Thursday, December 18, 2008

Are Chinese Online Wedding Dress Stores a Good Idea

Have you found it a challenge to get the wedding dress of your dreams in today’s economy? Many women are finding it harder and harder to afford the wedding gown they really want. This has led them to looking at lower cost alternatives. Online shopping for wedding dresses has become more popular. With the rise of online bridal gown sales, the introductions of Chinese wedding dress sites have cropped up. If you read the reports during the Olympics about fraud ticket websites then you know that Chinese websites are riddled with fraud.

Top 6 Reasons why not to buy from Chinese wedding gown sites

The first reason is the shipping can take months. You have enough to worry about with planning your wedding then to worry if your dress is going to show up. Knowing your wedding gown is taken care of and safe and secure in hand is one less worry that you don’t need.

Many women have found that the dress they thought they were getting from the photo is not the dress when it arrives. You are now stuck with a dress you didn’t order and not the dress that you have been dreaming about. Many Chinese wedding dress sites steal their photos from legitimate online stores and have no professional photos of their own.

Returns on Chinese made wedding dresses can be a nightmare. If you can get them to take it back it all you will still need to pay the overseas shipping rates. You can almost buy a new dress for what it takes to ship back a wedding dress that had tears, missing items, or the wrong dress all together.

Your wedding dress is a symbol of your new life you are starting. Many wedding gowns made from websites in China are of poor quality. The last thing you want is for your precious gown to fall apart. The extra money it takes to fix up your dress makes it not the bargain you once thought it was.

I have heard real people complain that they never got their dress at all. This is the ultimate in betrayal and a real problem with Chinese wedding gown sites. No part in your dream of a wedding starts with no chance and makes going with Chinese dresses a real risk.

The final issue is the overall language barrier. If you have ever been frustrated by talking to a customer service person from India, imagine communicating the right size and alterations with someone that doesn’t speak anything like you do. The language barrier makes it #1 reason why it is so hard to get the exactly what you want from a Chinese bridal dress shop.

Chinese wedding dress stores online are risky. Your best bet if you need to find an affordable high quality dress in your price range is to chose and American based online wedding store.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Wedding Dresses: Avoiding Gown Malfunctions

Talk to a single girl about wedding dresses and you're sure to get an earful of must-haves. They talk about fairy princess gowns, expensive brocade, and unique gowns meant only for them. When it's time for them to get their bridal gown, they fall down to earth with a bang.

Gown Malfunction

The thought of slipping or struggling into an ill-fitting wedding dress or tuxedo is everybody's nightmare, worse than fending off Freddy Krueger on Elm Street. Those heavenly wedding dresses and tuxedos you've seen on rows and rows of racks can become disasters if you don't make sure that alterations are carried out to perfection.

This is true if you've hastily ordered a gown on eBay or inherited a wedding gown from your grandmother's heyday. Reputable bridal shops have experienced modistes who will do the alterations and beadwork by hand. Their experience with wedding dresses won't have you ending up with tight chested gowns with tight armholes.

Other bridal dresses disasters including popping buttons, shrunk gowns, improper accessories, inappropriate undergarments, a zipper that won't close, and a tiara that does not look right with the gown. And these are discovered on the wedding day!

Avoiding Gown Disasters

Usually the gown is selected a year or six months before the wedding because several things can happen in-between. It's better to get a gown six months ahead, instead of a year. These helpful tips are products of years of wedding gown disasters handed from one bride to another.

Rules to go by for the perfect wedding gown:

* Don't get pregnant.
* Watch your weight.
* Follow a strict beauty regimen.

When shopping for the gown, don't let your groom, sister, bridesmaids and your mom tag along. Instead, choose one or two friends and your mom to go with to check out the wedding dresses on the rack. You can start the great hunt with a picture or photo cut-out of a wedding gown that has caught your fancy.

Other tips to follow:

* Don't get a gown with a long train if you have no handler. Although it looks romantic and gorgeous, having a long bridal train can be disastrous if you have no handler or someone to attend to the train whenever you move.

* Make sure the gown has the correct hem. During the fitting, bring the shoes with the right height so the hem can be adjusted accordingly.

* Wear the proper brassiere or corset for the perfect fit during the fitting.

* While fitting, choose the right veil, gloves, crinolines, and other wedding accessories at the same shop.

* Choose the right accessories to enhance the look of your gown.

* Fittings should take place 8 weeks before the wedding, and check the zippers and the buttons when the gown is delivered.

* If it can be arranged, have a fitting a week before the wedding.

* Have your bridal photo session and dress rehearsal two days before the wedding.

Remember that the wedding dresses reflect the tastes and personality of the bride, so make your choice, but listen to some comments or advice from the resident designer of the bridal shop. They have something to say to help you avoid those wedding gown disasters.

Wedding dresses make the bride, so do not rush and regret those wedding gown booboos.

Wedding Dresses - How to Buy Dreamy Wedding Gowns Online

Wedding dresses are literally the icing on the cake on every bride's wedding day. You can find perfect wedding gowns online, or simply brainstorm which style of wedding dresses to start looking for as you narrow down your search.

First you need to determine which types of wedding dresses are right for you.

Your wedding dress should tell the world exactly who you are. After all, this is YOUR day, and your wedding gown is the key way that you share yourself with your wedding guests — and, of course, your husband-to-be.

By now, you've likely given some thought as to what kind of wedding you would like to have: traditional, informal or a theme wedding, perhaps.

Here are some general guidelines:

In formal weddings, brides generally wear long white/cream-colored wedding dresses and a veil, perhaps a train and, of course, gloves.

In semi-formal weddings, brides generally wear long white/cream-colored wedding dresses, a veil and gloves if desired.

In informal weddings, brides have more flexibility. They can wear wedding gowns of any color — short or long — or even a suit.

What about theme weddings? Here you should decide first on the theme and then on the formality of the wedding you've always wanted to have. Only then is it time to shop for wedding dresses and wedding accessories to determine which ones match your theme!

As you can see, the most important aspect to consider when selecting wedding dresses is your own sense of style.

For specifics on what's appropriate to wear for each type of wedding, I recommend Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette, which devotes an entire chapter to wedding dresses and other fashion dos and don'ts, or Vera Wang on Weddings, in which Wang shares her vast fashion expertise with you as you plan your wedding. Both can be purchased from any major online bookstore and have great tips on buying wedding dresses.

How can you purchase wedding dresses online?

The Internet can be a tremendous help when you're looking for wedding gowns and have a tight wedding budget. And let's face it — most of us do have to keep the bottom line in mind when we plan the most important day of our romantic lives.

After you have given some thought to the type of wedding you want to have, I recommend that you:

  • Look through bridal magazines and check out your options by flipping through the pages to see which wedding dresses are available in your area.
  • Go to local bridal stores and try on wedding gowns.
  • Look online to see what other wedding dresses are available to you. In case you're uncertain about buying wedding gowns from an online vendor, bear in mind that there really are online bridal shops that deliver the same level of service as regular stores.
  • Compare the in-store price to the Internet dress stores to find out which is the better deal. Many online stores offer you discount wedding dresses because of their vastly reduced overhead costs!
  • Narrow down your search to a handful of wedding dresses that make your final cut.

When you've gone through all these steps, you're certain to have accessed all the wedding dresses available to you -- and you will very likely save your hard-earned money if you end up finding discount wedding dresses available only from an Internet vendor.

Good luck with your search! Though it might seem daunting at first, if you follow these tips, you'll be well on your way to finding a beautiful range of perfectly elegant wedding dresses.