Help! Buy the dress of my dreams or sample!! - Wedding Forum

Thela · #1 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 10:56 AM

Hi all,

I need advice. I've finally found the dress of my dreams! It's an Alan Hannah dress called Artemis. I tried on the sample for the 2nd time last Saturday and decided it was defintely the one. But since the sales lady told me I could specifiy a few things I decided I'd go with a higher neckline, buttons doing up the back and a slimer A line skirt.

Well today the shop calls and says the price will be £1560! But then the shop says that they are putting the sample in the sale this Saturday for £1000!! They said I could get the skirt changed to the slimer A line but I would have to keep the lower neckline thats on the sample and a lace up back.

What should I do?

Cas · #2 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 12:14 PM

depends why you specified the changes in the first place - was it becuase you felt the dress *needed* to be changed or was it just because you were offered the choice and therfore wanted to personalise it slightly? Did you feel the front was too low when you tried it on?

re the lacing up the back, if that's becuase you want to be abel to wear a bra then you coud always get a panel fitted in the back where the lacing does up - my dress laces up the back and I am having one of these panels fitted so that I have a choice of whether to wear a bra or not.

Thela · #3 (**permalink**) 04-07-2006, 12:33 PM

In part I specified changes cause I was told I could and I tried on another dress which had a higher neckline that I preferred. I didn't think it was too low, just preferred it slightly higher.

In regards to the lace and buttons. I preferred buttons cause I thought it would be easier if I had the opportunity of wearing the top half again. i.e. to a party or Xmas do. Plus my chief bridesmaid was a bit hesitate at lacing me up

.

I hadn't even thought about the bra issue with a lace up back!! But at least I have a solution to that now if I go with the sample

Maybe I should mention that my original budget for a dress was £700 but I've tried on loads of dress and keep coming back to this one. My H2B has been very understanding and has said his ok with streching ourselves, but I'm not sure I should be turning down the saving :S

Thela · #4 (**permalink**) 05-07-2006, 06:34 AM

Cas, just wanted to say thanks for your comments yesterday, They rang in my head all last night and really helped me come to a decision about what to do.

So H2B and I had a long chat last night about this and I calmed down quite alot. Yesterday I was fretting quite a lot about what to do after the shop called. We decided that if I want the dress with the alterations then we will pay for it. So no major financial pressure to buy the sample one.

But I'm still considering it. I decided that if I had to buy the dress as is, and their was no option of personalising it. I would have brought it. So thats one thing for the sample. Also the £560 we will "save" (or not have to find) could be put towards one of the other things we have spotted for the wedding but have yet to book till we had all the wedding budget money. We have thought about getting a roulette and Black Jack table for the evening reception as a bit of a luxury. And I thought when looking back on my wedding day will I remember more the little things that the dress didn't have or that fact we had a whole casino thing going on at the reception.

H2B's opinion is that if he was a girl, he would prefer the lacing since I'll never buy an item of clothing that does up like that ever again and so makes it very special for the wedding. His also confident that if I where to wear it again, he could figure out how to do it. But since its a bit closer to my budget maybe if i don't wear the top half again it isn't so bad. The dress closest to my budget that I liked was £850 and that was a one piece.

So conclusion, slightly swaying towards buying sample. So I have an appointment to try it on Saturday at 11am.

I will only buy after: -
1) They confirm that the sample can be altered to fit me properly (if I remember correctly it was a bit big for me).
2) The skirt can be altered (or at least have some of the puffiness taken out)
3) The neckline isn't actually too low. I might get them to put the higher neckline top on underneath the sample one so i can actually see how different they are. Maybe its my mind tricking me that the sample is really low.
4) I want to see the top with the lacing done up properly so I can see what it looks like properly. Or at least focus on it, since I can't remember what it looks like or how the end bits of the lace hang.

KarenE · #5 (**permalink**) 05-07-2006, 01:33 PM

That sounds like a good plan Thela - I hope everything works out for you.

Cas · #6 (**permalink**) 06-07-2006, 05:10 AM

Glad my post made sense, when i re-read it I notice just how atrocious my spelling/typing had been!

Not meaning to throw a spanner in the works but when you re-try the dress on saturday you might like to also ask them how much the alterations they are offering to make for you will cost - dress shops seem to rake in a tidy profit from making alterations to dresses and you don't want to end up forking out as much as you would have for a full price dress!

Trust me - lacing up corsets isn't anywhere near as difficult as it looks, you'll be fine if you want to wear it again in the future (not like you could have done it up without help with the buttons either!)

Hope the fitting goes well and it's as lovely as you remember