Cheap wedding dresses bought online from China - a cautionary tale

When a cheap wedding dress is cheap for a reason.....

Having a fairytale wedding on a budget generally means going for the cheapest option with everything, right? 

Absolutely not. 

I keep reading on forums, brides advising other brides to buy their wedding dress online from China.  The problem with that suggestion is, you get what you pay for. 

When you are only paying a few hundred dollars or less for a wedding dress from China, you cannot expect to get the same silks, satins, organza, tulle or lace used by the original designer of that dress. You are going to get polyester and other man made fabrics that will not sit or flow the same way as the original design. 

I have seen photos of wedding dresses that were meant to have long lace sleeves (think Kate Middleton - the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress) that arrive with elbow length sleeves and so small they look like the dress has been shrunk in a clothes dryer.

The dress when it arrives, invariably needs to be altered, generally adding a minimum of several hundred dollars to the price of the dress. (Our local tailor informed us that it's an average of $500 to alter and at times, remake the entire dress). 

You may have to pay customs duty on the dress as well, adding extra cost on top of that.

So the initial savings on the dress are quickly whittled away by all the extras needed.  

The other issue that I have read on a different forum from a wedding photographer, is that these dresses tend not to photograph well. As the material tends to be cheap polyester, in photos these dresses look like they're made from glad wrap or shrink wrap.  

The ABC had an interesting expose on this issue some time back:  http://tinyurl.com/m9a5uow

Check out this article from the Sydney Morning Herald on 3 February 2013: http://tinyurl.com/bolly7m

Check out this facebook page for more: https://www.facebook.com/KnockOffWD

And this blog post from The Pink Bride - http://tinyurl.com/kxhyh58

On the www.mamamia.com.au forums, one poster related how her friend got scabies from buying a dress from China! 

It's honestly not worth the risk, especially when you can find so many quality alternatives available.

Caveat Emptor as they say - Let the buyer beware

Remember budget means value for your dollar - not cheap.