COMMENT: How I discovered that charges for wedding dress appointments are rife

Welcome to The Bride Files - covering all things related to weddings as Laura prepares for her big day.

---

Wedding dress shopping is supposed to be one of the most special shopping experiences of your life. Trying on a selection of different styles before you find the right one. I was lucky enough to visit more than five bridal shops before I found my dress, and each shop had something different to offer. I couldn't imagine being limited to just one store. But that's what's going to happen to future brides in this country as a lot of stores are beginning to bring in charges for appointments. It turns out that one of the shops I visited when I was dress shopping is now charging for appointments with people paying €30 to book in. What has changed in the last six months that they now need to charge? It could be the rise of online dress shopping but, either way, it's a disgrace. I'm okay with booking deposits that are refundable once you arrive, to avoid no-shows, but charging potential customers to have a look in stores is outrageous. A lot of the stores will let you offset the amount against a dress you purchase in their store, but if you were to visit a few shops you would still end up losing money. Some places are charging upwards of €50, so even visiting 5 shops before you settle on a dress means you're down €200. Weddings are expensive enough as it is without this extra cost before the day even begins. Furthermore, it puts a lot of pressure on brides to settle for dresses they might not have gone for usually because they can't afford to pay for more than one or two paid appointments. When I asked online if people were being charged when they went wedding dress shopping I was shocked at how many said they were. One person even said that they were charged €50 to go bridesmaid dress shopping, while another said she was told it would be an extra €50 to find out what dress suited her shape. That's daylight robbery. Sharon from Sharon Gregory Design Studio, in Mallow, Co Cork, told me that they don't charge for appointments but that she can understand why some do. She said:

"I do know some shops do and I can understand why as some brides were making appointments, not turning up or coming in 4 or 5 times still not purchasing and turning out to be waiting time or just in for the laugh. We have a lot of expensive stock and it does stop people just coming in for fun. Because we are outside of the cities people travel to us so I feel a bride is not traveling to me just to pass an hour they are a genuine customer so that is why we do not charge."

Lucky for brides going to Sharon's shop they can escape the charge but it's only a matter of time before everyone is charging.

---

If you have any other advice or if you have a product/company you want to feature on The Bride Files you can get in touch with me through email, [email protected], or on Twitter @LaurHolland.