Wedding Dress

Maggie Sottero Style Beth Replica From Coral's Bridal

Ok ladies, I have a secret. Please don’t judge me for it. I am a bride on a budget that cannot afford all the lavish things I want in life. Including a million $ wedding. To cut corners and be costly, I purchased a replica dress for coralsbridal.com. I’m gonna give u girls the timeline of my experience.

Nov 7, 2011- This is when it all started. I’m not quite sure HOW I came across a picture of the dress but when I did, I INSTANTLY fell in love. The design reminded me of the damask theme we’re going for. PLUS, it wasn’t traditional…Perfect 10. Pics #1-2.

Nov 8-11, 2011- I began to research in hopes to find a place to try on &purchase this dress. This included calling EVERY bridal shop in Michigan listed on the Maggie Sottero site and contacting a seller on recycledbride.com. No luck. From one of the many bridal salons I called, I learned that the dress is discontinued. It was in their 2008 collection. I was devastated. During this time I also showed the dress to a friend, my MOH (sister), and my fiancée. The dress is SO different; I wanted to get a 2nd opinion on it to ensure it was “weddingy”.

Nov 11, 2011- Just as I was ready to give up, I somehow came across coralsbridal.com on Google in my last hopes for finding my dream dress. http://www.coralsbridal.com/2215-wd09122f-white-mermaid-wedding-dress-bridal-gown-outfit-WD09122f.html is the link of the dress they actually made for another bride. Before even checking the site out, I sent them an email. The description on their site never said it was a Maggie Sottero dress and after comparing their pictures from the ones on MS’s site, I quickly understood that it was a replica. Because I’ve never been one to care abt designers, I didn’t care! Lol. They later emailed me back to say they’d be continuing to make this style and it was available to buy WITH custom measurements. They were VERY friendly and spoke very good English.

Nov 12, 2011- I did some research on the site. I looked at tons of reviews. The percentile was abt 75% positive and 25% negative or questionable. What I mean by questionable is it was a positive review but the person didn’t seem like a real person. OR the review was negative but based on a wrong color or something else I would consider a customer’s mistake. I began to ask Coral Dai (the manager) abt minor custom modifications I wanted made on the dress. They included changing the fabric from taffeta to silk satin, making it tighter in the mid-thigh area to give it a more mermaid look, changing the closure of the dress from a zipper to a lace-up corset, changing the bubble hem to a flat hem, and lastly reshaping the neckline to a sweetheart from a scoop effect. They promptly emailed me back and said that all these changes could be done with NO EXTRA cost due to it being custom. With the dress, shipping, & custom changes they only charged me $373.00.

Nov 13, 2011- After carefully reading the returning policy, I decided to go with them. It states that they will accept returns, with no questions asked, for a full refund or they’ll make you another dress. With the exclusion of a custom made dress. Of course you’d probably have to pay returned shipping to the company but that was a cost I was willing to eat considering I knew what I was getting myself into. The email came through that payment was accepted and they needed my measurements. I sent my measurements that night.

Nov 15, 2011- I received an email stating the process had begun. They told me they would take photos for be before shipping the dress out and it would arrive to me no later than December 30, 2011.

Dec 12, 2011- I received an email from Coral that my dress was finish. The email had pics #3-5 attached. I was in awe! They made EXACTLY what I had asked for @ a faction of the cost! I still couldn’t believe that it was all real and it got done so fast. Once I Okayed shipping of the dress, they shipped it out.

Dec 13, 2011- They sent me an email stating that it and been shipped out and gave me a tracking number. From here until the 19th, I watched the ems tracking website like a hawk lol.

Dec 14, 2011- The dress left YUHANG and arrived at HANGZHOU.
Dec 16, 2011- It was handed over to US Customs.
Dec 17, 2011- It was released from US Customs.

Dec 19, 2011- Around 6pm, I asked my FH to check the mail, not because I thought my dress was here but just because! He came in the house and goes, “Who did you say made your dress.” I instantly got excited as I saw the shadow of him holding a large envelope. The envelope was a package from Vista Print lol. Come to find out, the mail lady never delivered it, there was a notice from the post office saying come down and pick it up. I was so mad because we lounged around all day and the post office was now closed! I’m like, “1st thing 2mrw, I’m going to the post office.” I was so excited I told my Maid and Matron that they better be there for me to try it on once the FH left for work @ 1pm.

Dec 20, 2011- I had an interview this morning and I decided to get up earlier so I could go to the post office beforehand. I picked the dress up after signing the paperwork and was instantly worried because of the small packaging. I’m thinking, “Omg, there’s no way a whole dress can fit in here.” While driving, lol, I tore it out of the packing to be surprised by what looked like a small pillow. I could tell it was my dress but the fabric looked polyester! I tried to take my mind off it and went into my interview with a clear mind. Afterwards, I rushed home to learn that my FH & our baby were still sleeping. I was happy because if the dress was gonna be a disappointment, I didn’t want anybody to know. (No one knows that the place I ordered it from is a “knock-off” shop in China.) Anxiously, I cut open the plastic that covered my dress and realized it was shipped inside out to protect the embellishments! I was sooooo relieved to learn that they DID send me the dress in the pictures. It is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!! I am so in love! Now I understand why when they say when you know, you just know. The “lace” part is slightly off from the original MS made but who cares! I saved over $800 by taking this route. Shipping, alterations, and custom changes included. They only thing I have to get done to the dress is a bustle if I decided against buying a reception dress.

Bottom line ladies, I know this story took u on a roller-coaster lol but it was worth it for me. I had doubts but I went with it because I’m risky I guess. I’m just glad it all worked out in my favor. If your gut doesn’t tell u to do it, don’t. I will recommend Coral’s bridal to anyone that ISN’T a plus size woman. Some of their reviews from plus size girls weren’t so good. I not sure they know how to make certain designs in plus size. I don’t think it’s worth the risk. But besides that, my experience was wonderful from the beginning. I’m so happy with the finished product of my dress and the cost I paid for it. 5 stars for Coral’s Bridal from Me! =)

You can’t see all the details on me in pics 6-11 but I think overall, it looks great. Esp in person. Our lighting was so crappy lol. I actually think my changes made it look better. What do you think ladies?