Has anyone else been to G and L? I went today and the staff seem lovely but I was a little dissapointed with the changing area. You seme to have the try your dresses on in the same room that all the dresses are in, its not private at all! Its a shame as thye have gorgeous dresses but I don't want loads of people seein gme trying on my dress I want it to be private between me and my mum and nan. Can anyone recommend other dress shops in essex?
X

[Modified by: snowflake55 on 03 July 2009 22:26:40 ]

Hi Snowflake55,

I'm from Essex and actually ended up buying my dress from G&L. BUT only because the dress was £300 cheaper than anywhere else! I really didn't like the shop though!

I originally went to lakeside (have to pay £25) bridal shop and to be honest- they were absolutely excellent. I'll try and find out the girl i saw. She was so honest- but listened to me also. And I found my dream dress after 5 dresses! I couldn't recommend them high enough. It is cheeky you have to pay. But i also visited 2 shops in brentwood (for bridesmaid dresses) and the lay out/service was rubbish compared to Lakeside so its well worth paying out.

Bear in mind though my dress in lakeside cost £1500. In C'ford £1200. So if you find your dream dress it may be worth shopping around for cost reasons! (Lakeside also change the name of the dress!)

Hope this helps

xxxx

Hi Snowflake, I just bought my dress from The Wedding Shop in Colchester. It's a bit cramped but in a very cosy way and the staff there were so friendly and enthusiastic, I'd definitely recommend giving them a try.

I don't know how much their standard pricing is but they gave me a 10% discount just for asking so worth giving it a go!

I love G&L and brought my dress from them they are so helpful, and have always gone out of there way to help me. I have already had my first fitting and have my second one on the 01/08. I then pick my dress up on the 15th for the folowing weekend.

I think you are going to find it hard to find a dress shop where you have private room. Every shop I went to I went into the changing room and then came out onto the shop floor or a floor where there where other brides also trying on dresses/ or brides looking can see you.

I went to Bellissima weddings in south woodham ferris, that is more private but you still have the changing room with other brides around you, but not with all the dresses. They have lots and lots of dresses to choose from.

http://www.bellissimaweddings.co.uk/index.asp

Good luck

I'm going to G and L today - we had a look around at the dresses a while back, and I felt really bad for the bride who was trying some on. We left quite quickly. Got my mum, mil2b and 2 BM's coming (crikey!) so they can shield me from prying eyes - haha!

Also going to Pronuptia after - I think it's slightly larger but not private changing areas. Will let you know later.

I've been into the Lakeside one - they're so rude!! Just ignored me and then looked me up and down - I didn't bother to make an appointment.

Oh no tronkski- so sorry you had a bad experience in Lakeside! Hope you get on well today in G&L!

MrsBartlett2be- odd question, but how many months before your wedding did you go for your fitting? I ordered my dress last october (wedding is not until 01 May 2010) but we're living overseas (and have been since last october) and i really can't remember when they said for me to book my first dress fitting?

xxx

thanks for the advice ladies! On ehre I have heard really bad reviews about the lakeside shop which is why i have been a bit hesitant about going there! especially as they charge i think that is terrible!!! I do like the ladies in G&L and perhaps i am being a little too fussy expecting beautiful changing rooms i guess i jsut have a picture in my head of what it would be like and nowhere will really match up to it!!!
Would love to know how u get on at G and L so keep us updated!!!
xx

Bellissma in SWF was brill, I would really recommend them but as others have said I would shop around. I found my dream dress in there but then I found Blushing Brides in Witham that sold it a bit cheaper and their alterations were a lot less so I went there.

They were really helpful as well, the shop is not as new as Bellissma but the ladies were lovely and you do get a big changing room all to yourself so maybe you could try that one!
good luck
x

[Modified by: purplemrs on July 04, 2009 11:35 AM]

i brought my dress from grace and lace in chelmsford.
i vistited pronuptia in romford, dianne silverosa in rayleigh, precious moments in rayleigh, special occasions in stanford le hope, gettin hitched in wickford and i walked in to confetti and lace in lakeside and straight back out again.

running theme in all of the shops?? changing rooms on the shop floor. i preferred grace and lace as its a beautiful shop with gorgeous selection of dresses and the shop felt more 'bridal' than any of the others.
the staff were lovely (esp erin) and most of all they had my dream dress! lol

i think you should def give them another go. wherever you do go i would recommend having a weekday appointment if possible as its generally quieter therefore, your less likely to be on 'show' infront of everyone else! lol

however, i know its not always possible. my mum is a teacher so we could only go at weekends. G&L norm do hour appointments and usually arrange it so that there is no more than 2 brides in at the same time - therefore your less likely to feel on show in front of everyone.

bear in mind that with most shops they are quite small/dont have large area for coming out of the changing room so be wary of how many ppl you take with you when trying dresses on.

it was recommended to me that you take 1 person with you at a time - 2 at most, otherwise the shop gets cluttered up with ppl.
i took my mum 1st time, then my bm, then my mum and bm, then my mil, then my mum and then my mum and bm again! lol

another good thing about g&l actually - i tried my dress on 5 times before buying it! lol
no problems!

good luck!

Hi, I bought my dress from Matchmakers in Brentwood and everyone there was wonderful - all soo helpful and I must be the most undecisive bride ever! They only see 2 brides at one time and you have your own area/mirror etc. The changing room wasnt big (but adequate) but the shop had lots more room to walk around in the dresses than some. Went to a shop in Rayleigh and there were 6 (yes 6) brides trying on and only ONE mirror, we had to take turns so difficult to concentrate as you obviously keep looking at the other brides and seeing what theyve choosen while waiting your turn at the mirror!! Best if possible to go during the week to any shop as its less busy than a Saturday if you want some privacy. Good luck,
x

Just returned home from dress shopping - wowzers I'm exhausted!

Went to G and L first - they were so lovely. Made me feel really comfortable straight away - the lady I saw was so helpful. I didn't really know what I was looking for so I chose a couple and she did - she picked 2 absolute stunners which blew me away!! I was the only bride at my time so had plenty of space to walk around and hog the mirror. She also didn't ever come into the changing room while I was undressed which I was relieved about. I loved the whole experience here and they were so friendly and complimentary. Completely professional.

Then went to Pronuptia. Wasn't welcomed as warmly but the girl who helped was friendly enough. Didn't enjoy my experience as much, as didn't find anything that wowed me. The dresses I did like, were too small to try on. She was also in the changing room with me so got to see my belly!! Argh. There was a few other brides at the same time so fighting for mirror space. But 2 of my friends have got their dresses here, so I think it is good, just didn't have what I was after.

So now I've got one dress on my possible dress - I'm not sure I'll ever have the 'one' though. There are a couple of other shops near the train station but I haven't heard anything about them.

Try Couture Bride and Groom in Moulsham St, Chelms. I'm getting mine from there. They have lots of choice and are really helpful. They have a nice separate, private area for trying on dresses on your own with a sofa for mums etc. (I'd make an appt) and both Alison & Sandy (daughter & mum) who run it are lovely!

Nic in SL I ordered my dress October 08 and they said it would be in May for my August 09 wedding. It actually got there right at the begining of March. I could have had my first fitting then but the norm is 3 months before which would be May for me. But I was so busy May and the begining of June I had my fitting at the end of June. Still plenty of time, and I had lost weight so it needed altering. The T&C's say we highly reccomend having fittings on weekdays but as my mum lives in Brighton and I wanted her to be with me I had it on a saturday ( i said let the first be a Saturday and the rest will be weekdays). When I went to book my next appointment I said ok weekday Erin turned round and said shhh I will give you a saturday at 9am so my mum could be with me. I thought that was so nice of her. I didnt choose the dress Erin did as I was putting dresses on and keept saying like the bodice not the skirt and vice versa, so she asked me what I liked about certain dresses and then she came back with this huge pink dress slung over her shoulder. I thought OMG what has she got, but when I put it on, mum cried and nothing else compared to it. Like the new Mrs Harrison I tried my dress on 5 times before I decided. I had such a hard time picking the colour.. Ivory gold or pink. They had no problem with me going back and forth trying the dress on until I was comfortable with the colour I wanted.

My friends sister went to Matchmaker in Brentwood and ordered her Bm dresses and her dress. They have had so much trouble. The BM dresses they ordered where too small for one of the Bm's They measured her wong then blammed it on my friend (the BM) saying well you said you where on a diet. She has already lost 2 stone. And said yes I was but you measured me and I said get the size I was then I will take it in. They where so unhelpful and had her in tears for a week. The 2 bms may have had to wear different dresses. In the end after a lot of tears and a very undelpful shop assistant they managed to get another one that she had to pay an extra amount for. Thats a stress you dont need xx

Another vote here for Belissima in South Woodham Ferrers. I found my dress there when shopping with my MIL2B, and they were lovely there, good space for getting changed and a good range of dresses. I didn't buy it from there though (sorry belissima!!) as i live in brighton so managed to find it closer to home.
Also diane silverosa was great, not the same experience, no appointments so its a free for all and communal changing room but they have millions of dresses, so if you want to try lots of different styles and not be rushed i'd def recommend it. Don't worry about people seeing you changing, they see all shapes and sizes all the time. i'm sure they're concentrating on helping you find your dress, not what you look like in your underwear!!! Try some more and enjoy! I LOVE my dress but would love to do the whole searching thing all over again!!!

Hi snowflake,

I have visited a few bridal shops in the last couple of months, and there is a new shop opened in Rochford called Purple Rose, the lady (teri?) that I saw in there was so lovely and helpful. It is not a massive shop, but is very clean and tidy and rather quirky. :) I have my eye on a dress that I saw in there, but just want my Mum to have a look first.

They did have a sale on in there when I went in a couple of weeks ago.

p.s. have just found their website www.purpleroseonline.com. hope this is of some help. x

Bellissima in south wooden ferries is amazing - huge choice and lovely staff.

Another one that I went to which is small but again the staff were amazing, is Bird's Bridal in Chelmsford.

I personally didnt like the staff in grace and lace as every dress i pulled out they just said - oh no with your shape that wouldnt suit you - its far too slim fitting for you. Im only a size 12 so was quite insulted! maybe they were just having a bad day?

I recommend Hilary B in Colchester the staff are incredible really fantastic!! I went to Belissima and the girl who served me originally was really nice, can't say much for the other staff though, one was rolling her eyes and obviously getting peed off as a girl couldn't make a decision there and then! That put me off quite a bit! But the girl I saw was lovely! Have been to quite a few of the shops and I don't think that anyone came near the experience I had in Hilary B xx Happy shopping xx

I'm thinking about visiting Hilary B so that's good to hear. I'm planning to visit lots of shops - I've got 18 months so might as well make the most of the chance to wedding dress shop.

I really like the look of Essense dresses - I think they're available in The Wedding Shop, Colchester and just seen another shop in Bishops Stortford that sells them.

I live in Braintree and there's a wedding shop here called Nuala's - wouldn't recommend it. Haven't actually been in but everyone walks past laughing at the dresses in the window. I don't think they stock a particular designer - they make them all. Anyone else seen it?

I haven't seen the shop but will keep an eye out as I must only been down the road from you!!! I haven't heard very good things about Sincerity in Colchester! I love Hilary B they rule :) x