Many brides in today’s technologically driven and budget conscious world, are highly motivated to save as much as possible, and turn to buying a “look-alike” (a.k.a. knock-off) dress from an online store at a drastic discount. (Please note, there is a difference between an online retailer that sells stock pieces that various authorized boutiques across the country no longer need, and an online retailer that "recreates" the designs of various labels. In this blog, we are referring to the latter.)
The House of the Bride, having been in the bridal business for 28 years and having seen the complete disasters unauthorized online retailers cause, is here to tell all brides, DON’T DO IT!
The House of the Bride is NOT in any way, shape, or form opposed to saving money or getting a good deal on a dress, quite the opposite in fact. You will find that The House of the Bride has the lowest prices on all wedding gowns and bridesmaids gowns of any legitimate retailer around, and if we don’t we will meet or beat any other retailer’s prices, including stores in the Atlanta, Savannah, Columbia, Greenville, Charleston, and Jacksonville areas. We just don’t want to see brides distraught over something that should be a very happy event.
The unauthorized online retailers offer gowns that could retail for $5000 or more for $300. We know that a discount that deep is almost too good to pass up, but they are usually too good to be true. They say that they are able to keep costs down by making the dresses in their own factories (i.e. the dress IS a knock-off), and they do not have physical stores or have to hire sales consultants (no customer service). The dresses from these online retailers are not of the same quality fabrics. For example, the Amsale dress you fell in love with at the store was a BEAUTIFUL silk taffeta with hand sewn Alencon lace. The “Amsale” dress you will get online will be bleached taffeta with factory manufactured lace. The workmanship of the dresses is also a ghastly comparison. Dresses from the designer will take 3-6 months to make, will be beautifully sewn, actually have liners, and won’t fall apart as you walk down the aisle. None of the same can be said for the online retailers. These online retailers make the dress in 3-6 WEEKS. The careful consideration and effort that goes in to every dress from the designer just isn’t there with the online retailers that make their own dresses.
Moral of the story: It is worth the peace of mind, knowing that everything will be taken care of for you, to get a high-quality dress from an established, customer service oriented, authorized, retailer. Your wedding day is very important. Those dealing with your dress should think so too.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
BLOWOUT SALE
The House of the Bride will be hosting a BLOWOUT SALE on Saturday, May 1st from 10am to 4pm. If you've seen Say Yes to the Dress, you've seen Kleinfelds' blow out sale. We are doing the same thing!
Here are a few designers that will be in our Blowout Sale:
Augusta Jones
Alvina Valenta
Melissa Sweet
Christos
Amsale
Sincerity
... And many, many more!
Blowout Sale Rules:
1) First come, first serve. No holding dresses.
2) Dresses must be paid IN FULL at the time of purchase AND taken with you.
3) All dresses are sold AS IS.
This is a great opportunity for a bride to get a fabulous couture gown at an amazing price!
Here are a few designers that will be in our Blowout Sale:
Augusta Jones
Alvina Valenta
Melissa Sweet
Christos
Amsale
Sincerity
... And many, many more!
Blowout Sale Rules:
1) First come, first serve. No holding dresses.
2) Dresses must be paid IN FULL at the time of purchase AND taken with you.
3) All dresses are sold AS IS.
This is a great opportunity for a bride to get a fabulous couture gown at an amazing price!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Your First Bridal Appointment
The love of your life has presented you with a sparkling promise of his life-long commitment to you. You gasp and somehow manage to get a single word out, amidst a racing mind and an even faster heart beat, "Yes!" You kiss and laugh, call all of your friends and family... and then, the most important question to any woman pops into your head, "What am I going to wear?"
That's where we come in! The following will answer a few questions on your first bridal appointment. Let us know if your particular question is not answered!
"When should I come in?"
Make your appointment to look for wedding gowns NO LATER than 6-8 months out if at all possible. It is much more preferable, and will take a lot of stress off of you, if you have chosen your gown 8-12 months away from your wedding. Of course, there are always tricks up our sleeves and strings that can be pulled for weddings that are less than 6 months out, but the more time we have the better.
"Why would I need to have chosen my dress so far away from my wedding date?"
Dresses are not hanging in a warehouse somewhere, waiting for an order to pick them. Outside of samples for retail store stock, wedding dresses are not made until a customer has ordered the dress. On average it takes 3-6 months from the order date to get the dress in the store. Then you want to alot AT LEAST 2 full months from your first alterations fitting to your first wear date. Your wear date will either be your wedding day, or if you are having portraits done before the wedding day, your portrait day. Most girls have their portraits up to a month before the wedding date so that needs to be taken into consideration as well.
"What do I need to bring with me to my appointment?"
- A strapless if you prefer to wear your own. We do provide them if needed.
- An idea of the way you want to look and how your wedding will be, i.e. venue, time, theme... A dress you would get for a December, evening, candlelight service in a church may be very different from a dress you would get for a May afternoon wedding in your back yard.
- An idea of how much you are willing to spend on your wedding gown. Apparal is usually recommended to be 10% of your over all budget, but that is not a hard and fast rule. It is usually recommended to prioritize portions of your wedding. For example, if it is important to you to have an amazing band, you may want to put more money towards that and not have top shelf drinks. If it is important to you to have the gown of your dreams, it may be worth it to up the 10% rule to 15% and forego the 3 foot tall chocolate fountain, but that will be up to you and those paying.
- One or two people whose opinion you value and trust. It is human nature to want the approval of those who mean the most to you, but pick one or two, like maybe Mom and Sister, at least for the initial appointment. The more people you add to the mix, the more opinions you add, which can make it very confusing. **These people should also respect and value your opinion and your desires for your dress.** Once you have it narrowed down to maybe 2 dresses that you can't decide between, that may be the time to bring in 1 other person, like Dad, Grandmother, or Best Friend, to break the tie.
- An open mind. It is always good to come in having looked at bridal magazines and have an idea of what you like and what you don't. This will help the consultant get a feel for your goals and your personality. However, don't limit yourself to only trying on one shape of gowns, because that's what you think you like. Experienced Bridal Consultants, like those at the House of the Bride, usually have a good eye for the type of gowns that will look good on your body type. Our job is to combine what flatters your figure, with what you tell us you want, and keep it all in the price range that you are comfortable with. If we come in with a ball gown, and you really think you want a mermaid, just humor us. It's all for fun, and you only get to try on wedding gowns once!
Please do not hesitate to call if you have any other questions, we are always here to help!
House of the Bride
That's where we come in! The following will answer a few questions on your first bridal appointment. Let us know if your particular question is not answered!
"When should I come in?"
Make your appointment to look for wedding gowns NO LATER than 6-8 months out if at all possible. It is much more preferable, and will take a lot of stress off of you, if you have chosen your gown 8-12 months away from your wedding. Of course, there are always tricks up our sleeves and strings that can be pulled for weddings that are less than 6 months out, but the more time we have the better.
"Why would I need to have chosen my dress so far away from my wedding date?"
Dresses are not hanging in a warehouse somewhere, waiting for an order to pick them. Outside of samples for retail store stock, wedding dresses are not made until a customer has ordered the dress. On average it takes 3-6 months from the order date to get the dress in the store. Then you want to alot AT LEAST 2 full months from your first alterations fitting to your first wear date. Your wear date will either be your wedding day, or if you are having portraits done before the wedding day, your portrait day. Most girls have their portraits up to a month before the wedding date so that needs to be taken into consideration as well.
"What do I need to bring with me to my appointment?"
- A strapless if you prefer to wear your own. We do provide them if needed.
- An idea of the way you want to look and how your wedding will be, i.e. venue, time, theme... A dress you would get for a December, evening, candlelight service in a church may be very different from a dress you would get for a May afternoon wedding in your back yard.
- An idea of how much you are willing to spend on your wedding gown. Apparal is usually recommended to be 10% of your over all budget, but that is not a hard and fast rule. It is usually recommended to prioritize portions of your wedding. For example, if it is important to you to have an amazing band, you may want to put more money towards that and not have top shelf drinks. If it is important to you to have the gown of your dreams, it may be worth it to up the 10% rule to 15% and forego the 3 foot tall chocolate fountain, but that will be up to you and those paying.
- One or two people whose opinion you value and trust. It is human nature to want the approval of those who mean the most to you, but pick one or two, like maybe Mom and Sister, at least for the initial appointment. The more people you add to the mix, the more opinions you add, which can make it very confusing. **These people should also respect and value your opinion and your desires for your dress.** Once you have it narrowed down to maybe 2 dresses that you can't decide between, that may be the time to bring in 1 other person, like Dad, Grandmother, or Best Friend, to break the tie.
- An open mind. It is always good to come in having looked at bridal magazines and have an idea of what you like and what you don't. This will help the consultant get a feel for your goals and your personality. However, don't limit yourself to only trying on one shape of gowns, because that's what you think you like. Experienced Bridal Consultants, like those at the House of the Bride, usually have a good eye for the type of gowns that will look good on your body type. Our job is to combine what flatters your figure, with what you tell us you want, and keep it all in the price range that you are comfortable with. If we come in with a ball gown, and you really think you want a mermaid, just humor us. It's all for fun, and you only get to try on wedding gowns once!
Please do not hesitate to call if you have any other questions, we are always here to help!
House of the Bride
Monday, March 15, 2010
Very First Blog!!!
Hello All!
This is the House of the Bride's very first blog! We are very excited to now be a part of the online community!
Through this blog, we will be posting little tidbits of useful information on shopping for a bridal gown, dealing with the stress of planning a wedding, wedding etiquette, and any other issues brides in today's world may face.
If there is a topic that YOU would like us to discuss, please let us know!
Also, check us out on facebook!
www.houseofthebride.com
This is the House of the Bride's very first blog! We are very excited to now be a part of the online community!
Through this blog, we will be posting little tidbits of useful information on shopping for a bridal gown, dealing with the stress of planning a wedding, wedding etiquette, and any other issues brides in today's world may face.
If there is a topic that YOU would like us to discuss, please let us know!
Also, check us out on facebook!
www.houseofthebride.com
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