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Wedding Belles Bridal <WeddingBelles16>

"The Little Shop with The Big Reputation"

	An in-depth look at the real costs of online ordering.....	244 days ago
	You step out of bed, stretch, smile to yourself. And start jumping up and down.. today’s the day… you’re going to buy the wedding dress of your dreams. A consultant greets you, and armed with pictures and your closest girlfriends, you discuss styles and colour choices. Walking around the store, your hand sweeps across different gowns, feeling the soft fabrics. You imagine your fiancee’s face when he sees you walking down the aisle. But wait. Your not in a bridal store. You’re in front of a computer, greeted by a boring, unfriendly screen. Many of today’s brides are turning to the internet for selection of the most important purchase of their lives. While online retailers boast savings on their “no frills” internet price, what they don’t tell you may end up costing you much MORE. Savings on your online purchase may cost you a lot more in the long run. So what exactly is included in the “no frills” no-service price of online bridal and bridesmaid gowns? Research from top online ordering sites proved hidden costs and a lot of headaches. Sizing & Alterations: The most common problem from ordering online is choosing the correct size. One bridal salon told us of a bride who had ordered from the internet, “the gown came in and it was too small… it was a junior’s dress instead of an adult dress! The online store wouldn’t take the dress back, and the bride lost hundreds of pounds. We were in shock. The wedding was two weeks away. By ordering online, determining exact size can be difficult and the gowns often arrive and don’t fit, thereby forcing alterations that can wind up costing a small fortune. As every designer’s size chart is different, experienced bridal consultants at full service salons understand the sizing and fit of gowns from different manufacturers. A full service salon will order the best size to minimize, or eliminate, alterations costs, or can order the gown to the bride’s exact proportions. Additionally, Many bridal stores don’t allow gowns purchased outside of their salon to utilize their alterations person. Shipping & Returns: “Shipping and handling are not included in the gown quote.” Online retailers and shipping charges, and many times expensive rush fees, and bill the credit card without providing options. Our study found that online retailers are unwilling to accept returns on purchased items. Almost all online gowns are final sale, and if they arrive with imperfections or the wrong size, the online retailer will not allow returns of cancellations. After spending hundreds or thousands of pounds on a dream dress, if the item arrives with fabric flaws, sizing problems, or you hate the way it looks on you, “final sale, as-is gowns” can leave the bride in quite a dilemma. Many full service bridal salons (FSBS) adopt the same final-sale policy, but all salons we spoke with were more than willing to work with a bride if they were unhappy or the gown arrived with problems. Salons have the ability to call designers with dress problems, flaws, sizing issues, and other problems to offer replacement gowns. Service from a local salon: Full Service Bridal Salons (FSBS) provide years of service and experience with gown purchases. We found that working with an experienced bridal counsultant at a local salon can quickly put your mind at ease. With the dozens of options in designers, styles, colours, and choices, a consultant will help you select a gown that will fit your personal style, be flattering to your figure, and fit correctly. Most often, brides choose a style different from the one they originally had in mind. Surveying local salons, we found that many had this experience: “we have worked with brides who ordered dresses online, and were so disappointed with the style/size/color/etc that they ended up buying a dress from us and trying to sell the one they got such a great deal on. Now, they have put out the money for two dresses and are losing money on the internet gown, because…where are they going to get rid of it?” One FSBS told us, “Gowns usually arrive (from online ordering) scrunched up in a tiny plastic bag. Not pretty, and costly to press, because you’ll have to get it pressed once before the fitting in order to get an accurate fit, and then once again to have it ready for the wedding day. Could cost upwards of £200+ for that service in our area, when—if they had bought it from us—we would have included that.” Pressings and fittings for alterations and the wedding day are almost always included when you purchase from an FSBS, and almost all salons provide a hanging bag for safe storage, which can cost upwards of £40, if the gown isn’t bought at the salon. In addition to the above research, we found that there is high turnover for discount and online retailers, who can shut down their website and turn off their phones without any warning and no recourse for bride, who could be out money and without a dress, with no time to spare. Designers stand behind their products, but most recommend against ordering online because copies of gowns run rampant. Utilize the experience and services included at a full service salon. What’s the most important day of your life worth? Your local bridal store has a passion for making sure your day is perfect in every way. Who would compromise that?
	posted by Wedding Belles Bridal