Online wedding dress help!

BecomingMrsGoslin

Hey ladies!!!

I was wondering if any of you have purchased a dress online. If so could you post a picture and tell me about your experience?

Thanks!

Christy

missdelilah

What store are you considering ordering from?  In the absence of this information, you're getting the general advice that is consistently given to all sorts of ladies on this site:

Here's the rant:  The general advice is do not order online unless you use Netbride or RKBridal.  You can place an order with Pearl's Place over the phone, but only for a dress you've tried on in a store.  And please, do not order a dress online unless you've tried it in a store.  What you think you love on the model might not end up being the right look on you.  This has been the case for most of the brides here.  

Most online wedding dress sites are knock off sites located in China.  Usually, pictures of their products are taken directly from designer's websites, therefore giving you zero idea of what your dress will look like when it is imitated using subpar materials.  If the price is too good to be true, it's definitely a Chinese site that does not guarantee the quality or accuracy of their products, won't accept refunds if you are unhappy, or even they make a mistake, and steals intellectual property from designers.  Check out https://www.facebook.com/BridesBeware and see if the website you're considering is listed there.  

If you're simply looking to save money, please consider buying a secondhand or sample dress, or going to a less expensive bridal chain like David's Bridal, or ordering something from a chain or department store.  There are plenty of stores that sell sample dresses off the rack, and there are great websites such as http://preownedweddingdresses.com and http://tradesy.com that provide a platform for the sale of used, sample, and otherwise unwanted dresses at steep discounts on the original prices. 

The reason why it's taken this long for anyone to get back to you is because all of this information is contained in a sticky at the top of this forum, and this same question comes up about five times a week, and is always met with a similar response.  There was one woman who purchased something from DHGate recently and loved it, so hopefully she weighs in.  

CMGragain

I'm going to give you the same advice I gave to another bride today.
 In most cases, you might as well flush your money down the toilet.  For every bride that is happy with her dress from China, there are twenty that received unwearable dresses, with no hope of getting their money back.
We have warned you!  Don't come back crying when you are ripped off.

Anyachen83

You received some very good advice from the ladies above. One thing to note however is that, while I agree with the sentiment expressed by the BridesBeware Facebook page, they are a business and their business is to sell wedding dresses. The examples they give of the scams and dress disasters are genuine but they have a vested interest. 

For that reason I suggest you check them out but also check out www.BrideStore.info - they are independent, are not trying to sell anything, they have example pictures and videos of dress disasters, a list of scam sites and a lot of good advice that can save you a lot of grief and money. 

For the record, I bought my dress online two years ago (not from a site in China) and it was beautiful as well as top quality. You can find bargains, but be very careful. 

missdelilah

Anyachen83 said:

You received some very good advice from the ladies above. One thing to note however is that, while I agree with the sentiment expressed by the BridesBeware Facebook page, they are a business and their business is to sell wedding dresses. The examples they give of the scams and dress disasters are genuine but they have a vested interest. 

For that reason I suggest you check them out but also check out www.BrideStore.info - they are independent, are not trying to sell anything, they have example pictures and videos of dress disasters, a list of scam sites and a lot of good advice that can save you a lot of grief and money. 

For the record, I bought my dress online two years ago (not from a site in China) and it was beautiful as well as top quality. You can find bargains, but be very careful. 

That's it!  I was going to suggest this site last night but couldn't remember what it was.

Anyachen83

@Knottie6790460 You were just lucky! I checked out Bella dresses and it's a Chinese scam site. All you have to do is look and you will see lots of images of Mori Lee dresses and many other brands. If you dig deeper you will see that they use a FAKE "Upfront" vendor logo. The images they use of their "showroom" are shared by other sites they also run. Their other sites include:

violetdress.co.uk

victoriadress.co.uk

dresscomeon.co.uk

iavivadress.com

iavivadress.co.uk

beckydress.com

The fact that they have at least 7 websites, use fake "Upfront" logos and use images stolen from genuine companies should tell you something about them Stay away.

misshart00

Knottie67950460 said:

I got my wedding dress from Bella dresses. It was a great experience. I brought a floor length chiffon dress with a sash style in a very affordable price. I feel so glad after getting my dream style wedding dress from there.

Can you post photos of your dress?

Maggie0829

@buttercup1958 - Knottie392727 is a vendor and she is also spamming other boards with the same posts.

badbnagdway

megcooks said:

Hi! Just wanted to add you can shop online at J. Crew or BHLDN (anthropologie) bridal line and not sacrifice quality! Beautiful dresses with great return policies and prices! And also have in store shops if you're close to one!

Those and also Ann Taylor and other dress makers who make evening gowns you might like (like Tadashi for example) are good options if you want to shop online. Check return policies carefully but I've found that returns are easy. 

I did finally go to a bridal salon. The experience was generally positive, but I didn't end up liking the gowns I tried on there significantly more than what I had seen from the above named retailers. They were more bridal -- more construction, more fabric, but I didn't necessarily find that a plus for me personally. 

weddingcactus

Just wanted to second the suggestion of J. Crew and BHLDN. I tried on dresses from both stores and really liked some of the dresses. They both have reasonable return policies. They aren't exactly what you're going to find in a standard bridal salon and they aren't trying to replicate designer wedding dresses.