Here's an update from my bridal gown search. After my disappointing experience with Digio, I found some bridal studios that I was really interested in and visited two:
** my fiance was busy at work, so I got my trusty maid of honour to do the visits with me.
Jess Haute Couture
Jess is the owner and designer and she is a really talented lady. Her website and studio is a little dated (I guess she's not very good at marketing her brand) so my maid of honour and I were a little put off when we first arrived. However, her gowns are gorgeous. All gowns can fit UK2 to UK20 so the size range is amazing. I'd recommend going for her MTM gowns though, because the pricing is really very reasonable. She does all her sewing herself and I can tell that this is really her passion. She showed us a dress that she was working on and the attention to detail is fabulous. She's also very nice and doesn't hardsell at all.
The only downside is that the photography and make-up her studio provided was not to my taste at all.
To be honest, I wasn't very interested when I first saw her website, but believe me when I say that it does her no justice. The most important thing is her gowns and she does those well. I'd recommend MTM for this studio since it's really reasonably priced for a custom and brand new gown.
The Aisle Bridal
I got a response from The Aisle moments after the one from Digio and it was like the polar opposite. I mean, just look at the two responses I got:
The Aisle:
As for your main concern mentioned above, kindly note that our company do have size between UK 6 to UK 14, if you don't mind we sincerely invite you make a trip down here to have a fitting session. I will show you some design and have a discussion with you personally
Digio
Thank you for your email enquiry. We have only a few of such gowns.
Or White Link. Which didn't even respond
at all. /rolls eyes.
Now
that is service. I had a good feeling about The Aisle from the moment I read their email response because honestly, these are the kind of people that I want to be working with, and to whom I want to give my money to.
My maid of honour and I were wow-ed from the moment we stepped into TA's studio. The studio is beautifully decorated and very well-lit. We were served by a very smiley faced Helen. I was a little surprised since based on the contents of the email, I thought I was going to be meeting with Yvonne but it all worked out well. Helen is loud and humourous and we both really warmed to her. She brought us on a tour of the studio and I was just starry-eyed looking at all the gorgeous gowns. There is a huge selection on the first and second floor of the studio and I already found myself picking out a few based on a cursory look through.
I really love their indoor studio as well, with all the backdrops. Since my fiance and I are practically allergic to heat, having a well furnished aircon studio was a huge plus. She sat us down and showed us pictures of the gowns, photographer / MUA portfolios, hand bouquet choices as well as examples of the photo albums.
I
love the hair and make-up portfolio (Jing Yen's) that she showed me. It was actually very similar in style to this freelance MUA whose instagram I've been stalking for years. The photography is really nice and professional too.
But of course, to me, the gowns were the main feature. Helen basically dismissed all of my fears that I wouldn't fit into the gowns, assuring me that they could be easily altered to fit my size. Also, I saw a wide range of plus sized gowns that I think could go up to a UK 18/20 (didn't clarify the exact size) and they were super gorgeous. Also, I liked how the gowns weren't split into different categories (like how you'd have to top up for a more detailed design). They can do MTM gowns as well with a top up that I thought was reasonable, but I think I'll try looking at the OTR ones first since there are already so many that I like.
++++
I was torn between Jess' gorgeous and very reasonably priced MTM gowns and The Aisle's overall comprehensive package. However, I decided to go with The Aisle because I loved all aspects of their package, which saves me the trouble of hunting for ala carte services. Also, I really, really like Helen. She had a very good understanding of what I needed and even (jokingly) told me off when I enquired about services that she thought were unnecessary. (Plus she gave me a really good package that my fiance and I just couldn't say no to.)
So I'm relieved and very happy with my choice. I would highly recommend The Aisle to any plus sized bride who's worried about being put off by rude studios. A bride-to-be should always feel beautiful regardless of what her clothes label says and I can assure you that both The Aisle and Jess Haute Couture are highly professional studios who treasure and respect their customers regardless of their size or budget.
Some honourable mentions:
Bruid
Bruid does bespoke gowns that are on the slightly pricier side (as compared to Jess Couture). I haven't been down to their studio yet (ended up falling in love withe The Aisle) so I can't speak for it. But my correspondence with them has been nothing short of pleasant. I've been speaking with Indra and she's incredibly nice. Their packages are listed on their website, but I actually enquired about a watered down version since I only required certain services. She was really nice and came up with a new package price to suit my needs.
In addition to bespoke gowns, they also include hair / make up, photography (AD and prewedding), videography, flowers and car decorations.
Fay's Couture
Fay does beautiful bespoke wedding and evening gowns. I really liked her style, but was unable to meet with her since she just had a baby. She also has MTM and OTR gowns. Her label is purely focused on gowns though (or at least that's the impression I get from the package list she attached for me) so you'd have to outsource the other stuff. She's very nice though, and would be lovely to work with.
++++
To end off this wall of text, I hope my experience helps other bigger sized brides. Don't feel discouraged like I did, there are many many nice options out there, so don't settle with a studio that makes you feel second-best or less than perfect just because you're not a UK6.
