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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think I can get a nice wedding dress...

119 replies

guiltynetter · 21/01/2015 22:01

on a budget of £800?

I don't know if I was being naive but I genuinely thought this was an okay sum of money. I've been to 3 shops so far, the first shop had no dresses under £1000. A shop I went to today that advertises having dresses for all budgets had 3 I could try on in my price range. Another one I went to said they only had their sample gowns for that price (but in strange sizes).

feeling slightly dejected. I thought wedding dress shopping would be fun! am I being unreasonable, and any tips for me? do you think it's a bad idea to maybe call or email the wedding shops beforehand to check if they have something in my budget, as the one I went to where they had none under £1000 was just embarrassing. is that just how much they all are?

I feel as if I've got £100 to spend or something, not £800...

OP posts:
DisappointedOne · 21/01/2015 23:55

My wedding cake cost several times what my dress cost. Your budget is huge.

Dowser · 21/01/2015 23:56

Preloved.com has some gorgeous second hand dresses. Some never worn too.

Wow that John Lewis link had some lovely dresses.

I'm looking at £200 or under.

IHeartChristmasMoomies · 22/01/2015 00:54

Mine was £220 bespoke made for me. The dressmaker had an eBay shop which is where I saw the dress, but she was local to me so I was able to go for fittings.

IHeartChristmasMoomies · 22/01/2015 00:56

Just seen you're in the north west! The dressmaker was near Liverpool - I'll dig out the details tomorrow for you if you want?

TurquoiseDress · 22/01/2015 03:13

YANBU!

£800 is a decent dress budget.
The thing about wedding boutiques and made to measure dresses, it's all part of making you feel you should be spending 2k or whatever on a dress.

There are so many lovely dresses on the high street, I bought mine and got it adjusted to fit me perfectly for £50 by a lovely local dressmaker.

ExpectTheVeryUnexpected · 22/01/2015 03:57

Have a look for mori lee stockists in your area. My best friend just got a lovely dress from a fancy bridal shop from the latest mori lee range for £785 x

User24689 · 22/01/2015 05:58

I got mine £100 off eBay. Its new though not 2nd hand, its a monsoon one and is really beautiful, no one can believe how much I paid for it!!

hestialou · 22/01/2015 07:10

Try the samples sales, mine should be been £1600 reduced to £600, try the sales? If you are in the north west England or bromley area there is a bridal warehouse place that does last years dresses. weddingdress-factoryoutlet.co.uk/

margaritasbythesea · 22/01/2015 07:19

I got a wedding dress from a lovely independent bridal shop. When I walked in theatre first thing she said was, ' dont worry nothing is over £1000.' You need to find a nicer Shop! Mine was lovely and £300. I really think you need to try on. I got a style totally different from the one I imagined.

Meirasa · 22/01/2015 07:34

I bought a Pronovas wedding dress- unworn for 67 pounds on a whim on ebay to see what it was like- it was worth over 2k. When it showed up it was stunning. I was married in it and never regretted it. I bought a somebody Joyce long veil that was worth 350- bride never wore it but I did for 45 also on Ebay. Most expensive part of my outfit was the shoes from dune which I tried on to make sure they were comfortable. I got silver diamante ones that I could wear again and I still have them.

WidowWadman · 22/01/2015 07:38

My wedding dress was from debenhams, my mother in law made me a fake fur shawl to go with it, I made a hat, shoes were from the BHS sales, the whole outfit including underwear (which was probably the most expensive part) I spent less than 300 quid

LegoLady95 · 22/01/2015 07:40

I bought a made to measure dress from www.lightinthebox.com after a recommendation of the site. I was gorgeous, well made and less than £150 made to measure. I went on to order 6 bridesmaids dresses. The site does recommend paying a tailor to measure you, but my mum, sister and I did it together following the precise instructions and they were all perfect.

lauralouise8 · 22/01/2015 07:41

OP have you looked at bridepower.com? It is a US site that sells sample dresses, ie dresses that have been tried on but are not second hand. They have top designers at up to 80% off. £800 is $1200. US sizes are two down from us, so a 12 would be an 8, but I have read that wedding dresses can run small so you might want to consider a US 10. Good luck & congratulations.

crazykat · 22/01/2015 07:43

It depends on where you live and what style you want. As pp have said though a good bridal shop will be able to find you a gorgeous dress for that.

When I got married debenhams had some gorgeous dresses when I was looking at the bridesmaid dresses, I was gutted I'd ordered my dress months before. It's worth looking as the the online shop for debenhams/bus etc as there are loads more online that can be ordered to store.

Getting a dress from a highstreet shop and getting it altered to fit perfectly should be doable for £800.

KatOD · 22/01/2015 07:44

Definitely, mine was less than £500. Not sure where you are but I used Pat Diamond in Shoreham.

seastargirl · 22/01/2015 07:53

There is a place called the bridal basement in Liverpool which stocks dresses from £99 plus.

I'd definitely phone the shop and ask what they have in your price range, if they're not prepared to discuss then don't bother visiting them

Littlebigcat · 22/01/2015 08:55

Sense and sensibility in Stockport have a pre-loved rail and could well have new dresses in your budget too. The owner is lovely and not at all snobby, very good range of sizes too. The white closet in west didsbury do sample sales sometimes and when I went to one most stuff was a 10 or a 12. Too small for me but might not be for you. They are horrendously expensive new, I looked but couldn't justify it.

Original poster
guiltynetter · 22/01/2015 09:00

thank you :) lots of good suggestions and I'm off to look at a few links. iv already tried the wedding dress outlet that a few people have mentioned. not found anything on the high street yet but I'll keep looking. thanks x

OP posts:
TarkaTheOtter · 22/01/2015 09:03

I got a "proper" dress from a "proper" bridal shop for £750 a couple of years ago. Was loads of choice for under £1k. Maybe try another shop?

iseenodust · 22/01/2015 09:04

I'm another Monsoon wedding dress owner. Loved it, slinky & sequined !

This shop has recently won an award as a new business. I don't know the cheapest dress but they have brand new at £600 & a sales section: www.bridal-boutique-hull.co.uk/shop.html

MyChemicalMummy · 22/01/2015 09:10

My Sister got hers from a shop in Bromley for 500. Lovely dress sorry don't know the name of the shop but they sell dresses that are a couple of seasons old.

Siarie · 22/01/2015 09:20

Thing about wedding dress shopping is it comes down to the person doing it.

For example, I went shopping with no budget in mind I was just going to find the dress I loved the most. That's what I did, in fact I didn't even look at the prices until the very end. My parents paid for the dress and didn't talk budgets with me, had they of had one I would have matched the amount.

But If I had of had a set budget then that becomes the priority. So you'll need to still find the style of dress you like but you may have to compromise on different little detailing. You don't have to compromise on quality of course! and certainly price in the wedding dress world does not reflect quality. But there is less of a chance of having the luxury of falling in love with that one dress in a boutique store.

Unless of course you are very lucky and happen to fall in love with one in a boutique store which falls in budget.

There are plenty of places to buy a lovely wedding dress for £800 or far under. But money gives you more choices, as it always does.

SpottyTeacakes · 22/01/2015 09:23

I got mine from phase right

SpottyTeacakes · 22/01/2015 09:23

Ffs

I got mine from phase eight and loved it. I got it in the sale for £300 I think, everyone commented on it, I liked it as it was a bit different.

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