Online Wedding Dresses & Ordering Internationally

I'm getting married...twice! First (and legally) in London this November, and then next year in May in the US so I include all my friends and family from home. I decided, with consultation from my mother who is handling the wedding budgets and funds, that I am going to get two dresses. I found my first dress at the lovely, iconic Kleinfeld in Brooklyn in April. It's a Marisa gown, and I would absolutely post a picture of it here but there seems to be no photos of it in existence online. That's for the beach wedding in the US in May 2013.

 Here I am, less than six months before the actual wedding, with no dress! I think what has really limited me so far is the fact that I had my heart set on a short dress. The majority of short dresses available are tea length, and just didn't have what I wanted-too much tulle, and ending at the calf which is an unflattering length for me. I ordered a dress from my favorite online bridal shop, BHDLD. It was a Sarah Seven number, and totally gorgeous online.

Because it was a US site, I expected an extra shipping charge. It was roughly around $80. Fine. But when the dress arrived, I got hit with the UK VAT charge (£121.32). And after that, when I decided the dress wasn't for me after all, I had to pay £69 in shipping to return it because the company required shipping it a method that they could track.

 All in all, I ended up losing out on about $480, or £300 in fees, on a $750 dress that I will never get credited for. 

 To their credit, BHLDN was very upfront about the shipping charges and return aspects on their website, so I can't fault them at all. When there was an issue in the begging with ordering the dress, their customer service department was lovely and prompt and sorted things out with one phone call. I would definitely recommend BHLDN for their wedding dresses and accessories.

 What I wouldn't recommend is ordering a wedding dress from a company outside your country, and to make sure you're highly aware of fees and taxes that your gown may be subjected to.