Where Should I buy My Wedding Dress?

1. Specialist Bridal Wedding Dress Shops

For the full experience of Wedding Dress shopping there is nothing like a Specialist Wedding Dress Shop or Boutique, you will be given a first class service and treated like royalty. 

Most of these shops will be appointment only and you may have to make a payment for your appointment on booking.

There will be a wide range of dresses to choose from in all shapes and sizes and some of these shops will specialise in specific designers.

These types of shops will make your dress to your requirements and you will have to order your dress in advance so you would need to allow a number of months from the time of ordering to when your dress will arrive, you will then need to allow time for any fittings to ensure it is fitted to your figure.

Prices in Specialist shops will vary but it is expected that you will probably be paying more than other types of shops as these gowns will be made especially for you.

These shops will likely offer a range of accessories like Wedding Shoes and Wedding Veils so you can have a one stop shop for your special day.

A number of such shops will also sell other Wedding Party outfits such as Bridesmaids dresses and Grooms Wear but you might decide to pick somewhere that is exclusively Bridal Dresses.

2. Off The Peg Wedding Dress Shops

If you want to take your Wedding Dress away on the day and would like to spend less money you can opt for a Wedding Dress shop that sells off the peg.

The dresses that you will find may have been tried on by several people and so you may have to contend with small marks here and there and loose threads for example but you might come across something completely unique and special to you.

You should be prepared that you may come across a one-off special dress and it is not the right size for you so go in with an open mind. 

You will have to consider having a fitting done for any of these off the peg Wedding Dresses so keep that in mind whilst browsing through the rails, remember to take a look at the seams and ask the shop owners for help on their opinion of whether your dress could be altered for you. 

A lot of shops will also sell Wedding Accessories like Specialist Bridal Stores and in some cases these items will be the same in Off the Peg Shops but you should find these are a lot cheaper which will help your Wedding Budget! 

3. High Street Shops that Sell Wedding Dresses

There are several High Street Department Shops that sell Wedding Dresses such as Debenhams, John Lewis and Monsoon as well as Designer Stores like Ted Baker.

You have the advantage of being able to buy these straight away but you will have to consider fittings and these will not be very exclusive to you as they will be sold across the country.

As these are likely to be mass produced I’m guessing that Wedding Dress Designers may argue that the quality may not be as good as you find in specialist stores in terms of the layerings and seams so that these can be altered during fittings.

Here is a list you can see on the Cosmopolitan website 

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/fashion/style/g4924/high-street-brands-that-sell-wedding-dresses/

4. Wedding Dress Chain Stores

There are Wedding Dress Chains such as Wed2B and David’s Bridal these chains have a number of shops around the UK and you may be able to see prices of dresses on their websites and could be able to call and check stock availability if there were particular dresses that you liked.

These are specialist stores so you will expect to find designer ranges and good quality dresses, again bear in mind you will have to pay for any alterations to be made to your dress.

5. Buying Online

If you chose to buy your Wedding Dress online the choices are endless, there might be a specialist dress shop selling online, or a clothes manufacturer that sells Wedding Dresses, there is even a surge in websites like wish.com, aliexpress.com and lightinthebox.com where they sell a huge range of items alongside dresses.

You could end up finding a bargain on that Designer Dress you had your eye on and save yourself a great deal of money.

Obviously there is a huge risk in buying something that you cannot see from photos on the internet so be prepared for poor quality non-standard sizing and colour differences, some people would argue that the photos of the dresses are nowhere near what they received. You may also have issues with customer service and language barriers that would make it difficult if something went wrong with your order.

I would recommend that you check out any feedback if you can which can help you with your purchase I'm sure there are some great dresses to be found if you know where to look.

Watch out for delivery timings and allow yourself for extra time should your item not turn up.

6. Secondhand Shops and Online Auction Sites

This is well worth a mention and you never know what you might find! There is no harm in buying second hand in fact there seems to be a revolution right now in sustainability in the world and clothing is no different.

A Wedding dress has only been worn once and in some cases for only a few hours so after a dry clean they should be as good as new, you’ll be doing something for the environment and you’ll save yourself lots of money that you could put towards another part of your Wedding Budget.

Ebay is an obvious place to start, there is also Facebook, Gumtree and Shpock, it will take some trawling to find something you like but by putting in a little effort you will be saving yourself £100s.

I would also recommend you try looking in Charity Shops to find your perfect Wedding Dress, there are so many independent shops that have opened recently in large City Centres as well as the larger well-known names.

Oxfam has gone one step further and has a bridal section on their website check out this link

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/local-shops/oxfam-bridal-departments

So, there are many places to think about when buying your Wedding Dress it doesn’t just need to be limited to the Specialist Boutiques have a look around and see what is on offer and think about all the other points discussed above

…happy Wedding Dress Shopping!!!