Purchasing a custom wedding dress inspired by a designer wedding dress is one way to get the designer look without breaking your bank account. Unfortunately, not all replicas are created equal. To avoid the disappointment of an inferior-quality replica wedding dress, follow these hints.
Even replica wedding dresses should be well made. There's no reason to settle for anything less than good quality. When considering whether or not to buy your wedding dress online, a vendor should post pictures of both the inside and outside of the dress. Some of these should be close-up shots, so you can get an idea of the detailing and the quality of the materials.
The inside seams should be neatly finished. Make sure visible seams are straight and not puckered. Look at how the darts, if there are any, are made. Do they look straight and are they positioned evenly on each side? Buttons and zippers should look well-attached to the dress and/or well-sewn into the dress. Most zippers on wedding gowns are hidden. Make sure that the hidden zipper really is hidden. If you have questions about quality, ask the vendor.
Compare your custom wedding dress with the designer's original dress. Some vendors post side-by-side pictures of their version of the dress and the designer's version. Although they will never been exactly the same, they should be very similar in the way the dress is put together and the quality of the fabric.
As in any industry, there are unscrupulous vendors who try to pass off dresses made of cheap materials in the guise of giving you a "below wholesale" deal that is hard to pass up. Even though it's tempting to buy a wedding gown for a rock-bottom price, you may just end up with a wedding dress that is rock-bottom quality, as well. Be careful.
Look at the vendor's website. The level of professionalism put forth by the website is often a good indication of the level of professionalism in sewing your dress. The website is the face of the vendor in the online world. If the vendor has no problem showing the world a website filled with errors, how much care do you think he will have when it comes to making your dress?
A reputable custom wedding dress shop will have several ways for you to contact a real human. Contact forms, email addresses, phone numbers or chat are the usual ways you can get in touch with someone at the company. If these things are hard to find on the site (or non-existent) think twice before buying there.
Use a credit card or online payment processor, such as Paypal, to pay for your custom wedding dress. If the vendor accepts Paypal this is a good indication that the shop is legitimate; Paypal does not tolerate bad sellers and will freeze their accounts in a heartbeat if anything looks fishy.
A quality vendor will send you email photos before the dress is shipped. This is so you can approve its quality and know what you are getting before you open the box on your kitchen table. As much as possible, a customer-oriented shop will understand that you are nervous about purchasing your wedding dress online and will do everything possible to ease your mind and reduce your risk.
In addition, you should know you are buying a replica wedding dress. In other words, you should not think that you are buying an original designer dress inexpensively. The vendor should be completely upfront about that fact. If he tries to pass the dress off as an original, beware.
Pay attention to your feelings about any vendor. If you still have an uneasy feeling about working with a particular vendor after you've done your homework, pay attention to it. Even if you have to spend a little more money to have your perfect designer-inspired custom wedding dress made, it will be worth it in the long run.
