Finding the dress. The one that hugs in all the right places, yet skims, slims or adds to the trouble zones.. and even more importantly (unfortunately), fits within the budget. Every bride's dream (and sometimes nightmare).
Having heard the average price of wedding dresses in Australian stores, and subsequently recovering from a minor aneurysm, I decided to consider the alternatives. As a online shopping addict enthusiast, and once seeing the average price online, my mind was soon set on risking my money on the world wide web.
My biggest issue with this decision was the lack of customer reviews from these wedding dress sites. Countless sites had either no reviews what-so-ever, or reviews that had been written seemingly sequentially - on the same date, minutes apart, and in the same style and grammar skill. Suspicious?
So for any of you brides out there considering this option, I would like to offer tips on what I've discovered so far.
With only 9 months until the wedding and a mild paranoia, I made the somewhat controversial decision to order three dresses... at least. And dear jeebus am I glad I followed my instincts.
Dress number 1:
Found here. Purchased in ivory on March 6th, arrived March 27th-ish.
Here is what was sent (apologies that there's no dress shots without me in it):
Overall, I am pretty impressed actually! It is in dire need of a good press or just to hang for a while (I'd literally only just taken it out of the packaging). There are a few long threads uncut and the lace applique at the top of the bodice looks slightly unfinished. All things that I think a trusty dressmaker could probably fix. The design has not turned out to be my favourite however, so I will be trying to sell this on gumtree in the upcoming weeks.
Dress number 2:
Found here. Ordered in white, March 6th, arrived April 4th.
Again, what was sent, and straight out of the package.
This one is a big disappointment in terms of quality. From a distance the dress appears quite well made, although a little big- the lace up back almost couldn't go tight enough in the lower back to bum region. The first thing I noticed however when pulling it out of it's protective packaging was the large yellow stain in the centre of the skirt - an inspiration to shower straight after trying it on. The edges of the train aren't cut properly, the boning of the bodice is sewn so the inside of the bodice pokes up, the back of the dress was already dirty at the top, and there is even a snip through the edge of the train. SIGH. The application for a refund is in it's early days, but I will be sure to update on the outcome.
Dress 3 and the newly ordered Dress 4.. you will have to wait for pictures as I'm not risking sneakpeaks before the wedding!
Dress 3 was purchased from this seller, again on DH gate, and is amazing quality and the best design to date! After trying it on, I am 90% sure that this is the one. It is sewn well, the lace and lining feels and looks like a quality fabric, the embellishments are pretty, and there are no mysterious body fluid-coloured stains. The only mistakes obvious to me are slightly uneven edges of the train (easily fixable) and they've made it with a zipper back instead of the pictured lace-up back.. but perhaps my tendency to skim read fine print has burned me again and zipper is standard? I'm too lazy to look! >_< I plan to take it to a dressmaker and see if it can be changed to lace-up if it turns out to be the one!
The 10% uncertainty lies in whether the dress design is the most flattering style on me.. it is a mermaid design and whilst it certainly doesn't look bad, I have gone ahead and ordered a more A-line dress (number 4) from the same seller for comparison.
Fingers crossed I can sell my leftovers, but so far the total cost of all the dresses plus postage has been $550, so I'm happy!
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