Best Bridal Boutiques - Dublin

Pebbles81

Hi all,

We’re hoping to get married in September of this year, and I’m keen to start looking at dresses.

Would anyone have any recommendations for bridal boutiques in the Dublin area? My budget will be modest to say the least, so I’ll prob be just trying to get an idea of what style suits with a view to buying similar second hand.

Thanks in advance!

tiredblondie

Have a look in Wed2B in Drumcondra - got mine in there for under 400euro - huge range of dresses, dearest being around 700euro.

woodchuck

I don't have my dress yet, but I've booked appointments in Barnardos (all new dresses donated by designers) and Oxfam (~90% new dresses donated by designers). I'd rather start at the bottom of the price range and work my way up! If I can save money and give money to charity too, all the better.

A friend of mine also recommended Wed2B. However she flagged that they don't do appointments and you can only try on 4 dresses at a time. If you don't pick one of those 4 dresses, then you're back at the bottom of the list to wait again to try on 4 more. So she recommended that I go to Barnardos first, as they do appointments so I can try on more dresses in one go and get a better idea of what suits me.

I'll definitely check out Wed2B if I don't find anything in the charity shops, but hoping they'll at least give me a better idea of what I'm looking for! And keeping my fingers crossed for a bargain...

tiredblondie

woodchuck wrote: »

I don't have my dress yet, but I've booked appointments in Barnardos (all new dresses donated by designers) and Oxfam (~90% new dresses donated by designers). I'd rather start at the bottom of the price range and work my way up! If I can save money and give money to charity too, all the better.

A friend of mine also recommended Wed2B. However she flagged that they don't do appointments and you can only try on 4 dresses at a time. If you don't pick one of those 4 dresses, then you're back at the bottom of the list to wait again to try on 4 more. So she recommended that I go to Barnardos first, as they do appointments so I can try on more dresses in one go and get a better idea of what suits me.

I'll definitely check out Wed2B if I don't find anything in the charity shops, but hoping they'll at least give me a better idea of what I'm looking for! And keeping my fingers crossed for a bargain...

When i got mine from Wed2B, i went at 10am on a Saturday morning and it was empty - yes, you can only try on 4 dresses at a time but while i was in the changing room with the girl, she went out and got another 1 for me - even when i was leaving about an hour or so later, there wasn't many in there so it wouldn't be much of a wait if you went out to pick another few to try!

SozBbz

woodchuck wrote: »

I don't have my dress yet, but I've booked appointments in Barnardos (all new dresses donated by designers) and Oxfam (~90% new dresses donated by designers). I'd rather start at the bottom of the price range and work my way up! If I can save money and give money to charity too, all the better

Will you update us on how you get on? I'd be super curious to see how they compair to stnadard bridal shops.
Are there various sizes? Have they given any indication of % discounts versus traditional bridal prices?

Rachiee

Alexander's on Parnell at do amazing sales they sometimes have dresses between 300-600. Other places to check out on a budget is Debenhams they have a a few white, ivory and silver dresses in a maxi dress style with spaghetti straps and beading it's a great hack if that kind of style would suit you

tiredblondie

SozBbz wrote: »

Will you update us on how you get on? I'd be super curious to see how they compair to stnadard bridal shops.
Are there various sizes? Have they given any indication of % discounts versus traditional bridal prices?

When i got mine, i didn't try in any specialist bridal shops - the quality, the feel, and the treatment by staff was 2nd to none - they were absolutely amazing!

They go up to a size 20 something too

I think the lowest price dress they have is below 100euro up to a max of 700euro so you can see yourself that's a huge price difference compared to what some places charge - i got non stop compliments about my dress, everyone fell in love with it! (and other bride friends near got sick when i told them the price!)

woodchuck

tiredblondie wrote: »

When i got mine from Wed2B, i went at 10am on a Saturday morning and it was empty - yes, you can only try on 4 dresses at a time but while i was in the changing room with the girl, she went out and got another 1 for me - even when i was leaving about an hour or so later, there wasn't many in there so it wouldn't be much of a wait if you went out to pick another few to try!

That's interesting, I guess it must just depend on the day how long you have to wait. My friend was there at 10.05am midweek and said it was packed!

tiredblondie

woodchuck wrote: »

That's interesting, I guess it must just depend on the day how long you have to wait. My friend was there at 10.05am midweek and said it was packed!

I thought it would have been too, that's what i had heard anyway but it was 10am on a Saturday morning in November 2018 that i went in and nobody else in there!
They open Sunday's too as far as i can remember!

woodchuck

SozBbz wrote: »

Will you update us on how you get on? I'd be super curious to see how they compair to stnadard bridal shops.
Are there various sizes? Have they given any indication of % discounts versus traditional bridal prices?

Back with an update as promised I had my appointments in Barnardos (Dun Laoghaire) and Oxfam (Georges street, Dublin city centre). I still haven't bought a dress, but wanted to give my impressions of both.

Overall I was much more impressed with Barnardos. The woman who was helping me was very knowledgeable about how the dresses should fit and the various ways that they could/couldn't be altered depending on the fabric. She was also very receptive to the type of styles I might like. I have in my head that I probably want tea length and they had a few there that I liked. Unfortunately they were too tight to get altered, but she was very helpful pulling out full length dresses that could be altered to tea length. She was also very attentive in the dressing room, helping me with the zips/buttons and gave me a pair of shoes to try with the dresses. The dresses were all new and generally all in good condition.

Oxfam seemed to have a larger selection overall, but a lot of them were noticeably second hand and not in great condition. I'm talking noticable stains (wine, lipstick etc), small rips/snags, broken zips. So I didn't get a great impression overall. The girls there were very nice, but nowhere near as knowledgeable as the lady in Barnardos. They didn't rush me at all though. The appointment was only meant to be an hour, but they let me stay for about an hour and a half (they only had a couple of tea length dresses, so I tried on loads of other styles just for trial and error!). But every single time I tried on a dress, I had to come out and ask for help doing up the back - it just would've been nice if they'd been more proactive about this. I reckon this is part of the reason some of the dresses are in poor condition - customers struggling to open and close the backs themselves.

In both shops they had all the dresses organised by size, so I only tried on ones that I thought might fit me. But obviously if something is too tight, don't expect them to have it in another size up! In Barnardos she said that the dresses were about a 3rd of the price. I only looked at a few of the price tags, but I think the ones I tried on were roughly 300-500euro. In Oxfam, I think the ones I tried on were all 300euro or less (the one with the broken zip was only 25euro!!).

So overall I'd recommend Barnardos over Oxfam. But sure why not try both anyway if you have the time! You just need that *one* dress and you never know where you're going to find it.

Wed2B is next on the list. They're open late on Thursdays so I'm going to leave work a little early and try get out there before 5pm. Hope there won't be a long wait at that time of day

helen87

I bought mine in WED2B and i cant say enough about them! It was my first time trying on dresses so did not know what i wanted but the ladies there really know their stuff and ruled out a few styles very quickly. When i was trying on the dresses they give you loads of time, no rush and give very good advice on what might or might not suit.
I was lucky when i went in on a Monday morning, it was more or less empty so i had a great experience. It all depends on timing, but i was floating on air walking out of there with my dress and after the lovely experience!
best of luck!!!

woodchuck

Thanks a million! Fingers crossed...

I'm worried about finding something that fits I feel like the ladies in Barnardos and Oxfam were overly optimistic about my size. Some of the dresses I tried on were genuinely way too small (couldn't get the back up) and others that they thought fit felt very tight to me.

How tight are wedding dresses meant to be? I'm conscious that I want to be able to sit down and eat a 3 course meal comfortably! I'd also be very worried about putting on any weight at all before the wedding if it's already very snug when I buy it. I'm used to wearing looser fitting clothes though, so maybe that's part of the problem and wedding dresses just need to be a tighter fit to bring out your figure etc?

Faith

Wedding dresses are generally much more structured, so may feel quite fitted. If they’re well made, though, that won’t stop you being comfortable.

The other thing is the sizing with wedding dresses is way off. Many use older, pre-vanity sizing sizes, so you might be trying on samples that are two sizes bigger than your usual dress, so if you’re normally a 12, you might be trying on a lot of dresses in a 16. That might mean if you go into a secondhand shop, you could end up trying on dresses much too small for you, thinking they’re your usual size.

I am a size 12 and I tried on dresses from a size 8 to a 16 when I was shopping! It all depends on the brand and their sizing.

helen87

im normally a size 12 and they were quite unforgiving! i bought mine as a size 16 so it will be taken in by a dressmaker closer to the time. Trying to lose weight for it but either way at least they will fix it to whatever size will be at the time. don't worry about the size on the tag they are way off!
On a side note does anyone know roughly how much it will cost to get a dress taken in ??

woodchuck

Thanks for that. I just know that getting them taken out is a bigger deal than getting them taken in. I lost a decent amount of weight in the past 6 months, so I'm afraid I might end up putting some of that weight back on (stress eating etc) I'd definitely prefer something a little looser and get it taken in.

I haven't gotten any quotes myself for alterations, but I've heard a few hundred euro can be a typical price :eek: Obviously it will depend on what needs to be done though.

SozBbz

helen87 wrote: »

im normally a size 12 and they were quite unforgiving! i bought mine as a size 16 so it will be taken in by a dressmaker closer to the time. Trying to lose weight for it but either way at least they will fix it to whatever size will be at the time. don't worry about the size on the tag they are way off!
On a side note does anyone know roughly how much it will cost to get a dress taken in ??

Massivly depends on the dress! Beading etc makes it much harder to adjust as much of the work would need to be unpicked by hand and its quite detailed. Anything that takes longer is going to be more expensive.

Certain fabrics are easier to work with also, as are some styles.

Did you ask about alterations when you were buying?

PhoenixParker

One thing I really liked in Oxfam was that they just let you at the dresses. My sister was with me so she did up the backs. I was able to try on every style and type and get an idea what I wanted. There’s a lot more freedom there than in normal bridal shops.

On tea length dresses, mine was a normal length that was taken up to tea length. On a lot of dresses that’s pretty straightforward and from what the shop said is what most people looking for tea length do.

woodchuck

I didn't have any luck in Wed2B I was convinced I was going to find my dress there, so I'm very disheartened now. They only had one tea length dress in my size, but it just wasn't my style. I tried full length dresses that could be taken up to tea length, but I was having a hard time imagining the final result and was too afraid to go for it. I'm very short, so I'm just afraid that the proportions of the dress would be off for my body length if they chop loads of it off.

I have seen some long dresses that are nice, but I don't want to give up the tea length idea yet! There have just been so few to actually try on in the places that I've tried that I want to feel I've given it a proper chance before I give up.

So I'm trying to put together a list of places in Dublin that might have a range of them at not too ridiculous prices. So far I've sent emails asking about tea length dresses to:
- Memories bridal in Lucan
- Ciara Bridal in Powerscourt
- The Bridal Outlet in Baldoyle
- Angelo Bridal near Drumcondra
- Alexanders Bridal on Parnell street

If there are any other suggestions though (particularly for tea length dresses for non-insane prices) that would be great! I've gotten other suggestions for further afield already, but I'm really trying to keep it to Dublin if I can.

reap-a-rat

woodchuck wrote: »

I didn't have any luck in Wed2B I was convinced I was going to find my dress there, so I'm very disheartened now. They only had one tea length dress in my size, but it just wasn't my style. I tried full length dresses that could be taken up to tea length, but I was having a hard time imagining the final result and was too afraid to go for it. I'm very short, so I'm just afraid that the proportions of the dress would be off for my body length if they chop loads of it off.

I have seen some long dresses that are nice, but I don't want to give up the tea length idea yet! There have just been so few to actually try on in the places that I've tried that I want to feel I've given it a proper chance before I give up.

So I'm trying to put together a list of places in Dublin that might have a range of them at not too ridiculous prices. So far I've sent emails asking about tea length dresses to:
- Memories bridal in Lucan
- Ciara Bridal in Powerscourt
- The Bridal Outlet in Baldoyle
- Angelo Bridal near Drumcondra
- Alexanders Bridal on Parnell street

If there are any other suggestions though (particularly for tea length dresses for non-insane prices) that would be great! I've gotten other suggestions for further afield already, but I'm really trying to keep it to Dublin if I can.

Would you take a chance on buying online? I was adamant I wasn't spending a fortune on a dress and I saw one I really liked on Chi Chi London's site. I said I'd take the plunge as I could always return it if I needed to anyway. It came and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality (it's obviously not top end but it's very good) and I got the seal of approval from my harshest critics (mother and sister) so I'm delighted I went with it now. It cost €106 including delivery.

I understand that this wouldn't be for everyone but a dress was not a priority for me personally and I love the idea of having extra cash to put towards the honeymoon!

woodchuck

Thanks for the suggestion, but I never buy clothes online, so I don't think I'd have the nerve to that for my wedding dress! I only end up buying maybe 5% of clothes I try on in shops

I'll keep it in mind though. If I found the perfect dress, but it was just too small and could see the exact same style in a bigger size up online... then I might consider it!

aquinn

woodchuck wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestion, but I never buy clothes online, so I don't think I'd have the nerve to that for my wedding dress! I only end up buying maybe 5% of clothes I try on in shops

I'll keep it in mind though. If I found the perfect dress, but it was just too small and could see the exact same style in a bigger size up online... then I might consider it!

Hey,

I'm short so thought I was definitely wearing a tea length dress. I started in Dirty Fabulous on my own one evening. Anything I picked was ridiculous. The lady was great at wildcard choices. I was all set for a twenties ra-ra dress that was brilliant, until my Mother was the video and thought it was a joke.

Anyway I tried on one full length dress and looked like it was my communion day, no thanks.

I went full length and a bridesmaids dress and it was just fabulous. It wasn't heavy. I didn't look short and cut off in it like I thought I would. I wore a very small heel yet spent most of the day in flats. Try something different. Let the people in the shops help you rather than just trying on the same style. Use their experience.

Mine was also rose gold and incredibly comfortable.

Edit to say I ordered mine from Wedding World and they went bust with my deposit. Thankfully they can't scam anyone else again.

woodchuck

Thanks a million aquinn I'd LOVE to try Dirty Fabulous, but they've moved to Monaghan Hoping to find something closer to home though. As disheartening as it is not to find something in a shop in Dublin, I'd feel doubly depressed if I've sacrificed a whole Saturday to travel up and down the country if I didn't find something!

I've been trying loads of different styles. I think the problem is though that there have been SO few tea length dresses (I think I've tried a grand total of 3!) that I feel I haven't had a proper shot at it. That's why I'd like to find somewhere that has a good range of them to try them out properly.

I've made an appointment with Ciaras Bridal, so fingers crossed!

Moznips

woodchuck wrote: »

I don't have my dress yet, but I've booked appointments in Barnardos (all new dresses donated by designers) and Oxfam (~90% new dresses donated by designers). I'd rather start at the bottom of the price range and work my way up! If I can save money and give money to charity too, all the better..

I was in Bernardos at the weekend and got my dress. Couldn't believe it! first shop and first day looking, I really wasn't expecting to leave with a dress. They had so many styles and sizes you'll have a great day. Catherine was serving me and was so good (and patient) she knew her stuff. I had two dresses that i loved and had to pick from one. Considering i'm not getting married until Oct 2021 i was certainly in no rush to choose a dress (and i didnt feel like i was pressured by the shop to choose one either) but i felt this was the one and i wasn't going to get any better.
Have fun and enjoy