This week's wedding woe comes from "Dressaphobic", who read my mind about this topic. I'd just watched the video below and was looking at some dresses online when her email came through like some kind of weird wedding juju witchy coincidence.
Hi Greer
I loved your Lady in Red blog when you did it and picked up heaps of ideas from all the comments made. We were also working hard to get out of debt (and still are) having had to close a business that wasn't paying its way - we think we lost about $200k in 2 years.... anyways, that another story.
On NY Eve he asked and I said yes, having thought I would never get married. We've been together for years so there's no point waiting around and it will be March next year - the only delay being for my side to come from Ireland. Our budget is tight - see above! - and I am looking at getting a dress online. I did post a comment on your Trying on the Dress but I may have been late.
I would love to know what experience people have had with online purchases.
Dressphobic #75 01:53 pm Mar 22 2012
Greer, I am so interested to read this article. I have never dreamed of a white wedding - never thought I would get married but there you go. It's a year from now and friends dragged me (almost literally) dress shopping as it "would be so much fun". I HATE shopping at the best of times so wedding dress shopping was my idea of hell. The first shop the lady was lovely and kept bringing more and more dresses - none were the one but it did give me a good sense of what worked on me and what didn't. My mother (overseas) saw one on one of the hundreds of websites out there and sent the link to me. It looks like everything that did work on me, all in one dress. And for USD 177.00 - Wow. But then, how do you trust that you can get the dress? There are some reviews good, some bad - all from all over the world. Part of me thinks, what's there to lose, made to measure, delivered to the door for under $250 and within 6-8 weeks. If it's terrible, there's still time. Then the bad reviews kick in and make me think I'd be daft to be sucked in by the website. I'd love if you could get people to write in with firsthand experiences of their online shopping and which website they used. Some comments above rave about a great experience buying online but don't mention which site. Do you think it would be worthwhile inviting a discussion?
**
So what do we think, people?
I've been entertaining this idea as well. I've done a bit of research and spoken to some brides who did order their dresses online.
Much like Dressphobic, I hate shopping at the best of times. I've been known to order from EziBuy just so I don't have to hit the shops. Lazy, unstylish me. But my bridesmaids, one fashion-forward one in particular, are starting to put the pressure on and luckily she's overseas because she's threatening to drag me around every bridal store known to man. The thought of ordering a dress online seems like the perfect solution to me.
Also like Dressphobic, I find it hard to entertain the idea of spending thousands on a dress. I kind of wouldn't mind if the dress was technically worth that much - as in could be resold for that figure - but that's not how the wedding dress industry works.
Then I watched this:
It made me cringe, and it was what my gut told me. A dress is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it and I don't doubt that there are some beautiful and amazing hand-made and -designed dresses out there worth every penny.
But then there are the dresses that are charged out at thousands and made in bulk in a factory in China, with mark-ups that'd make your eyes water. I object to women being made to feel anything less than amazing because they choose not to spend thousands on a dress.
As Caitlin Kenney, who featured in the piece, said: "Most people suck at buying wedding dresses. We don't have as much information as the people selling us the dresses. We generally buy one dress in a lifetime so there's no chance to practise or learn from past purchases.
"It's not just the dress you're paying for. You're paying for the message you're sending. 'I love my husband. This is a really big deal. This is a memory I'll have forever.'"
One bride I know ordered three wedding dresses online from China for a few hundred dollars each (I think the most expensive was NZ$800). She was so happy with all of them that she actually had a hard time choosing which one to wear on the big day.
The extra she sold on Trade Me, and the dress she wore? Ended up selling for a couple of hundred more than what she paid for it. (Her tip: only buy from online sellers who have good feedback. Read the comments and if there's a trend towards certain issues, steer clear.)
This dream scenario isn't always the case, though. Read through any reader feedback on these cheap sites and you'll see there can be issues with quality of fabric and finishing. But for the sake of a couple of hundred dollars, could the risk just be worth it?
I'm curious. I want to know what this is all about. I'm going to order one or two online to find out. If they're rubbish, I'll have some new tablecloths. If they suit me, sorted. All in the name of research! I'll keep you posted.
(FYI: Sites I've been looking at include: DHGate, LightInABox, WeddingDresses7, PeriDress, FashionLande, GoWeddingDress etc... the list goes on! Know of any more?)
How much did you pay for your wedding dress? What advice do you have? Have you got any experiences to share from buying wedding or bridesmaid dresses online?
ALSO: In the market for a dress? There is a "Bride Rush" event on Saturday, April 21, At Vic Park markets in Auckland "where more than 200 overseas designer wedding dresses will be sold for at least 90% off their usual price, strictly on a first in, best dressed basis".
More details of the event here.
Follow Greer on Twitter or Weddings on Facebook. You can email Greer here.
Sponsored links
Newest First
Oldest First
My mother and I attempted to do the wedding dress shops and got depressed by the third shop and ended up in a bar instead. The staff were really rude as if they didnt like the colour of our money. In the end I drew a sketch of something that took my fancy. Got some material and paid less than $500 for a family friend to make it. From the sketch. I am a simple girl so it wasnt fussy, beaded, lacy or have copious amounts of material in it. However it was pure silk satin so the material wasnt exactly cheap...but given the rest of it it was worth it to me.
My friend ordered bridesmaid dresses from DHGate and has had an absolute mare with them - the dresses were the wrong colour and shoddily put together and misshapen! I totally see the benefits in ordering online, but would just say maybe not from them...
I helped a friend go wedding dress shopping once, and after FOUR HOURS of oohing and aahing at similar-but-different dresses decided it was something I never wanted to do. Luckily I can sew, so dammit, I'm making my own. (First test mock-up and fitting done yesterday!) That might be a recipe for trouble, tantrums, and tears, but I'm giving myself eight months, and I'm not going for the elaborately beaded pavlova look anyway. I love the idea of wearing something I put my own energy and time into, and I can make it the way I want to, not the way some cost-saving factory decided. So if I want more boning, dammit, I'll have more boning. I can probably do a better job than half of those $200 Chinese-made things, anyway, judging by some of the stories I've heard. But it's the usual caveat emptor - and if it sounds too good to be true, etc.
I still can't believe what some people will willingly pay for a dress that gets worn for maybe ten hours, then sits at the back of the wardrobe for ten years. That said, you're also paying for the whole experience of trying on all the dresses, having your friends oohing and aahing over you, and having your mum cry when you step out of the changing room (if that's what you're into - my mum and I aren't), so it's not a rip-off necessarily. It's just what's important to you, and it's your wedding.
Brought mine online from trademe looks even better in real life than the pic got it from a new zealand based trader and was delivered within 3 days and cost 100... wow happy 2nd time bride here
I REALLY wanted to do the online thing too to save money but having absolutley no idea what suited me and no imagination to envisage what it would like couple with the nerves of whether they would be crap made me too nervous. in the end my decision was made by bringing my wedding forward to 2 months away and not having time to. i got mine for 1800 off the rack (bit peeved off cause they originally quoted 1500 but then said that the one in my size was pure silk not chiffon idk the difference) which having seen that video im okay about. if thats 1400 us it seems about right (although my dress didnt have as much lace) i found it helpful cuase i went into 2 stores one so terrible i waslked straight out the other birlliant to think i was paying for thei knowledge as well (the shop assistant i bought from actually told me that some of the dresses i tried on looked crap - honesty which i loved!!)
My wife ordered her dress from China through ebay. $200 and made to measure. It looked good.
In fact, I was able to use the money left over from her cheap purchase to increase the expenditure I made on my suit! Very nice suit...
I am a dressmaker who has had experience with wedding dresses bought on line, both good and bad. I have had several girls bring their cheap dresses to me crying 'it doesn't fit' and spent hours trying to sort it out. its much quicker to make a dress from the beginning!On the other hand some just need a nip and tuck and the hem shortened. My advice is if you are a standard size its worth a punt but if you are a big girl or big busted or short etc it can be heartbreaking. Do not go for the cheapest sites the quality is crap and so hard to alter. The old saying 'You get what you pay for' is very true.
I bought my dress online, through TradeMe. It wasn't a "wedding dress" -just a light-coloured formal dress, though the same seller does sell wedding dresses. I checked the feedback and the only negatives were regarding difficulty contacting the seller to arrange fittings. I don't live in Auck, so that was never going to be an issue for me. Sent measurements, was advised of 3 week delay in getting my size -all good as still haven't had my wedding yet. Got the dress & it was far too big, the beadwork was pink plastic but the fabric & other finishings were perfect. Unpicked the beadwork myself and have contacted a dress-maker to alter it to fit. Dress cost approx $300, dress-maker advised approx $300 for alterations so all in all a $600 dress, ready well before my wedding. My best friend bought a $200 dress online, again, it came too big and due to high level of detail in its design, looked cheap and nasty. She went to a shop and ended up with a $3000 Allure gown that took 4 months to make in Aust then had to be altered to fit after arrival in NZ a month before her wedding. She was really happy with it in the end but I think she lost out. I guess my advice is buyer BEWARE. When people say they are going to bridal shops and looking at $3000 dresses, I always mention Sophie Voon (Wgtn) as they can do custom-made for approx $2000 -if I did it again, I'd spend the money doing this as money goes to NZ industry, not offshore manufacturing and it's a "safe bet". Light in the Box is good quality, we got our bridesmaid dresses there but postage/customs/import tax brought the cost of each dress from US$85 to nearly NZ$200.
Hot topic!! I know someone who got sucked in to these websites and basically got a cheap curtain dress. It seemed to fit but the fabric was the most tragic thing I had seen ever. I guess go for it but don't expect anything like the picture. Or don't go for lace or satin. It's thick, bad quality and horrible stuff that is unforgiving on any curves. But yea otherwise have fun shopping
My daughter got married a few weeks ago and we purchased her dress on line from DH Gate. All up it cost about $300 and looked stunning. Guest comments were very favourable and since telling a couple how much it cost people were shocked. We had heard all the negative comments too but thought it was worth a try and for my daughter it worked.She did her research and chose a supplier with lots of feedback about 99% positive and a large number of units sold and who had been around a long time. It was not the cheapest in her chosen style. Also ordered it standard sizing but with a lace up back for ease of fitting. It didn't fit perfectly when it arrived - about 6 weeks after ordering - but she had plenty of time before the wedding to adjust her size down to make it perfect. Would thoroughly recommend giving it a go.