Hi everyone I'm getting married next July and am thinking its about time to start looking at wedding dresses. I've been having a look on some websites (maggie sottero, sophia tolli, alfred angelo - I'm getting my bridesmaids dresses from this designer). I have seen dresses I like from these designers - particularly Maggie Sottero. Anybody know of any other designers I should check out? I live in Preston, Lancashire so will be looking in shops in this area. I don't have a budget as such but don't think I could justify spending much more than £1000 on something I will only wear once, particularly when there is so much else to pay for. I think I want the dress to be strapless and A line with nothing too fussy on it but some sparkle (I'm a bit like a magpie and love sparkle!) As I am a teacher I will probably start trying on in May half term (if I can wait that long!) but want to be able to go in the shops and tell them which styles I definately want to try on.

Any advice, help, tips would be much appreciated.

congratulations! my sister is also getting married next july, im the bridesmaid! oh joy! she has 2 toddlers and is doing everything on a slight budget. we've been lookingn at gorgeous dresses in monsoon, the bridesmaids especially, very elegant, and not too bridesmaidy, so they could be worn again. also  bhs and debenhams have ranges, some lovely reasonable priced dresses there as well. good luck!

no advice whatsoever, just wanted to say congrats!

oh actually i would say that for my 6th year ball i had my dress made for me by a lady who worked in a fabric shop- she did a brilliant job and cause it was totally made for me it felt wonderful to wear. worked out vell priced as well, labour and fabric etc including A LOT of expensive lace came to about £150

I did think about having one made but my only concern is that I wouldn't know what it looked like until it was finished and am worried I wouldn't like it. If I find a dress I like I might see about having a copy made and make slight alterations to the original dress so its more 'me'. That way I will know what the finished product will look like, it will cost less and nobody else will have one the same!

well the woman who made my dress made my sis's best friends one a couple of years before so i'd seen her stuff. maybe check out people who could make it and see if they can show you examples? then you choose a pattern or get one made up for you and they'll just stick to it. the thing i found was that after about one or two fittings you could totally see the dress taking shape and if anything needed changing she asked me what i'd prefer her to do. oh i forgot, she also made my sis's wedding outfit (a kind of corseted sari type thing), very nice :)

Congats to you .... Is there not a big wedding shop in preston,on a corner (by market) have a nose in there get a few catalogues and then see if someone can make you the one you like ..

Hi, I got married 2005 and my dress was a Maggie Sottero. :) :) I bought it on-line from a New York website :) for £500 cheaper than UK WITH RUSH DELIVERY SHIPPING PRICE INCLUDED!!!! Maggie Sottero dresses are gorgeous and the beaded detailing is to die for. M y dress was a laced corset back so it would still fit beautifully even if I hadn't managed to lose enough weight by the 'big day' LOL  I have always told everyone to buy their dresses from NY as it is so much cheaper......
My friend was my chief bridesmaid and wore a Dessy dress, my daughters wore Coast,
my friend was married last year and wore the same style Dessy as before but in a differant colour :)  I wore a Dessy as her chief bridesmaid... All the Dessy dresses we bought from the NY online.

We're brave we are......

Have fun choosing your dress.!!   After choosing 1 designer I really liked, I managed to narrow it down to 25 dresses LOL then it was a toss up between 2 dresses literally right until the moment I ordered it. M y girls liked one...I liked the other and because I really trust their fashion sense, I was so torn. I chose the one I really liked.....and trully felt beautiful for one day .......

Have to say I was an 'older' bride ha ha so didn't want to look like 'mutton' if you know what I mean so chose a strapless/halter neck but not fussy dress simple in style but with beautiful beading

Hi pinkbrady, congratulations! I'm getting married the month after you and have gone for Maggie Sottero 'Riley' which is A line with crystals and pearls.

My advice is to get trying on right away, I've only just ordered last month and was told I was cutting it fine timewise. It can take between 3 and 5 months to make the dress and then there are alterations to make nearer the day. The shops I went to just had one of each design for trying on and then they order one specifically for you. All the crystals etc. are sewn by hand so thats why they take so long.

Good luck in your search, you'll know when you see the one :)

Ooh congrats pinkbrady and lunamoona!

I had a maggie.  two piece set a line.  Stunning!  Alot of money....... but you'll look fab.

I ordered my Maggie at the end of March (2005) and it took 4 mths to get to me which I thought was fantastically quick!!! I did pay for rush delivery which was an extra $50 which was an absolute bargain. All I had to do when it got to UK was have it taken up :) being the shorty that I am....all the dresses are made for 6 foot models :) :)

Have a look at Pronovias and La Sposa.  I'm getting married next year too and generally dislike traditional wedding gowns, but I think those designers have some really gorgeous ones.

I would say to try lots of dresses on just to get an idea of what suits you, maybe even dresses you had not considered - they look so different on. And have fun looking! I got married 3 1/2 years ago now and often think back to the time me and my best mate trawled round shops basically "dressing up"!! Enjoy, congrats and good luck!!

Thanks everyone for your replies. Maggie dresses certainly seem popular. I've not tried any on yet but definately will be doing!

Killickchick please could you PM me details of the website you used? I'm guessing they come highly recommended from you?

I will keep you posted when I finally go and try dresses on and choose 'the one'. Good luck and congratulations to everyone else who is getting married :)

> Is there not a big wedding shop in preston,on a corner (by market

Yes there is and I intend to check it out! There are also a couple heading down towards the docks which I want to look at. One of them I am getting my bridesmaids dresses from and the other I know stocks Maggie Sottero.

Are you from/near Preston? I don't know any other husky owners round here!

My daughter got married last May and her dress cost a thousand pounds - but it was well worth it.  She looked stunning - it was a fairly simple A line with clear beaded bodice that glistened in the sunshine - not too fancy but simply beautiful.  I would go and try on a few and I'm sure you'll know the right one when you try it.  Congratulations and Good Luck for your future.

Not far from Preston... Kirkham....Have you heard of Ribby hall? They have wedding fairs on there sometimes ...

Yep I know Kirkham and Ribby Hall well. My OH's company is based in Weeton and my Grandma lives in Lytham.

Lytham eh... must be well off ...lol... I met my OH when he was at Weeton ...lol....

congratulations to you. have you thought about hiring one?

OH no no no you must never hire one !!! :)

Even though you will never wear it again, knowing its there and safely packed away....and you can always do what people used to do and make your babies christening robe from it!!

It it the most special dress you will ever wear....and probably the only one that you will ever spend so much time and emotion on!!!

I hired mine so maybe that is why the marriage failed, LOL.  church ceremony, did our own reception for just the 30 people in my Dads house, it was all I and other half could afford, couldn't even run to hiring the church hall.

Your not alone Brainless. My first was in the registry office, wore a silk dress from the catalogue and reception cost £200 in the local working mens club!! Made hubby sell his motorbike so we could get married LOL . Wish I hadn't bothered - but got three very beautiful daughters out of it :)

I really think it depends how important the dress ect is to you. I didnt bother looking for my dress until a couple of months before the wedding. Walked into one shop tried on a dress hated it and was about to walk out again when I spotted a brides maid dress. Tried it liked it brought it. Easy., When I said it was a bridesmaids dress people were shocked but I couldnt care less. It was what I liked and felt comfortable in.

My hole wedding was like that. I never saw my bridesmaids outfits until the wedding day as my mum was getting them made and she lived Nr London and i am i Edinburgh. Cake the same. Flowers i asked a friend to do and left it up to her.  Me and oh organised the venue and
reception but even that was a quick in the hotel see what they offered in our price range told them how many and paid.  At the last min it was suggested I would need a organist so I phoned the person the hotel recomended and when she asked what hyms I would like I said suprise me.

My point is it wasnt the wedding that was important to me it was the person I married. I dont think if we had spent thousands of pounds on a dress or spent years organising it we would be any happier than we are now.   We had  a brilliant day and people spoke about it for years after saying it was the best wedding/ reception they had been to. and thats what we wanted. It cost us a fraction of the price of others and me and hubby are still very happy 15 yrs later.

The best part of my day was getting my photo took with my dogs. As a suprise they came to the reception. That meant a lot to me.And yes I did walk down the isle with paw prints on my dress. Some people even checked to make sure I had taken my wellies of lol

Wendy

I love wedding dresses, Congratulations!

I would just advise you to try on as many as possible, there are so many websites, boutiques and magazines with beautiful designs of dresses, you may very well see something that you fall in love with but it is not until you try it on that you can really see if it suites you, so my advice would be not to settle on a particular designer or even a dress you have found every designer makes a beautiful dress, just try them all. :-D 

I've often been asked by family and friends to help them choose their wedding dress, but the honest truth is it is a bit like the man you marry, you could try on 30 dresses like them all and be so confused, then the one is put on and you just know it.

Good luck,  have great fun and take your time in finding that perfect dress. :-)

what about in the monsoon sale

Gosh didn't realise so much thought went into it, I went into one shop for a dress, asked to try on the cheapest one in my size, thought that will do, and after the wedding took it straight round to the charity shop to be re used. In fact if I could have bought one in the charity shop I would have been quite happy!

Sometimes think theres too much emphasis in "keeping up with the jones'" and impressing the guests with posh menu,expensive dress and fancy extras but little thought about the reason your there.
I really like the idea of an unconventional wedding-running away and getting married in a pair of jeans, or doing it without anyone knowing.

Ooh yes Freds Mum what a good idea, getting married in a pair of jeans, wish I had done that myself! (Better to be comfortable)
But I do hope the OP finds a lovely dress ! And congratulations too of course!

> getting married in a pair of jeans

one of the managers at my work did that.

Hi!

Firstly, congratulations! I got married last Friday.

Not sure if you have seen any Suzanne Neville dresses? I have a brand new Suzanne Neville dress from her 2007/8 destinations collection hanging upstairs as I put on 2 stone before the wedding and it didn't fit, so I had to get another one. It is very simple, but not too plain. A-line, hand-made from silk taffeta, with some sparkley lace on the bodice, and ruching across the bodice, which is corseted tradtitionally, so no need for a bra and it really holds you in. It's a size 12. It cost £2400 new, and it totally unaltered. I was hoping ot gte around £1500, but that is negotiable as we are moving and it'd be nice to help someone out! I know it's a long shot, but let me know if you want pictures and I'll email you them.

I hope you don't think I am too cheeky! :blush: