Wedding dress at short notice

crumble_15

Hi all,

My partner & I are eloping to NYC in two months (all planned last minute) and I'm so stressed out about getting a dress at such short notice. I want a full length wedding gown but I've got no idea where to start - most wedding dress shops say it takes months to order, etc. so I'm really worried that I'll have to settle for something I don't love. Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas where I could go, what I could do?

Thanks

Speedwell

OK, reality check. Last-minute elopements and elaborate, fitted traditional wedding gowns don't exist in the same universe. Pick something pretty and flattering, just. When my husband and I got married in Aberdeen while I was on a three-month business trip there, I didn't pack a gown because we weren't sure we were going to be able to do it there. I happened to know of a couple sites that offered comfortable, beautiful, stylish dresses, and picked a beautiful Scottish-flag blue one that looked lovely with a heather bouquet and the decorations in the registrar's office. Blue is more traditional than white, anyway, lol. Have a look: http://holyclothing.com/index.php/dresses/morgana-medieval-velvet-satin-lace-tudor-princess-dress-gown.html

Faith

You'll need to buy a sample dress - that is, the dress that shop have in stock for people to try on - and get it altered. That's if you want a gown. You'll obviously be a bit limited in your choice.

Otherwise, you could get a non-wedding dress wedding dress. There's lots of those around, from places like J.Crew and I'm sure there are others. Or a white bridesmaids dress?

fits

jcrew and bhldn have some lovely dresses that can be shipped immediately. Id try a few though and post back if they dont suit, as it can be very hard to judge. I tried one from jcrew and it was delivered 24 hours after I ordered it. Seriously fast service.

Cakerbaker

Memories bridal boutique sell off the rack. Monsoon and debenhams also have bridal ranges. Asos too I think.

crumble_15

Thanks so much for all your replies! Faith, regarding a sample dress - will I just be able to pick any dress from their range or will they only have specific ones that I can buy? Have looked at Needle & Thread which do a bridal range - some nice options there, but not really my style although, I'm going to have to become far less picky :-/ !! Thanks for all suggestions, they're really helpful - if you have any more, I'd love to get them

fits

I think you can buy off the rack at smart brides in portlaoise as well, although I was never there.

missmaw

crumble_15 wrote: »

Hi all,

My partner & I are eloping to NYC in two months (all planned last minute) and I'm so stressed out about getting a dress at such short notice. I want a full length wedding gown but I've got no idea where to start - most wedding dress shops say it takes months to order, etc. so I'm really worried that I'll have to settle for something I don't love. Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas where I could go, what I could do?

Thanks

Hiya
Receptions preloved Bridalwear is a pretty owned/ex sample sale dress there. I got my own dress there in December. I paid my deposit and collected it a week or two later but I am assuming you can take it away with you. They have a sale this weekend. They are based in Clonmel and are on FB

Best of luck. I hope you manage to find something you love in time

Faith

For a sample, you'll only be able to buy the dress that a store has physically got in stock (and that's if they sell their samples, so check that beforehand). So if you like, say, a Justin Alexander dress that you saw on a website, but you the shop that sells Justin Alexander dresses doesn't carry that particular style, you won't be able to get it. So yeah, it's just the range that the shop has in stock.

Be aware that sample dresses come in a limited range of sizes, so if you're outside of the size 8-12 range, you might find it much harder to get a sample.

You could also look at some charity shops which sell wedding dresses, and pre-loved dresses (perhaps through http://www.sellmyweddingdress.ie/ or adverts.ie).

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Monsoon have some fab off the rack dresses. I do agree though that elopement and traditional dresses don't usually go hand in hand.

toetatoe

Just to give you another suggestion, check out the Free People website. I think they do a beautiful range of wedding dresses in a hippie boho kinda vibe. I'd be tempted by this one -https://www.freepeople.com/uk/shop/mariana-gown/

crumble_15

Thanks so much everyone for all the suggestions, really appreciate it

groovyg

If you are in Dublin try Folkster in temple bar, one of my friends got her wedding dress there. They have a good selection of dresses for formal occasions ..it depends on what style you are looking for.

Millem

Crumble do they have a "David's bridal" over there? If so they have hundreds of dresses in stock you could get one when you arrive? If you google their site you will see what they have!
Congrats

LilRedDorcha

My friend got her one at http://www.jjshouse.com/

It shipped fairly quickly. My sister got her debs dress there, and my aunt got a dress for a wedding there too. All arrived quickly enough (I think you can pay more for faster delivery), and they all looked great.

yellow hen

I actually bought my dress in David's bridal when we were on holidays in ny.
I'd second monsoon and folkster for beautiful, light, floaty and feminine dresses.

Millem

yellow hen wrote: »

I actually bought my dress in David's bridal when we were on holidays in ny.
I'd second monsoon and folkster for beautiful, light, floaty and feminine dresses.

Never been to the one in NY but it is a fab shop and very cheap compared to here!!

yellow hen

Millem wrote: »

Never been to the one in NY but it is a fab shop and very cheap compared to here!!

My dress was about 1200 cheaper than here at the time. Was a bargain

lollpop

Folkster, think their bridal shop is in Kilkenny but the website would tell you.

Also Barnardo's have a good bridal shop, mostly unworn sample dresses.

Call around the bridal shops and ask if any are doing sample sales - they periodically have these to sell off old stock.

crumble_15

Have been tempted to wait until I get to NY and just get it there, but I reckon I'd be so stressed out about it that I wouldn't enjoy it. Some of the websites mentioned are lovely and are definitely possibilities if I can't get my hands on a sample dress. Will pop into a few bridal shops this weekend. Thanks all for putting my mind at ease!

Day Lewin

Barnardos sell display - model and lightly-worn wedding dresses for very moderate prices at 8, Upr. George's St, Dun Laoghaire. PH 01- 280 1246
They also have a branch in Wexford.

irishgirl19

Smart brides in portlaoise have a huge off the rack section

Aunt Eliza

I would recommend Barnardos in Dun Laoighaire too. It is a normal charity shop downstairs but they have made a beautiful job of the bridal section upstairs. However, I bought in Oxfam Bridal on St George's St. It isn't as fancy as Barnardos but they had a huge range. All the dresses I tried on in both shops were all sample dresses. I did the two shops in one day on my trip up to the "Big Smoke" and came home with the dress.