Expect to Make an Appointment
At least an hour will be allocated for you to select a dress. If you call in “on spec”, you may find an appointment slot free, otherwise please be prepared to wait, or call again. Popular shops, with a good reputation will be very busy especially on Saturdays and school holidays.
Keep an Open Mind
Try Dresses On to find the shape that suits You. The mix of style, colour & ornamentation is not everyday wear, and the effect can be quite unexpected. A professional sales assistant will listen to your wishes before making suggestions. Brides known instinctively when they have found “The Dress”. There’s no place for Pressure Selling in a bridal shop.
Plan Ahead, if You Can
From Ordering a Wedding Dress, it will be 5-7 months to delivery as each is made for an individual bride. Unless you have “made-to-measure”, you may need alterations, for a perfect fit, adding a few weeks more. A further few weeks extra gives peace of mind, so 6 months is a comfortable minimum. For quick weddings, some suppliers make Rush Orders, and it is possible to buy “off-the-rail” if the retailer is prepared to part with the “sample”. The time between ordering and delivery has increased worldwide due to social changes in the Far East where many dresses are made.
Have a Budget in Mind
The Sales Assistant should show a range of dresses and mention price points, so this is the time to ask questions and set boundaries, moneywise. If you fall in love with something dearer, you will have to reconsider. A recent Brides magazine reader survey puts the average price paid by their readers in 2011 at £1,300, but our prices start from £450.
Be Prepared Financially
An Initial Payment is required on placing an Order, usually 50pc of the price. The rest is due when the dress arrives in the shop. The Bride will be expected to sign a Contract to pay for the dress fully, in the same way that the shop-owner makes a binding Contract with the supplier. Most shops take credit cards & some offer staged payments.
Labels Tell a Story: You can tell the “Market Position” of a shop by the labels it stocks. Some shops specialise in offering value for money, some look for greater exclusivity, some stock dresses across a wide range of prices. Generally the more exclusive a designer, the larger the geographic area the label will allocate to a shop, so brides have to be prepared to travel.
Expect Fittings
Some “tweaking” is usually required for a perfect fit, once the wedding dress is delivered and fully paid for, and most shops charge for this. As the dress belongs to You at this stage, you may choose to have alterations done by a trusted dressmaker. Some dresses can be ordered Made-to-Measure, in which case the fitting cost is included in the price. More than one fitting may be needed. If you change shape after the Final Fitting, expect extra charges, if the dress needs altering again. Choose shoes & lingerie early so you have your basic body shape and heel height in place.
Caring and Cleaning
Silk, satins and taffetas are very durable fabrics but many dresses include fine lace, chiffon and delicate beadwork, which need extra care. Specialists will clean the dress after the event to preserve it in pristine condition- best done immediately after the wedding. We use Terrington Burchett Ltd, to keep our own shop samples in perfect condition. This is information provided as a statemenmt of fact but without prejudice. www.ukweddingdresscleaners.co.uk
Buy from a Reputable “Bricks and Mortar” Shop
The temptation to buy over the internet is always there, but we strongly advise against it. On many occasions we have had to “rescue” brides who have ordered from internet-based websites, and the dress has been a disappointment – a poor copy, wrong colour or size, or not delivered at all. The bride then has to start again - at short notice- and hundreds of pounds out of pocket. As a test, our trade body The Retail Bridalwear Association ordered dresses online and the results backed our concerns, with the same story repeated from our members across the UK, and also from desperate calls and emails from brides to the RBA Helpline. Even an article in The Sun backed our concerns. An online purchaser has no UK consumer protection, if there is no UK or European base. You can check on www.bridesaware.co.uk and also on the RBAS website www.rbaltd.org
ABTA Style Guarantee- Tickled Pink, is a member of the RBA, offering the unique RBA Brides Protection Scheme, ensuring that money paid for a wedding dress has an ABTA-style cast iron money-back guarantee behind it, should a shop fall into misfortune, financially, throuigh accident illness or natural disaster. All the bride has to do is register her dress online with the RBA. More on www.bestweddingshops.co.uk . Having been established 25 years, Tickled Pink own their premises, and so are not victim to landlord rental or interest rate fluctuations.
Planning an Overseas Wedding?
There are Many Designs specifically for Weddings Abroad, but in our experience, a bride will choose the style she loves best. Airlines are now geared up to deal with bulky dresses, and hotels to steam the dress on arrival. 25 pc of weddings arranged by UK couples now take place in holiday destinations, disproving the theory that weddings are declining in popularity- the numbers aren’t declining- they are just taking place where they don’t show up on UK records compiled each year by the National Statistics Office.
Any Further Queries?
We Will be Delighted to Help. Email us on shop@tickledpinkbridal.co.uk or phone on 01302 842234 extn 20, Tickled Pink is located in Hatfield Doncaster Yorkshire UK DN7 6SB, on the A18 seven miles east of Doncaster and is a winner of no fewer than eight Customer Service Awards.
Looking for Advice for Your Groom? See under our Menswear Section , or email menswear@tickledpinkbridal.co.uk
