FAQs
Finding the perfect wedding dress is a beautiful moment and often comes when we least expect it so we want you to have those special people with you on your appointment (or virtually). We have comfortable sofas that can seat 4 adult guests in each of our showrooms.
For consistency and fairness we cannot accommodate more guests on a standard appointment…please call us if you have more and we can talk you through our private appointment options which are chargable.
Children and babies: Shopping for your wedding dress should be a stress-free & fun experience for everyone. After years of feedback from our customers we kindly ask that young children (under 6) do not attend the store if it is an option to leave them at home. Distressed babies and screaming toddlers can really effect the calm atmosphere that all brides deserve to have when they are shopping and we thank you for your understanding.
Absolutely. Even the most excited brides feel a little nervous about wedding dress shopping and have fears about finding the one.
Will anything fit? Will I like anything?
Will my friends/ family/fiancé like it? Will it be within my price range?
Will it be as I imagined it to be? Will I get THE FEELING?
Trust us when we say, we understand. It is our passion to ensure you enjoy the experience and feel safe and secure every step of the way. We will listen to you, support you and empower you to find the wedding dress of your dreams.
Trying on wedding dresses is fun and trust us when we say that finding the one is just like finding the love of your life…its often unexpected, full of surprises, a beautiful experience and a wonderful life moment to cherish.
We are a photo and video friendly store. Your guests may take as many as they like but more time taking pictures means less time trying on so we recommend only taking pictures of your favourites!
TOP TIP: Taking a video to get a feel for the movement, weight and embellishments of the dress, is often better then a photograph!
Our Bridal appointments are typically 1-1.5 hours long.
Accessory appointments are 1 hour.
Reveal and collection appointments are 45 minutes.
For returning brides wanting to retry up to 3 dresses we allow 45 minutes- 1 hour.
All appointments will require a payment method to be registered in order for the appointment to be booked.
Saturdays and bank holiday appointments will be subject to a non refundable £20 fee which is charged 2 days before the appointment date.
Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are free.
A cancellation fee of £20 will be charged for all types of appointments where less then 48hrs notice has been given.
During your appointment, you have an experienced personal bridal stylist with you at all times and the showroom to yourselves. Your stylist will dress you, listen to you, protect your experience, educate you about bridalwear and cheer you on. You are guaranteed one-to-one attention, the exclusive use of the showroom and refreshments for you & your party. This is not like shopping on the high street where you are ignored and sharing a space with lots of strangers, its a service and experience that we provide (like s hair or make up trial) and we have chosen to only apply this to our Saturday appointments which is the most requested day.
Before an appointment the stylist will prep, get dresses ready, chill the prosecco and make sure your showroom is ready for you. From time to time, people simply do not show up or cancel very last minute leaving us unable to see anyone else…. this is happening more and more frequently and it is both damaging to our business financially and demoralizing for our stylists. Sadly, as much as we’d like to believe that people would phone ahead to cancel an appointment or let us know they no longer need it, many don’t. Its heart breaking and that is why we charge for cancellations.
Wedding dresses usually take at least 16 weeks to arrive but every designer has slightly different timeframes! Some designers offer Rush services (6-10 weeks) and others have a live inventory of readily available stock (3-5 weeks). If customisations are required to your gown (special lengths or alternative colour options) then these can take up to 24 weeks.
An ideal timeframe to order your gown is 12-18 months before your big day so everything is stress free and you have the choice of EVERYTHING (incluidng our alteration services)!!!
Dresses can take anything from 4-6 months to come in so we recommend shopping early and working alongside us with your weight loss plan and a gown in mind.
We can advise you of timescales for measurements and discuss the size options with you. Wedding dresses are ordered using your Bust, waist and hips measurements and ordering to the fullest measurement using the designers size charts.
Most dresses can be taken in approximately 2 dress sizes (4-5 inches) but its important to know that only your BUST WAIST AND HIP measurements will effect the fit of a wedding dress. Sometimes even loosing 2 stone can only result in an inch loss on one of the key places as we can loose weight in other areas that have little effect on the sizing.
We truly hope that you love yourself in your dream dress but sometimes as women we do want to change ourselves but its important to know that bridal gowns run 1-2 (sometimes 3) sizes smaller then our high street clothes and are made of “stiffer” materials with no stretch. Do not get obsessed with the number inside your wedding dress; a bridal size is NOT a high-street size so stay healthy and enjoy yourself whilst you are on your journey.
The majority of our samples are available in sizes 10-16. We also have a great selection of dresses in sizes 18-28. We have lots of different tools and tricks that will enable you to visualise the closest final fit if a dress is too big or too small! We have tried to include the measurements of the samples on the website to give you an idea of the sizes….the measurements are in inches for the bust, waist and hips.
If you are looking to purchase a dress off the peg then we recommend picking gowns that are 1-2 sizes bigger then your skinny jeans – all gowns can be let out half a size and taken in about 4 inches comfortably by a seamstress. Bridal does run smaller so please do not be disheartened if you need to go up a couple of sizes in your wedding dress.
Congratulations BOSBRIDE and welcome to the family!
For the main collection dresses we need a 50% deposit to get it ordered with the designer and into the country. The balance is then payable within 21 days of the dresses arrival.
For off the peg purchases or rush orders we require the full amount on the day.
If paying the balance is going to fall at an inconvenient time or you simply want to get the dress budget ticked off then you can spread the cost of your balance by calling us with your card details at any point.
Wedding dresses are often available as a sample in store to try for at least 6 months but dresses come and go quite frequently and designers can discontinue gowns with no notice.
Dresses can be discontinued for a multitude of reasons – the dress may not be popular, the fabric may not be available anymore or the designer simply wants to streamline their collection. There is no way of knowing how long a dress will be available for so do not shop until you are ready to order. There is no worse feeling for us as stylists then having to tell a bride-to-be that her dream dress that she saw 3 months ago is no longer available.
New dresses often arrive in May-July and December -January each year.
We serve a glass or prosecco or water to all of our guests whilst they are with us for their enjoyment and comfort.
We respectfully ask that no hot drinks, squashes or any food is brought onto the premises.
Most of our gowns are Ivory and cost of cleaning wedding dresses can run high! We want to keep our stock beautiful for our customers to try on and we also want to ensure that our brides “real” gowns are not marked by spillages or food residue when attending their alterations appointments.
We do – Please make us aware in advance if a member of your party requires special assistance so we can make the experience a comfortable one and book the ground level showroom.
Our store has two bridal showrooms – one on ground level and the other is located downstairs. The downstairs showroom is only assessible via a staircase and if we are unaware of a bridal parties mobility needs we may not be able to make a change on the day.
We certainly do but her diary does get booked up quickly (like 6 -9 months in advance)!!!! We work alongside an amazing seamstress called Bogusia who is available to our brides on Mondays and Fridays 10-5. If you are shopping in the dream time of 10-18 months in advance then you will be able to book her services when you say yes to the dress!
We have had the privilege of working alongside Bogusia and watching her work her magic with our brides for nearly two decades! She is an independent seamstress who work under the Brides Of Southampton umbrella and has a workroom on site so the gowns can stay with us in a controlled environment. For more incite into what she can do check out our “other services” section and real brides to view her work.
We recommend allowing three months from your first fitting to your wedding date as an ideal timeline. Depending on the time of year you are getting married you may need more or less time. There are far less weddings in winter months meaning that alterations can be turned around much faster than in the Spring and Summer. Once the seamstress is fully booked we will not be able to offer any more appointments so the earlier you organise it the better.
Wedding gowns have so many complex details—boning, hems, bustles, illusion necklines and so on—that it’s best to find a professional who’s seen and worked on such gown components in the past. We all know someone who can do a bit of sewing but make sure if you do decide on having the gown altered elsewhere that you are 100% confident in their ability! You are not obligated to use this service and we do have other external seamstresses that we can recommend if you require evenings or weekends.
As wedding dresses are made to standard sizes and not made to measure most gowns need some sort of alterations. We will order you the closest size to your measurements to start with but most of us will need some work done. The scope of work can vary greatly, and so many factors can play into it including your body proportions, the shoes you are wearing and what materials and embellishments are on the gown. With the help of a professional seamstress, you’ll be ready for your wedding day with a gown that fits your frame flawlessly.
About 10% of our taller customers are “perfect fits” so plan for alterations and if you do not need them, we can simply arrange for the gown to be pressed and ready for your big day!
The average dress needs 20-30 hours of work. Lace and beads are taken off by hand and reapplied the same way – it is very labour intensive and you have to bare in mind that seamstresses are people not machines; there is only one speed that they can hand sew!
The alterations prices range from £100-£450 for standard alterations (customisation’s will be extra and two or 3 piece outfits may be more) – the service includes two 1 hour appointments at Brides Of Southampton and the work involved of an expert Bridal seamstress.
The first appointment is where the gown will be pinned and the second is to try it all on, have a dressing lesson and collect it. Some customers will need a third appointment if customisation is required or they are happily expecting a baby but the more experienced the seamstress, the less appointments you’ll need.
As a general rule, most brides need some work done on their top (moulding bustlines, nipping in waists and lifting straps) and the hem length taken up.
As of 2023 (following the rise of costs of everything) the average prices are £350 for fitted gowns and £450 for A-lines and ballgowns.
Shoes and Underwear! If you don’t have the exact shoes you’ll be wearing, bring another pair that is exactly the same height. Most wedding dresses cannot be worn with a bra and most body sculpting underwear can actually be more problematic for your fit and comfort so please, if in doubt call ahead of your appointment and speak with one of the team who can advise you.
While you might have legions of loved ones, the first fitting with the seamstress is to conduct the fitting and she needs your full attention. Consider inviting your star guest to accompany you to your 1st fitting. The seamstress will need room to work around you and you will need to walk up and down several times to check the hem.
On your second visit to us (your final fitting and collection) we recommend bringing 1-2 guests including the person who is going to dress you on the day so they can get all the top tips from a pro on how to dress and rock your gown all day! This is also the time to try on your accessories for that final pre “I DO” look!
We certainly do – Everything can be taken off the peg so if you have your eye on a dress from our website then give us a call and book in early to ensure the dress is still here- its advised not to leave it too long as buying off the peg is becoming more “normal” and we rarely replace the style once its gone.
We do not. We give all customers ordering a new gown a 7 day cooling off period (unless a rush order is done) but once items have been ordered we are contractually obligated to receive it and pay the designer. The dresses and most accessories are classed as special orders and made to your colour and size requirements so once they are ordered and made they are yours so take the time to get it right and do not order something if you are unsure.
We want all of our brides to LOVE their bridal look and we are not “pushy” sales people. We would rather you had two appointment’s to be sure then feel rushed or pressured and make a mistake. Its perfectly normal for any bride to doubt her choice (ask any other bride) but with our experience and listening skills your dress choice will be your own, the one that gets you excited and lights you up inside!
We offer one months free storage, fully insured once your dream dress arrives from the designer!
We offer storage and insurance for all gowns that are in the alterations process from the first fitting until the last.
Some months we can receive up to 60 wedding dresses and our space and insurance only allows us to hold a certain number of wedding dresses at any given time. It is a constant rotation that has to be managed carefully to ensure that all the dresses are kept in pristine condition whilst they are waiting to be collected. If you have concerns about storing your gown then please discuss this with us.
Your bridal journey starts the minute you say yes to your perfect person. Your bridal GOWN journey starts from saying yes to the dress!
Typically, once you have found your dream dress we will order your gown and wait for it to arrive (10-26 weeks).
Once its received from the designers we will e-mail you to invite you in for a collection appointment where you can try it on again, play with accessories and fall in love all over again before taking her home!
Your collection appointment is also when we will help you plan your alterations and discuss your requirements and timescales so you understand the next stages and are fully prepared.
Wedding dresses need to be kept at home safe in the bag (or storage box) until they are ready to be altered by a seamstress.
At around 8-12 weeks before the big day (eeeeek) you’ll be looking to start your alterations journey with a seamstress and have your dream dress ready to fulfil its destiny about 2-4 weeks before!