Wedding dress dilemma!

[biggless]

Just wondering what is the norm. We are hoping to elope in autumn and so far we have nothing sorted other than location. I am well aware we haven’t got lots of time so starting to worry!

I need to look for dresses. I’m quite shy generally and hate all eyes on me so I presume this will translate to feeling a bit self conscious in dress shops. I would love to order a dress online, but no idea what sites to look at and know you can’t try it on properly before ordering it

I wondered about renting a dress but DP seemed sad when I shared this idea with him and said I deserve one of my own without worrying about keeping things cheap as possible, as you hopefully only get one wedding day. I do agree that since we are keeping other costs down it would be nice to buy the dress I love rather than deliberately looking for cheap ones

I am a total novice - so where do I start? Where did you get your dress from and if it’s not rude to ask, how much did it cost? I would hugely appreciate any pointers x

Why not start by looking at the high street shops that sell wedding dresses? I think coast and monsoon do. Or do you want fancier? I bought a designer sample wedding dress from a preloved website. If you want to go to a bridal shop and try on dresses just do it. Just go on a weekday quieter time and don't take a huge amount of people (unless you want to) or even go on your own.

Got mine from Net a Porter for £2,000 ish.

However that was way more than I originally wanted to spend so did look at more affordable options and Self portrait, Reformation & Rixo do lovely wedding dresses

What sort of style do you think you fancy OP?

If I was eloping, I would opt for an outfit that made my heart sing and I wouldn't normally splash out on so I could wear it all again and enjoy it over and over. What is your normal style, or what is it that you see and think 'wow'?

Oops that would’ve been helpful to add, wouldn’t it? Definitely not maxi length, possibly tea length? Like the idea of sleeves too especially as it’s autumn

Whistles have some nice dresses.

Are there any wedding fairs near you? You might be able to try some on there. No one will notice because there are so many people.

Would it be possible to ring round some shops and see if you could maybe book an appointment? Having someone one to one might be more manageable.

Re. style: how about a retro 50s type dress with either sleeves or a bolero.

Rixo have a beautiful bridal collection and dresses are reasonably priced.

https://rixolondon.com/collections/rixo-bridal

https://www.asos.com/asos-edition/asos-edition-placement-beaded-mesh-mini-dress-with-fringe-hem-in-white/prd/201646762?clr=white&colourWayId=201646764&cid=8799

https://www.asos.com/asos-design/asos-design-embellished-fringe-batwing-mini-dress-in-white/prd/203242894?clr=white&colourWayId=203242895&cid=8799

https://www.asos.com/little-mistress/little-mistress-embellished-diamond-tulle-mini-dress-in-cream/prd/202547764?clr=cream&colourWayId=202547772&cid=8799

Might help if we knew size height and boobige

Vampires Wife have lovely dresses, you are sort of looking £1500+ though.

I would recommend Yoox as you have time (come from Europe) and Matches.

Monsoon are reasonably priced. You can order them for collection to a local store and then try them on there to save the hassle of returns.

We eloped too! I wore a Ted Baker tea length, lace skirt and a Catherine deane body suit so it looked like a dress. Skirt was never worn from ebay. All together cost me less than 150! I already had shoes that went well. Good luck x

Sorry not the best images!

What sort of size are you OP? I have a few wedding dresses I bought but aren't going to wear and could possibly send one or both to you for the postage cost.

I got a long sleeved knee length lace wedding dress from Phase Eight for about £200 in the sale.

I definitely recommend trying high street shops and the advantage is you can send them back if they don't fit.

I tried on dresses in a few shops to get an idea of style - I would really recommend going and trying on different styles so you know the kind of dress you want. Assistants are used to women not knowing anything about wedding dresses.

Then I got a designer dress 2nd hand on ebay. It had been professionally cleaned and was really lovely. It was all fitted to me by a local dressmaker and edited slightly. Total cost was £200, including a veil I also got on ebay

Nancy Mac, wonderful customer service too.

Try John Lewis as well. They have several brands including Monsoon and Phase Eight.

I don't know anything about this brand but they have a few dresses which you might like:

https://www.johnlewis.com/alie-street-anya-scalloped-lace-knee-length-wedding-dress-ivory/p6169355

Or, I know it doesn't have long sleeves, but this one might look great depending on what sort of shape you are:

https://www.johnlewis.com/monsoon-bardot-midi-wedding-dress-ivory/p5881817

https://www.thehouseoffoxy.com/special-editions/30s-siren-evening-gown-oyster

This looks fabulous.

I do appreciate you don't want full length but it's just so beautiful. Anyway, the site has other lovely dresses.

https://www.theshirtcompany.com/products/adelaide-dress

www.digforvictoryclothing.com/made-to-order-wedding-dresses do some beautiful tea length dresses with sleeves

I would go for a beautiful dress from a high-end label I don't normally spend money on that didn't feel overly wedding-like so that I could wear it and love it more than once! Net-a-Porter have some gorgeous bridalwear / dresses (as does the Outnet) – and they are super easy to return if fit isn't right.

Needle and Thread had some lovely options a while back, might be worth a look. Good luck OP 😊

https://www.vivienofholloway.com/women-c70/wedding-c181

Love these.