Had me worried for a while...

I ordered my Justin Alexander dress from Confetti and Lace Lakeside in June 2013. When I tried it on, I was told that the dress would be in the store between three and six months from the point of ordering. The store experience was functional and salesy - be prepared to be firm in saying no to upselling (shoes, veil, bridesmaids dresses etc.).

When I still hadn't heard anything in December 2013, I called the shop, only to be told that dresses normally take six to nine months to arrive, and that as my wedding wasn't until June 2014, they would have put in other orders received after mine if their dates were closer. This seemed quite unfair to me - why should brides who are planning well ahead be disadvantaged by others who give shorter notice? The only reason that I can think of for orders not being placed as they are recieved is cash flow.

I told them that I was getting nervous about the changing deadlines and asked them to give me a firm delivery date. After two days of chasing, I was given a delivery date of 'February 2014'.

I had arranged for my Mum to visit at the start of March so that she could see my dress, so when I hadn't heard anything by mid-February, I called the shop to check that it would definitely be in by 1st March. I was told that it had been made, but was in Holland with the supplier and they weren't sure when it would be delivered. After two further days of chasing, I was given an assurance that it would definitely arrive by the end of February. At the end of February, I still hadn't heard anything, so called again and was told that the dress had come in last week and was sitting in their stock room!

I arranged for the dress to be brought to the Farnham branch for me to collect. The ladies at the Farnham branch were certainly more helpful and took the time to try and make up for the irritation caused by Lakeside.

As I had lost confidence in Confetti and Lace, I chose to take my dress to another seamstress for alterations. This turned out to be a great decision as instead of the £195 flat rate for alterations, all of my alterations (taking in bodice and taking up length) cost just £80.

If, like me, you have to order from Confetti and Lace Lakeside as there are no other stockists for your dress, I'd suggest giving them a wedding date well in advance of your real wedding date, just to make sure that you have the time to follow it up in the event of any problems.