The great bridal/bridesmaid dress rip off

[colacubes]

Little rant so indulge me

I spent this morning shopping for a bridesmaid dress for my mates wedding, We found a lovely dress that suited both me and the other bridesmaid - which is great considering that I'm a tall size 16/18 and she's a short size 8/10. So all good so far.

Anyway when we were trying on the dresses the lady in the shop says to me that I realise you're about a size 16 (without checking - good skills), but these come up really small sizewise so don't be surpised when we order as the sizes come up small so we'll have to order a bit bigger. Fair enough I think.

So we decide to go with it and order. Once I've been measured my dress size for this dress going by the catalogue measurements is a size 22

Annoying but I know they come up small. The other bridesmaid has been ordered a size 14.

However, because I'm a plus size you have to pay 10% more. And this kicks in from size 18 in their dress sizes. So given the size discrepancy that's from about size 12/14

How the fuck do they get away with this. It seems to be a blatant fucking racket to screw more money out of people who are a normal fucking size - (not me I know I'm on the fat side)! But it just seems to me to be a way of grabbing even more money off people.

 

[Geri]

Everything connected to weddings is a rip off, in my opinion. When my friend was getting married, she wanted a meal in a hotel - she got prices and everything, but as soon as they found out it was for a wedding, they charged her more.

 

[silver]

Everything connected to weddings is a rip off, in my opinion.

Isn't it just, my brothers been getting quotes for weddings and one venue charged per slice for slicing the cake, ffs

 

[Poot]

Everything connected to weddings is a rip off, in my opinion. When my friend was getting married, she wanted a meal in a hotel - she got prices and everything, but as soon as they found out it was for a wedding, they charged her more.

Absolutely.

Wherever possible it's best to pretend it's just a party rather than a wedding. Likewise when you book a honeymoon ("it's just a holiday") or buy the cake (how people can justify the cost of some wedding cakes is beyond me!)

Good luck with being a bridesmaid and make sure you get shoes, jewellery etc from somewhere that doesn't specialise in bridal wear!

 

[Looby]

Go to monsoon, you can get amazing dresses in there much cheaper.

Also coast if they go up to 18, I went to a wedding recently and their dresses were from there and they were beautiful.

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Oh totally.. complete rip off, all wedding boutiques are
ebay is your friend... my bridesmaids dress was brand new and cost me £40 my little bridemaids dresses cost me £40 for the two... all including delivery, all looked amazing
The place I got my wedding dress from wanted £250 per adults bridemaids dress and £150 per childs
Debenhams does lovely bridal stuff too, as does BHS

 

[beeboo]

Ooh I'm going make the final choice on my bridesmaid's dress tonight

After the scouring the usual high street suspects (Monsoon, Coast and all the dept. stores) we gave up and have gone to a lady who runs a bridal dress business out of her house. She'll either order in from a bridesmaid dress manufacturer, or will hand-make the same dresses in your choice of fabric for the same price which is about £150.

I'm not sure about so-called "plus sizes" but I couldn't find anything in the shops for my 6ft frame and that's not been a problem with her, as she can handmake it to the correct length.

She seems really good, can PM details to anyone who is interested.

 

[beeboo]

Isn't it just, my brothers been getting quotes for weddings and one venue charged per slice for slicing the cake, ffs

 

[vauxhallmum]

I went to local hairdressers to ask if I could get my hair blow dried on the morning of the wedding.
They said I would first need a 'wedding consultation' at an extra cost, ie paying twice.
I reckon people hear 'wedding' and see £s infront of their eyes

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

Isn't it just, my brothers been getting quotes for weddings and one venue charged per slice for slicing the cake, ffs

Ive heard that too. St Davids hotel and spa charges £3.50 per head for serving your wedding cake!

 

[LilMissHissyFit]

I went to local hairdressers to ask if I could get my hair blow dried on the morning of the wedding.
They said I would first need a 'wedding consultation' at an extra cost, ie paying twice.
I reckon people hear 'wedding' and see £s infront of their eyes

I know why they do this...
Too many people want their hair up or a certain way for their wedding. IF they dont then like it on the day of the wedding its too late to change it.
Any salon worth going to would make you have a pre day appointment otherwise they are likely to wind up with seriously pissed off customers through no fault of their own.
I had a practice run and decided I didnt like what id wanted once it was getting done so she took it all back to straight and redid it a different way ( which she suggested) and it worked. I looked fantastic on the day. It also gives you a chance to see whether the style will hold and how much crap they will need to spray on your hair so it stays looking perfect for several hours ( a min of 3 for you to get through ceremony, photos, hellos and into the reception)

 

[Fad011]

before you order, have a look online.
i was recently a bridemaid, we found dresses in a shop in Cardiff, then searched for suppliers & found a website in the states www.houseofbrides.com that sold the dresses at less than half the prices (especially with the current exchange rate) all three dresses we ordered came to less than than the price of 1 in the UK. shipping was about $50 & was deleivered by special delivery 6 weeks before the wedding date.