Special Occasions, Stanford-Le-Hope

Greeted in a friendly way, and let my daughter take her time to pick wedding dresses to try on. Good advice given and lots of patience provided by the assistant. We went into look and ended up buying the wedding and bridesmaids dresses. Alterations to the dresses are needed and are booked in for this to take place at Grays. We were not interested in having cups of tea or champagne just to have good prices for the dresses and being served in a professional and friendly way, which was received. A big thank you to all at Special Occasions.

Well I was absolutely dreading going wedding dress shopping .. I'm a bigger girl and expected to find it difficult. But I loved the experience .. You were left alone with your guests to find the ones you liked then a very helpful lady helped me try them on . She was so helpful and knew what would be good for me and what wouldn't be !! I now have the dress of my dreams on order all thanks the lovely ladies !!

Roll on June when I get married .. I also plan to take my bridesmaids and maid of honour after Christmas to get there's too

Thank you 

went to special occasions about a month ago very friendly lady helped me and gave me some great advice wasn't pushy in the slightest even when I found the "the one" told me theres no pressure so I went to a few other shops but still new that was the dress so went back the next week and she remembered me and my name {not just a number:))just waiting on the dress now I no they don't do alterations as I was told when I first went in but they have recommend somewhere! I would defo recommend made me fill at ease and very special five star service

What a fantastic time we had this morning!! This was our first attempt in my daughter's wedding dress search, but the friendly and helpful service made it a very enjoyable time. We were allowed to roam around the racks to choose the first few dresses for my daughter to try, without any rush. Once she was ready, an assistant came straight over to start dressing her. She didn't mind how many dresses my daughter tried on, in fact she selected some herself!! My daughter chose 2 she really liked and the dresser, quite happily, switched backwards and forwards. My daughter found her dream dress and while she was enjoying walking around in it, the assistant explained about the fact that the dress would need tweaking when it arrived as they were made on a "best fit" basis, not an absolute fit. But she said there was a dressmaker they recommended and gave a rough price for the alterations. She then brought over a selection of veils and invited the 2 bridesmaids over to join in. My daughter didn't settle on a veil as she's not sure how she'll have her hair, but the assistant noted the details of the one she liked, just in case she decided later. Such was the relaxed atmosphere, the bridesmaids wandered off to browse the racks and found a dress they both liked. So the assistant dressed both girls and yes, we ended up buying them too!! Luckily for us, not only was it a style they and the bride liked, the one they tried on was actually in the colour the bride wanted. We had a wonderful time this morning, feeling very looked after and ending up, unexpectedly, with all 3 dresses chosen. Now we can't wait til we get the call to say the dresses have arrived.

I can thoroughly recommend Special Occasions as the assistant could not have done more to make this experience special.

My daughter and I went to this store last year around September time to initially see if they stocked a certain designer. They did not, however we did see a dress there after trying on several that was exactly what my daughter wanted. We ordered this to be made in a long style and my daughter was measured up accordingly. There was no absolute explanation at time of how the store operated. All they said was that it takes 20 weeks for the dress to arrive in store at which time we would be contacted to try on. There was no word until about 4 weeks ago when my daughter received a very abrupt call to say the dress was in store and that she needed to pick it up within 4 weeks, pay the balance or it would be sent back. We made an appointment to visit the store and try on last week. When we arrived there was no service, it was just try on the dress quickly a list of dressmakers was given as the dress clearly was too long and too big in the bust area, despite the measurements having been taken last year. My daughter has not grown taller in that time or changed in shape. It was very much a quick try on a quick chat about getting it altered, pay the money and out the door. My daughter understandably was very disappointed with the service and also it was a shock for her that the dress did not fit correctly, but no explanation was given. The dress was probably the most expensive in the store and a great deal of money has now been spent to buy this dress and obviously we now have to make our own arrangements to get it altered. A very bad experience of what is an important part of planning a wedding. I definitely would not encourage anyone to visit this store for any sort of wedding dress or indeed for any other "special occasion".

I came across Special ooccasions Bridal in Stanford le hope by complete accident and I am delighted that I did. I had an appointment at another bridal shop nearby which turned out to be extremely disappointing so we were by chance recommended to go here. We turned up with no appointment and the lady who greeted our party was extremely helpful and professional. She explained the range available in full and suggested we browse to see if anything might catch my eye. She gave me adequate time to look at the dresses and I picked out 4 styles and eventually ending up buying one of them. The advice, suggestions and customer service were second to none. They definitely know their business and I would recommend Special occasions Bridal to all future brides. It was an absolute pleasure to deal with these guys and they demonstrate exactly how a bridal shop should be when making such an important decision. Thanks again girls, I will be bringing in my friend that's getting married next year to try on your dresses very soon.

I got married abroad last month and bought my wedding dress from Special Occasions.

I had been to many bridal shops prior to visiting this one and can honestly say that the service I received was second to none.

I did not feel pressured into a sale and found all the staff really helpful.

I was also remembered by name and feel that it is these little personal touches that mean a lot but often get missed.

All I can say is that I had a very good experience with Special Occasions and would definately recommend to family and friends!

Patronising staff who didn't appear to pay any attention to what i actually wanted (my theme is purple so why are you trying to show me red dresses???)

Just generally unfriendly bunch of people who did not seem willing to help. No one helped me look through the racks, no cup of tea was offered. I also got the impression that i shouldn't be bothered with as i only have one bridesmaid and therefore would not be spending much money in store.

Implied that i was fat (i am a very busty size 16) so wouldn't have anything to fit me anyway which was all a bit of a big mistake as i have an unlimited budget!

Thank you for ruining my whole wedding dress shopping experience! Got mine off the internet instead!!!

All the staff at special occasions are so helpful and patient. Went to two other bridal shops and made to feel uncomfortable because i do not have a perfect figure. Not only are you looked after by real women at Special occasions they make suggestions about different dresses, consider where you are having your wedding.....just the whole package. Felt so special. This is my 2nd marriage and i brought my 1st dress from SP 14 years ago. The service is still as good if not better. Thank you

what a fantastic shop. i visited special occasions in stanford le hope after a couple of friends reccommended it to me. both of them are married and got their dresses from this shop.

As soon as i walked in, i was made to feel welcome. the lady that helped me try on dresses was really friendly and knew what she was talking about. I couldnt believe the price of my dress, i had £1500 to spend, but my dress was only £600.a few weeks later,i went back with my bridesmaids, the lady at the desk reconised me and remembered my name!! i thought bridesmaid shopping was going to be a nightmare (my sister can be a diva) but it turned out to be great fun.