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“I bought my dress from the Nottingham branch of...”

written by on 14/11/2010

I bought my dress from the Nottingham branch of Caroline Castigliano and the whole thing turned into the kind of nightmare a bride dreads.
I noticed that once I had paid for my dress, which they were quite insistent was paid for upfront, the service dropped immediately.
It all started to feel very wrong when I was told by the fitter I was'' a bit of a funny shape'' (I'm 5'4'' Size 12 36dd) and I would have to pay extra if I wanted the dress to fit!! Having already paid £2,500 for a dress I was told would be made to my individual measurements, I was a little surprised but paid the extra.
I was then fobbed off many times on the phone when trying to arrange my first fitting and we then found out the shop had closed down, four weeks before our wedding.Nobody had informed us.I eventually managed to arrange a first fitting which was only 3 weeks prior to our wedding in a shop now full of packing boxes. The dress didn't fit .The skirt was too tight and the bodice too low and gaping at the front.I was very upset and things weren't helped by the fitter saying.....'well you are a bit fleshy aren't you'
The skirt was altered and was ok apart from the fact that the ribbons that hold it up when dancing came off before the first dance and I had to pin it up with a borrowed kilt pin! The fitter insisted the bodice was ok and despite rushed alterations the week before when another fitter agreed it was'a bit messy'' and improved it slightly, it never fitted me correctly and they had to fasten it to my bra with press studs to stop it gaping!!
The run up to our wedding was spoilt with all the stress,I felt very concious of my ill fitting dress on the day and also many of the photographs were spoilt.
Customer service was appalling throughout,they had a very superior uncaring attitude.We wrote a very detailed letter of complaint and asked for an appology and to refund some of the money to charity,they did neither.They didn't address any concerns we raised and just said the dress was as the designer had intended.
We wrote again.....they never replied.
I had very normal expectations of a wonderful wedding dress and was very badly disappointed and let down by this appalling company.