The Bridal Cottage Blog

Last January, we wrote a blog about shopping online for your wedding dress.  Since the blog, not only are we hearing more online warnings coming from our designers, we have personally encountered many unhappy brides in our store who thought they were buying a designer dress online and come to find out, it was a fake.

The Bridal Cottage, along with the American Bridal and Prom Industry (ABPI), are dedicated to informing brides of these counterfeit websites. The ABPI pledges to provide online counterfeit awareness, consumer education and preservation of the bridal and special occasion industry.  They have been one of the front runners in trying to stop these websites from selling counterfeit bridal gowns, prom and social occasion dresses.  On November 20th of last year, in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Bridal and Prom Industry Association, a US District Court “entered a Temporary Restraining Order enjoining and restraining the websites.” Hopefully, this will help.

We want you to find your perfect dress…exactly what you have always dreamed about.  We want to share that “ah-ha” moment with you as you are surrounded by your friends and family.  And we want you to have this amazing dress in the budget you have set for yourself.  You CAN find a real designer wedding dress for minimal cost in a local bridal boutique like The Bridal Cottage. 

This is taken from our January blog:

Yes, setting a budget for yourself is very important.  You can find a gown at ANY price, but what are YOU going to be comfortable in spending?  Just remember, no matter what your budget is, there is a beautiful dress out there for you.

But be careful on how far you take your budget.  Online shopping is part of everyday life now.  However, there are many websites out there that are featuring amazing wedding gowns by top designers for minimal cost.  Yes, it’s great for your budget!  But is it worth the risk?

The risk is that these companies are not actually selling these designer dresses. Designer dresses are not sold online. And we have seen time and time again, that the dream dress you thought you ordered, well, it’s not anything what you expected.

If you are thinking about taking a risk, why not take your risk on us first?  

Check out this news story on counterfeit wedding dresses from Inside Edition:

And some pictures of fake designer dresses...guess which are the real ones!!