We have ordered the bridesmaid dresses for our daughters wedding in 10 days time. They went to have them fitted yesterday and the shop has ordered a size to small for all three dresses, because there isnt enough time to get some more made, the shop has to add a panel in the back which will alter the look of the dress. We have already paid half the cost of the three dresses, should we pay the other half, or should we just ask for a discount. Also could we get compensation for this. My daughter and i are very upset over this, all she and I  wanted was for her to have a perfect day, and now the dresses are going to spoil it. While i am sitting here writing this i am crying, please help.

I know this is going to sound terrible - but RELAX!!!! If all the bridesmaids dresses need the same bit iin the back - no one will know that its not meant to look like that - apart from you   And it isn't the end of the world. Saturday is the first day of the rest of your daughter's life - not the ONLY day!

Who will remember that the dresses weren't right in 10 years time?  Or even 10 months come to that!

Dry your eyes, blow your nose - give your girl a hug - and try - please (and having married off one daughter I do know how hard it is, being Mother of the Bride ;) ) not to let things get you down!

Love

Margotx

I agree with Margot - the marriage is way more important than the wedding so getting things in perspective is the best way to cope.
After all it's the people inside the dresses that will help to make it a special day, not the dresses themselves :)

Don't pay until they are 100% complete and to your satisfaction. If they try to demand the money threatening legal action may scare them but won't help at the moment HOWEVER threatening them with a front page local paper story will ;-)

Has your daughter got wedding insurance? If not, tell the shop before they alter them that youre not paying the rest, how can you? You paid half for the dresses to be in a certain size, so its not what you ordered, they have to comensate for that. But away from that, dont worry, ive just had  my wedding and as much as you want it to be perfect, nobody actually notices all the things that you and your daughter will and if they do alter the dresses, seamstresses are amazing talented people ;)

OH's nephew's vintage car broke down on the way back from the church to the reception - everyone was waiting for them to make their big entrance, when they turned up in a small car :D Everyone had a good laugh and the wedding continued as normal :D :D The day is what you make it, not the material things :)

Daisy

Thank you everyone for replying, we will of course make sure that our daughter has a wonderful day.Today im trying to put a brave face on for her sake, but it hurts me when i can hear her crying in her bedroom, but i have told her everything that you have all said and it has made her feel a bit better, so i thank you all for that.

But my question was should we pay the other half that we owe the shop, or only pay part of it. Also could we get compensation for this if we connected a solicitor. I just wondered if there were any solicitors on this board, and if so could you please give me some advice, would i get any compansation for my daughter if i went ahead with it.

if it was me ide tell them you wernt happy with the servis theyve given so you would like a discount on the dresses as its there error and not yours.just see wat they say and take it from there .if they refuse to do ought then unless you go elsewere for the dresses then you will have to pay the remaining balance:)
it might seem like the end of the world at the moment ,but im sure your daughter will have a loverly day and the bridsmades will look stunning :)

rather than go down the compensation route, why not ask for a discount ("as a gesture of woodwill") from the cost of the dresses, given that they aren't going to be the dresses you initially ordered (which was their fault)? I know its pretty much the same thing as compo, but they may be more likely to flex a little just based on what you say. I here "compensation" countless times at work, and it sometimes seems like everyone thinks they're entitled to money and start jumping on the band wagon (which gets really annoying), whereas as if they ask about a "discount", it doesn't seem as greedy if that makes sense? I'm not saying you are being greedy, and if i were in your position, i'd be asking for a price reduction, but what you say and how you say it does make a difference (well it does with me anyway!). I'm sure you'll all have a fantastic day regardless!

Yesterday my husband went to see a friend of a friend who is a solicitor, my husband went in his lunch time he didnt tell me because he knew how worried i was, and didnt want to add to it if nothing came from it. Anyway yesterday the solicitor sent the shop a letter and this afternoon we got a phone call from the shop who said they are going to replace the dresses, their wholesaler is pushing the dresses threw fast and they will be here next Tuesday, and they have offered £1,ooo in compansion which we are going to except, the solicitor said we could push for more but we are not going too, because for one thing we are not greedy and for another thing we want to put an end to the stress we have been under. I just thought i would tell everyone who sent kind words to my daughter and I.

I'm glad your dresses are being replaced - this is surely the most important thing, and the best outcome. On the subject of the compensation I just hope this is a large chain that you're dealing with. It can be really hard for small businesses to get caught up in our current 'sue for compensation' culture.

chaumsong thank you for your reply. The shop was in the wrong it was there fault they ordered the wrong sizes, and as so had to suffer the consequences of their actions. Everyone who replied were trying to be kind by saying it doesnt matter about the dresses, when in fact it did matter to us. My husband is a kitchen fitter, and if he had ordered kitchen units that were the wrong size and he said to the customer, oh well it doesnt matter that they dont fit properly you have a new kitchen so put up with it, well they are not going to agree with that are they, and nor were we regarding the bridesmaid dresses. My daughter and i spent a long time looking for the perfect bridesmaid dresses, they were expensive and more than we wanted to pay, but our daughter loved them and so we agreed to buy them with her chipping in as well. Getting married for our daughter, we felt was going to be one the most important days of her life, something she and my husband and I will remember for the rest of our lives, and all though someone said who is going to remember in 10 years time that the dresses were wrong, well i can tell you i will remember, because everytime i look at the photographs it will remind me. We think the right outcome has been made, and next time the shop orders dresses, hopefully they will double check before they order.

We are looking forward to the wedding which is a week on Saturday. :)