Yes I’ve done it – I’ve gone out to bought my wedding dress from Pronovias. I know there are cliches about how you know its “the dress” and its true!! I was just red with excitement when I bought it.

There was a sample sale this weekend and I went without thinking much of it. I’ve never heard of Pronovias before and so I didnt even bother to remind my cousin about my booking. Pronovias is a spanish designer and they have about 600 stores in the US and Europe. They have a branch at New Bond Street, sandwiched between Bond Street and Oxford Street. Its just a few streets away from Bond Street station, near the Next Shop there. 

The address is :
Pronovias
94 New Bond Street
London W1

Tel: 0207 518 8470
Email: info@pronovias.es
Website: www.pronovias.co.uk

As I walked in, I actually saw a beautiful dress on display. Not bad eh? I also saw three brides with dresses they bought that day which made me think that there were some good bargains. After checking my name, they let me go downstairs. Its actually a pretty small room with stacks and stacks of dresses. They all looked huge because they were listed size 14 or Size 12. One of the attendants said that size 6-12 were all along the sides. I picked three dresses, one reminded me of the Monique Lhullier scarlet dress because it had a cut away back. 

The first dress I tried on was Elle Saab and it was a bit strange because there were so many sequins. I think theres a rule about not wearing sequins in day time or else it looks tacky. Also, it was very tight on top and made me really uncomfortable. Here are some photos I sneaked:

It’s a mermaid shape gown with tulle and lace appliques.

For more professional pictures, here are the official ones:

Um ignore the ugly bolero jacket!

The best part is that since it was a sample sale, I ended up with a whopping 75% discount. Also, when I got to the cashier, they found out that they had mispriced it because they thought it was 70% off and they had the original price wrong so they took another 100 pounds off!! Yippeeee…. but then I was reminded of alterations costs and dry cleaning costs which will probably come up to another 500 pounds So brides beware and remember these costs. 

I only felt a little sad that my bridesmaids were not there today as two are overseas and two had a family trip. I got so excited I called my cousin (the designer) and he asked me if I was touching the dress and if it felt like the right one. There were loads of girls with parents and siblings and bridesmaids and I was alone in the corner making my big decision. I think the sales assistant was feeling sorry for me because she gave me a big hug  - a big suprise in the British culture. Maybe she was happy about the commission she would receive but even after I bought the dress, she was really pleased I bought that dress and squeezed my arm. I’ve only ever found this level of friendliness in America. Am I becoming too british because I found this a teeny bit strange? Maybe she was just a very sweet person  

My other bridesmaid, Pauline, came back from the family trip and on the way home came to look at my dress. She helped me put the clips on as the dress was huge and she said it was gorgeous. She also suggested that I wear a corset like her other friend. My fiance kept asking me what she thought. I will not allow him to see the dress before the wedding so this is the only way he has some clues about the dress. I’ve also deleted the pictures off the phone – girls do the same because he might see them by mistake. 

Tah dah… so what do you think? xxx