ask them. I got my dress in a sample sale and then had it quite extensively altered by a dressmaker.

There are also big sample sales held in hotels sometimes (like in that episode of Friends) - google sample sale london and you'll find these but they are a bit hit and miss.

For £3000 you would be able to afford something new from all but the most expensive designers (though of course you may prefer to spend less if you can!)

Good luck!

[Bubs]

I got mine from Pronovias, I think it was a few months turnaround so you should still have time. Great range, from v reasonable to v pricey.

[Bubs]

A friend found a gorgeous one in Teokath - very local too, you could pop in for a browse, just in case the one catches your eye!

[Beketaten]

My friend got hers at David's Bridal in Westfield at Stratford. In fact she got 2, 1 for the ceremony and 1 for the reception!

http://www.davidsbridal.co.uk/#

[this_is_cat]

Philipa Lepley on Fulham Road does a brilliant sample sale every January. You book a slot and get one of their assistants to help you pick from their dresses and accessories, so still get the one-on-one attention, without their usual price tags!

Gowns are reduced from upwards of £6k to under £2k, and all are available to take away there and then. You can either have them alter them to fit you, or better still, go to Designer Alterations and have them do it.
The only downside is that you need to be a size 8-12 in order to fit the samples, but their dresses are really beautiful
http://www.phillipalepley.com/

Sassi Holfold is a few doors down from the PL shop, and they also do a sample sale, but their selection isn't as big

[Luilou]

Congratulations!

I got married in October this year after a 6 month engagement. I was a bit overwhelmed with the bridal dress shops, particularly as they put the pressure on with regards to ridiculous time lines. I ended up having my dress made by Harriet Gubbins in Fulham, she needs at least 2 months to make a dress so it was a far more relaxed time frame and the dress was still ready 4 weeks before the wedding, she arranged for my shoes to be dyed to match the dress also.

In case you can engineer a pre-moon with a girlfriend, Seville in Spain has a whole street of wedding dress shops as many of the dresses we see for sale here are apparently made in Spain. You can buy beautiful wedding lace in the haberdashery shops and the wedding accessories are exquisite.

Good luck with planning your special day.