I'd like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to good Wedding Dress Shops in the UK. A little shop in Nuneaton really came through for me THE DAY BEFORE MY WEDDING when my custom made dress was held up in Customs [my mother was supposed to come and bring it, but my Nana fell ill and almost died, so obviously she didn't make it].
We had to leave town by 2pm to head up to Scarborough to greet guests arriving at the hotel, and after spending the entire morning on the phone with Royal Mail and then finding out there was no way I could physically go in and get it [even though it had arrived], I went to the little shop in hysterical tears with my husband and his mate and I think my Mother in Law.
Obviously, I had maybe an hour or less to find a perfect dress, and it had to fit as is. I was fully prepared to be sitting up all night altering it myself on the eve of my wedding, and my MIL was on the mobile calling around to see who we knew in Yorkshire with a sewing machine.
It was an Autumn Wedding, so first I tried on about 10 long sleeved dresses, most which looked similar to what I had designed. There were maybe two that looked good, but my favorite was like a size 20 or something, and at the time I was about a 14, so that was out. Then the sales lady said, 'Well, you know, over in the clearance section we have some out of season dresses. I know you said your wedding was going to be outside, so I don't know how we'll keep you warm, but maybe you can try on a few?'
So off I go to the clearance, but dresses in or near my size were far and few between. Some, overly bedazzled, and others just plain not my style. Finally, someone pulled a sleeveless number off the rack [honestly, i can't remember who, there were at least four people looking besides me], and said, 'This is PERFECT'. I didn't think so, but I gave in and tried it on. Fit like a GLOVE. Exactly right in the chest, waist, and length. And it was gorgeous. It suited my shoes [ballet flats, thank god, because if I'd planned on wearing heels it would have been too short], my jewelry and my veil. Besides my puffy from crying face, I looked like an angel.
About 3 seconds later, the sales lady appeared out of nowhere with a wrap/shawl thingy which looked like it was made for my dress.
The price tag on that dress was £1200, and another £150 for the lacy shawl thingy. I almost cried again. Then the lady said 'This rack is 75% off, but I will give you the dress for £100, and throw in the wrap as it's an emergency.' My husband's mate bought it for me as a wedding gift, and off we went to the house to get our things. By the time we were ready to leave town [about an hour late], she had the dress steamed and bagged and ready to go.
It couldn't have been more perfect. And I'm so glad it happened as it did, because when my original dress arrived the sleeves were too small. Now my girls will have three wedding dresses to choose from if they want to wear mine. US wedding, UK wedding, and Emergency UK dress. All with great stories
