With 8 months to go until my wedding day I decided to make a few appointments with some bridal shops in Derry to have a look at dresses for my bridesmaids.  Having agreed a few dates with the girls I rang two bridal shops in Derry on the Tuesday and was lucky enough to get appointments for that coming Saturday.  We made our first appointment for 10am with Bridal Elegance in Derry and the second one with Direct Dresses in Derry for 11am.  For those of you who are not familiar with the location of either bridal shop they are located on the outskirts of the main shopping area in Derry and are located within a 5 minute drive of each other.

Having arrived at our first appointment at Bridal Elegance the staff pointed us in the direction of a rail of bridesmaid dresses and told us to go through them at our leisure and set out those that we liked and would like to try on. 

The girls picked out approximately ten dresses to try on.  Most of the dresses on display were only available to try on in one size and colour so it is good if your bridesmaids are different sizes as it will give you a better idea of the style and fit of the dresses.   Having narrowed the choice down to three dresses the staff was able to advice us on which colours were available in which dresses as two of them were stocked by a different brand to the third dress.   Before we left the shop we were pretty certain that we would be selecting one of these dresses as our choice.  Caught up in the excitement of it all I forgot to ask the cost of the dresses and it was only when the lady asked did I want to know I took a mental note.  When we left the shop I asked the girls again which was their preferred dress without disclosing the prices and to my joy they picked the least expensive of the three.  Also before leaving Bridal Elegance the lady took measurements of both the girls so if we decided to go ahead and order the dresses we could do this by phone.

When we arrived at our second appointment with Direct Dresses we were greeted by Elaine.  The first thing she asked us was ‘did we know the style of the dress we were after’ and also if the girls had tried on many dresses to date.  Before I had picked my own wedding dress I had been surfing the net for ideas for bridesmaids and had seen a bridesmaid dress on the Dessy website which I liked.  I knew that Direct Dresses stocked this dress as I had seen it being modeled at a bridal fashion show they done in the An Grianan Hotel in February past so I told Elaine I would like the girls to try on this dress too.  Elaine went through the rail of bridesmaid’s dresses and picked out a number of dresses that fitted our description of what we liked and she also selected a few dresses she thought we might like.

Once the girls started to try on the dresses they realized that they were open to other materials and styles which they had not considered and it just so happened that when they tried on the Dessy dress this was there favorite out of all they had tried on in both shops so the decision was made very quickly. In meeting with Elaine she also asked about my wedding dress and while making our decision on the bridesmaid dresses she advised which bridesmaid dresses would compliment my wedding dress and what colour of dresses and material would suit best taking in the fact that it was going to be a Christmas wedding. 

What I liked about both of these bridal shops is that they did not take any offence to the fact that I had bought my wedding dress from another bridal shop.  I have heard on occasions that some bridal shops refuse to do business with brides-to-be, for bridesmaid’s dresses, if the bride has purchased her wedding dress from another store.

Having paid a deposit on the dresses which was half of the total price we were advised the dresses would be available for collection approximately June/July time.  At this time the girls will get to try on the dresses again and if any adjustments are need Elaine will give us a number for a dressmaker in Claudy who they recommend.

Elaine also suggested that I go onto the Dessy website and order a swatch of my colour so that I can give a piece to the florist, wedding transport providers and groomswear so that we can tie all the colours together.  Having placed the order on the Dessy website the cost including postage and packaging was £22 and I was advised I would receive this within 7-10days.

It is also worth noting that when you purchase your bridesmaid dresses you may involve an extra cost if you require extra length on your dresses or if you need larger sizes, however the bridal shop will be able to advice you on this.

One thing I would suggest in shopping for your bridesmaids dresses is to let your bridesmaids have a say on the style of dress they prefer as after all they are going to be the one wearing the dress and it is important that they feel comfortable and good in the dress.

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