What to Expect

Wedding dress shopping is like entering a whole new world, it can be every overwhelming!  So with that in mind, we’ve laid out below what to expect on your first visit to Maria Modes.

Upon arrival the first thing we do is welcome you and your guests into store and offer you all a drink; be it tea, coffee, hot, cold or a glass of fizz!  We do also offer a cold beer but it’s normally the boys, here for Cheshire Menswear, who take us up on that!

Once that’s taken care of you’ll be shown which of our three stunning changing rooms will be yours for the day, but feel free to start browsing immediately, we know how appealing the dresses are!

You’ll then be introduced to your dedicated bridal stylist to formally start your appointment.  We start by having a chat to find out what you are looking for and to get to know you and your vision.

At some point we will show you round our beautiful shop, explaining about each designer as we go, highlighting styles which match your ideas, discussing the various dress shapes on offer and helping pick which dresses you would like to try on. We find this makes the experience more personal and allows you time to relax ready for trying on dresses.

If you are new to wedding dress shopping and don’t know what to choose, don’t worry your stylist will be on hand to help you pick, we would normally suggest a variety of styles and shapes to start but if you already know what you want we’ll dive straight in to finding the one.

Once you’ve chosen, we invite you and your guests back to your changing room to start trying on!  Your stylist will help you into each dress, explaining various options, giving styling advice and listening to your feedback.

All our bridal stylists have been trained by each of our designers meaning we know their offering inside and out.  This makes for a smooth appointment where questions are easily dealt with as and when you think of them.  We’re all trained in Bridesmaids and Menswear too which helps if you’re worried what your Maids or Man will wear to compliment this showstopper of a wedding dress you’ve just fallen in love with unexpectedly!

As your appointment develops your stylist will be constantly listening to your feedback and will start to pull in further dresses for you to try on.  You and your guests, however, are not left out and you are welcome to re-browse our rails, picking more dresses.  The number of dresses you try on is decided by how long you spend in each dress, so it’s really up to you!

At the end of the appointment we’ll write up details of all your favourite dresses for you to take away and discuss with you whether you would like to book a return appointment.  You can come back to us as many times as you need, saying ‘yes to the dress’ is a big deal and not everyone feels ready on their first visit.

If we are lucky enough to be the shop where you do say those special words then it’s another round of fizz and huge congratulations from all the Maria Modes team.  We take bust, waist and hip measurement and then discuss with you what size to order based on that particular designer’s size chart, as each is different.  We discuss your current shape, your weight goals and any big lifestyle changes that might affect your shape.  We talk open and honestly with you and the size we order is a joint decision.

Dresses are made to order, so we require a 50% non-refundable deposit to place your order and put your dress into production.  We’ll then discuss with you the next steps, give all relevant information and details of our after sales care.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call, we love a chat!