So you have trawled the internet, flicked through the latest wedding glossies and finally you have identified a wedding dress designer whose style you adore. You have studied their collections, the previous season and the new up and coming collection. Yes this designer is definitely on your wavelength. Next step is to find your local stockist and book an appointment to try on with your family and friends. Easy right?
Appointment booked!
Along with ‘Team Bride’ you excitedly arrive and scan the shop only to find the dream dress is not there.
So what if the store who stock your preferred designer do not have your dream dress from the designers collection? ALL IS NOT LOST. Most designers offer what is called a loan service, which means they will quite simply loan the desired dress to the shop for a short period of time. This is such a useful service if you just can’t get that one dress out of your head. It means you will have the peace of mind that you tried it on, and you won’t be left wondering if you settled for another dress ( which we do not advise)
Annie by LouLou Bride
This style above was a style we recently loaned from LouLou bridal, which we adored.
The most typical comment we received when we arrange for a loan dress is ‘it’s better than I expected, it’s so nice to see it in real life than on an image online’ most brides would recommend the service as very valuable for their decision making process. Often the detail online isn’t always clear, the colour isn’taccurate and the feel and movement of the garment cannot be assessed in the same way as the real thing!
Pretty floral print, not easy to see online.
A word of advise.
Try calling the shop before hand to make sure they stock the dress you have set your heart on. If they don’t you may want to consider requesting a loan service for your first appointment, so as not to waste your time or the shops valuable appointment slots.
Appreciate ‘that’ dress maybe on loan to another shop and you may have to wait for it to be returned to the designer, checked over and then reposted out to your local boutique. Time is of the essence, so plan ahead.
The sample dresses is likely to only come in one size, most typically a size 12. Designers do not carry samples in lots of sizes.
There is usually a small fee from the designer for the service, but it is money well spent if it’s the one.
What if I don’t like it? Well this can happen but it will have still been a useful exercise otherwise you would have been thinking what if? It would be back to the research for a similar style, or maybe the boutique will be able to recommend another designer they carry.
A success story.
Our bride Claire who had seen this dress online, at the time we didn’t carry it so we arranged the loan service for her.
Last year Claire had contacted us about the Prudie dress by LouLou bride. We didn’t stock this dress but the speedy service from LouLou meant that within a couple of days the dress was with us and Claire’s decision was instant!!!
We loved the dress so much that we do actually stock this style now. Silk organza edged with delicate lace makes the skirt so delightful to wear as it moves so freely. The illusion neckline is flattering and bodice area around the torso is beyond flattering.
All our LouLou dresses can be seen here. And to view our other designers look here.