Wedding Forum

[Amelie_Elizabeth]

Hello!

Ok, I've been trying on dresses for about two months now and nothing has really stood out for me. I'm a pretty particular person when it comes to clothes (aren't we all hehe). The look I'm after for my wedding dress is along the lines of a Grace Kelly, classic style. The closest dress I tried on was a Pronovias Eros, which looked beautiful but was $5000 retail - way, way out of my price range.

I've tried on a lot that are strapless (purely because strapless seems to be the bulk of what most bridal boutiques stock) and I've just never really liked strapless gowns that much once I put them on. I'm quite tall and it just makes me look super long from my shoulder to my bust, and makes my back look broad when they are low cut at the back. So far I've tried on 4 Pronovias gowns and 2 Watters and and Eden Rose. Every dress I've tried on that was waisted has looked great. All the Pronovias gowns looked good on, to be honest.

Then I saw this.
http://www.pronovias.us/wedding-gown/dalia2013.html

For me, this is the Holy Grail of dresses. It is perfect. Train? Check. Royal satin? Check. Lace? Check. Sleeves? Check. But it's not stocked anywhere in Australia that I can see, and I'm assuming from the other Pronovias dress I've tried that it would be anywhere from $3000-$5000. Then of course, bridalgown.net came to the rescue. They stock Dalia for $1405 USD in Ivory, $3544 in off-white.
http://www.bridalgown.net/storefrontpro ... =291298420

For starters, why the huge price difference for colour? I'm more of a fan of cream/ivory dresses than white anyway, it just strikes me as a huge markup on the off white and it makes me suspicious? Also, am I crazy for considering this when I have never seen the dress in person? I'm going to see a bridal dressmaker in a few minutes to chat about measurements and sizing. Also, has anyone ordered a Pronovias dress from bridalgown.net before? My wedding is in May next year so will I have enough time for delivery/alterations? Also I'm so scared buying a wedding dress online - especially one I've never seen in person. Am I crazy??

[sweetime]

I'm having a dress made (rather than bought online) that I had never tried on before I decided I wanted that design.
I based it on what I know suits me (a v-neck neckline, rather than straight; straps, not strapless; a-line not mermaid or sheath, etc). If the *style* of dress suits your body then I don't see a problem ordering a dress you haven't tried on before.

That said, the dress looks beautiful and I can't imagine why it wouldn't suit.

Sorry, I can't help on the price difference - perhaps one is discontinued or something?

[Comet1998]

Maybe the off white satin is harder to come by/harder to manufacture than the ivory?? No idea really.

I think you should be fine ordering it from bridalgown.net. They are a reputable company with a lot of great reviews from what I can see anyway.

As sweetime said, if you have tried on that style of gown and know it suits you there will be no reason why this one wont suit you. However, if I were you I would be 100% sure that that is definitely the gown you want and be prepared for the fact that what it looks like on you in your mind may not necessarily be what it looks like on you in person even though the dress style suits you completely (if that makes sense). If you are that particular when it comes to clothing it may just not be worth the risk. (Although you should be able to sell it as a brand new gown & being that it's so cheap compared to here you should be able to make your money back on it. )

Another thing to check is if bridalgown.net is allowed to ship this Pronovias to Australia. There a a lot of brands they are not allowed to ship due to retailers here cracking up about it. I'd say this one should be fine though if there is no one that stocks it in Australia.

[Amelie_Elizabeth]

Thanks guys! And you're right, sweetime, - if I was getting a dress made I wouldn't be able to see it beforehand either. You both make very good points to consider I went and spoke to the dressmaker and she measured me up for a size 8. She said absolute worst case scenario alterations would be about $600-$800, but probably would just need taken in a bit, cups added and a bustle which would be about $200-$300. Well worth buying it online then - even if it WAS available in stores here I'd need about $2000 worth of alterations to make it add up to retail price. She seemed a bit... critical of me buying it online. She said it wouldn't be a real Pronovias it would be a replica. I told her it seems from what I've read they are authentic dresses, and also that I'll make up my own mind about the risks involved, haha! She was a nice lady, though.

So far so good, then! I'm waiting to hear back from Bridalgown.net about the length of the gown, which is my next concern. Also, what sort of colour would ivory be, do you think? My bridesmaid and I discussed the whole way to the dressmaker what the difference between off-white and ivory would be. They both seem like pretty traditional colours though, so I'm not going to stress over that small point hehe. As long as it's not like bright white I'm happy.

As far as being picky about clothes - I guess what I meant was I feel I'm picky about style and cut, not necessarily about little details. I've noticed for the most part bridal boutiques seem to stock a lot of strapless gowns, a lot of drop waist and fishtail type gowns. I understand that because they are popular of course, and they look absolutely gorgeous on a lot of people - just not me But then again, who isn't picky about their wedding dress at the end of the day

Comet1998, I agree with you that I should make sure this is the dress I want, that's really good advice. It feels right at the moment, but I'm going to wait until the weekend to decide if I'm going to order it. I've shown it to a few of my close friends and they've all said it looks like 'me', if that makes sense. How it looks in person will obviously differ to the photo in which it is probably photoshopped, clamped, adjusted meticulously and worn by a stunning model, haha. I will let you know if I decide to order it

[Comet1998]

Yay!!! Sounds like you have really though this through. Good luck and I hope you do order it!!!

As for the dressmaker saying it'd be a replica - bridalgown.net is one of the few that actually sells the genuine article.