Wedding dress shopping..

[Sarah84]

so those of you who are already married or have bought their dress just wondering if you settled on the first price they told you or got them to go lower, had any discount or freebies on extras like tiaras etc?

I tried on a Maggie Sottero dress today which I love and has been my dream dress from when i first spotted the picture of it, the shop originally quoted me £1075 for it but i asked if the were set on that price as I had found it for £975 (which another shop had quoted me) and she said she would match that although on top of that was £95 for the petticoat thing to 'lift' the skirt, the tiara i liked was £150 and the viel was £150 oh and then the 'fitting' is another £150 im guessing this means for alterations but if they take my measurements and order the dress in my size what needs altering with it?

So what deals did you manage to get with your dresses?

[NatsyNoo]

Have you considered finding some local dressmakers in your area to make a very similar dress to the one that you have found. My dream dress is Vera Wang (£4500! ) and I have found several local dressmakers to make it for £500 and they'd do me a very long veil to go with the dress as modelled for £60, a saving of nearly £4500 on bridal stores (the cost of the dress! )
Just something to consider...and that includes materials, the dressmaking and fitting

[Guest]

Originally Posted by NatsyNoo

Have you considered finding some local dressmakers in your area to make a very similar dress to the one that you have found. My dream dress is Vera Wang (£4500! ) and I have found several local dressmakers to make it for £500 and they'd do me a very long veil to go with the dress as modelled for £60, a saving of nearly £4500 on bridal stores (the cost of the dress! )
Just something to consider...and that includes materials, the dressmaking and fitting

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Good idea Natsy I hadn't thought of this. Is she making your bridesmaid's dresses too?

[NatsyNoo]

I'm not having bridesmaids dresses. I want people to feel relaxed at the wedding. Men aren't wearing matching suits so I don't see a reason for the girls to be matching too. I am having bridesmaids out of tradition but that's where it ends. My sisters (will be 24 and 3) and my best friend's little girl (will also be 3) will be my bridesmaids, my baby bro (will also be 3) will be my page boy, but they can just wear a pretty little dress/suit of their own. Matt's wearing a relaxed linen suit, and I'm not pressuring anyone to wear anything formal at all, I'll be the only one really dressed up
Anyways, ramble over, she could make my BM dresses but I'm not having them so she's not. If you want to check out my dress, it's the one that Kate Hudson wore in Bride Wars but I'm having a gold ribbon round the waist instead of violet. You'll have to Google it though because I don't know how to put pictures up on here! Lol. You'll see what amazing value £500 is...normal dresses cost around £350 to make but there's a lot of material and detail on mine so it's costing more

[Guest]

I've just googled it and it's beautiful Natsy, definitely a bargain at £500 too. I would have posted it up for you but also haven't got a clue how to
Do the dressmakers do a good copy and how do you go about it, do you just give them a few photos?
Maybe I could have my dream dress after all

[NatsyNoo]

I just googled dressmakers in my local area and emailed about 20 of them with 2 photos of the dress, a whole shot one and a closer up one to get a better idea of the bodice. All of them replied, 1 asking for £1200, 3 offering £700, a couple £500 plus materials, and about 4 £500 all in. I would meet with the dressmaker a couple of times before, get to know her, see her current works, see her portfolio, and the dress would be made to fit me exactly, and I'd only be around the corner to try all the different parts on if needed, e.g. corset measurements. And I could have it tailored with extra sparkles here and there if I wanted. I am also thinking about having a few hidden mickeys on the day that only me and Matt would know about and I'm thinking about having one in my dress so I can have that put in too

I could never afford to have a dress like this from a boutique. I mean I had budgeted £200-300 on a dress and had resigned myself to having to have a high street one, e.g. Monsoon, Coast, Debenhams but am so pleased I explored this avenue!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by NatsyNoo

I just googled dressmakers in my local area and emailed about 20 of them with 2 photos of the dress, a whole shot one and a closer up one to get a better idea of the bodice. All of them replied, 1 asking for £1200, 3 offering £700, a couple £500 plus materials, and about 4 £500 all in. I would meet with the dressmaker a couple of times before, get to know her, see her current works, see her portfolio, and the dress would be made to fit me exactly, and I'd only be around the corner to try all the different parts on if needed, e.g. corset measurements. And I could have it tailored with extra sparkles here and there if I wanted. I am also thinking about having a few hidden mickeys on the day that only me and Matt would know about and I'm thinking about having one in my dress so I can have that put in too

I could never afford to have a dress like this from a boutique. I mean I had budgeted £200-300 on a dress and had resigned myself to having to have a high street one, e.g. Monsoon, Coast, Debenhams but am so pleased I explored this avenue!

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Thanks Natsy I'll get googling
At first I said I'd get a dress from Debenhams or Monsoon but the more I looked the more I changed my mind. It's my day and I want a real dress. I'm going to ask Anthony how to post pictures up and I'll post the one I like. It doesn't look like it would be too hard to make (she says)

[pennycrayon]

Having seen a photo of your dress Sarah im not sure a dressmaker could make as there is so much beading? I would shop around for the dress, and buy the veil and tiara from elsewhere as there is so much choice on the internet or at wedding shows (and special offers!)

So pleased you have tried it on :-)

[Sarah84]

I don't think having a dress maker design and make a copy of it is really for me, i'd feel much more comfortable buying the dress from a shop and knowing exactly what i was buying, the quality etc rather than having someone try to re-make it i'd be so worried it just wouldn't turn out aswell but thats a great saving you are making and a lovely dress. As Gemma has said there is a LOT of detailing with beading and I think it would so hard to copy it.

I have found a shop in Bristol that are listed on the Maggie Sottero website as registered stockists who will charge £855 for the dress if I order it to be directly sent to me once its made rather than be going to the shops for fittings, alterations etc so i'm considering this. I have no problem having it sent to my home rather than going to the shop to collect it and then I could just use a shop locally that will do the alterations, will bridal shops do alterations for dresses that weren't purchased from them?
I will see if the shop I tried it on at yesterday will go any lower but as they have already knocked £100 i'm not sure if they will

[ra5146]

we bought my dd's wedding dress in Davids Bridal in Florida 3 years ago much better selection and better prices than UK