Hi! Slightly overwhelmed newbie with a question about online wedding dress shopping.

Caffeinated42

Hi there! I am shopping for a wedding dress on a shoestring, and I am having trouble deciphering which websites are a genuine deal and which are going to rip me off. I found a couple of dresses I really like and I was hoping to get some input on the sites I have found. And if I these are not worth the money, where I can find the original designer. I have no idea how to go about doing that.

http://www.inweddingdress.com/tulle-lace-wedding-gowns-de439.html

http://www.balllily.com/cheapest-bridal-gowns/gorgeous-short-sleeve-natrual-waist-court-train-wedding-dress-wdct008-p4123.html

Thank you so much for your help!

Steph

kikirst33

I would suggest that you read this post - it contains a lot of information about on-line stores that are not reputable.

http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_faq-1

If you are on a budget there are on-line stores that are brides re-selling their dresses.  David's Bridal also has great off-the-rack sale prices.

HobokensFury

Both of those are Chinese knockoff sites. Stay far away.

Caffeinated42

I went to David's bridal and was really turned off by the sales staff. The lady who was supposed to help me kept walking off and talking to other people for long periods of time... she was so distracted I had to find my own dresses. She seemed very put off by the details of my wedding - I am Jewish woman and my girlfriend is Catholic she seemed upset by the whole senario. I just can't see myself giving them money after that. Plus I didn't find anything really special there.

Maggie0829

If I were you I would try looking on pre-owned wedding dress sites.

Some are...

www.preownedweddingdresses.com
www.oncewed.com
www.recycledbride.com

Caffeinated42

Awesome! Thank you so much!

QueerFemme

Also... you should really try the dresses on before you buy one.  You will be shocked.  Most of the brides here are very surprised that the dresses they fell in love with online or in magazines aren't all that flattering on them in real life... or they fall in love with something that they never would have imagined.

Go try some dresses on... see what you like, and then try to find it preowned on one of the sites listed above.  Avoid anything from a chinese knockoff site.  If the price is too good to be true... you will regret it.  If they offer custom sizing or a whole bunch of random colors, it is likely a chinese knockoff site.  Most designer dresses come in white, ivory, diamond white or champagne.  If they give you a color pallate with 40 colors to choose from, it's probably a knockoff. 

shanding4787

I would be careful with looking online. I looked at all kinds of different designers and fell in love with a lot of them and then couldn't ever find them in stores near me to try on.

NOLAbridealmost

Another option is to find a style you love at a nicer boutique where they'll provide better service than DB and then find a picture of the style on the Internet and hire a reputable seamstress to try to recreate the look for you.  I went that route and my dress was very, very affordable. 

magnets

I am getting my dress from Etsy, from a seller with over a thousand reviews and all of them positive. (MadAbby) I also looked at the sites you're looking at, trying to find an inexpensive dress, and had a long and rather nightmarish experience stopping payment from my credit card.  Here is a very helpful "sites to stay away from" list.  http://www.morilee.com/beware Enjoy your shopping and be careful!

ootmother2

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_hi-slightly-overwhelmed-newbie-with-a-question-about-online-wedding-dress-shopping?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:15Discussion:95634847-ed0d-4e77-86fb-0c2ef45daa13Post:79dfeb75-87cf-4ae6-8447-c377076d21db">Re: Hi! Slightly overwhelmed newbie with a question about online wedding dress shopping.</a>:
[QUOTE]I went to David's bridal and was really turned off by the sales staff. The lady who was supposed to help me kept walking off and talking to other people for long periods of time... she was so distracted I had to find my own dresses. She seemed very put off by the details of my wedding - I am Jewish woman and my girlfriend is Catholic she seemed upset by the whole senario. I just can't see myself giving them money after that. Plus I didn't find anything really special there.
Posted by Caffeinated42[/QUOTE]


Okay, so David's Bridal sucks but there are a zillion bridal shops around.  DON'T shop online!

Marti66

Please do not buy from the Chinese copy sites.  I agree with all of the above in contacting Pearl's Place, as they have the best prices.  My friend in San Francisco purchased from one of the Chinese sites and the gown was, IMHO just garbage.  Horrible and not worth anything.  Luckily she had some time and then ordered, with a great price, from Pearls.

kimbruha

There are a few threads on here that have experiences from different brides. I have ordered a replica dress of inweddingdress, here,   http://www.inweddingdress.com/style-bc387.html   I had also considered Amazon.com too, but, i haven't found "the one".
I think with replicas you can get about a 90-95% close replica, and they will make a custom dress for you. It depends on how picky you are about your dress.