We know, wedding dresses don't come cheap. Ours range from £800-£4000, with the majority in the £1600-£2400 range. Anyone thinking "ouch"? Well, we hear ya.

We want to tell you exactly WHY you can expect to pay this much money. Our dresses are worth it (we promise), and we want to let you know why, by sharing just what goes in to making them.

 Fabric

 The cost of fabric will have a huge impact on the cost of your dress. Some designers use synthetic fabrics, which will lower the cost, others use only pure silk, which will means a higher cost.

 Then there's lace - one designer recently told us that they had hunted high and low for a lace that could bring their vision to life and they finally found THE ONE in Italy. The lace came from a well respected mill, where prices reflect quality and reputation, and using that lace would mean that the retail value of the final design was £400 higher than it would be with the second-choice lace. And they did it - they used that lace because any other would have compromised the design.

 Beautiful lace details in Muscat Bridal's latest collection

 And that's another thing that will affect the cost of fabric - where it comes from. A designer based in London doesn't necessarily use fabrics from the UK. They will most likely import fabrics, usually from Europe, and importing comes with its own cost - designers will pay for shipping and customs, as well as the fabric itself. These costs will, in turn, be reflected in the retail price.

 Time

Dress making is a lengthy process, starting with design - this involves the time of the designer creating your dress; the time of the pattern maker bringing that design to reality; the time spent sourcing just the right fabric to give the movement the designer envisioned. And then, once all that is done, we have our sample - which you try on and love! Yay! And so it's time to place your order - then, and only then, will your dress be made.

Leanne Marshall sketches. 

 And for YOUR dress, a pattern is cut (or made and then cut, if your dress is made to measure) from the perfect fabric. It is stitched by hand; each layer, each seam, each button finished by hand. All of this takes time.

We are very proud to work with designers who pay their staff a decent wage - which means the cost of time taken is not the same as the cost of time spent manufacturing a mass-produced product. Our designers pay skilled people to create your dress - or they do it themselves. The size of our designers team's range from two to around twenty team members.

Skill

Making a wedding dress is no easy task - weather you chose a gathered skirt (which requires handling metres of delicate fabric) or a slim fit bias cut (which means any slight stray from the exact pattern will affect how the skirt sits and therefore the entire appearance of the dress), there is craftsmanship behind each dress.

Finishing touches in the Otaduy atelier, Barcelona.

Our designers take pride in their work - and they also appreciate the importance of it. Your wedding dress should be your absolute favourite outfit EVER, the best thing you've ever worn, and that is not lost on any one. Employing highly skilled individuals is the only way to be sure that your dress will be as perfect as you want (and deserve) it to be.

Us

We hold our hands up - we play a part in it all!

At Rock the Frock, we seek out the designers that we believe our brides will love - where ever they are! Our dresses are made all over the world, from the US to Russia - we'll soon be stocking dresses made in New Zealand!

We find the treasure, and bring it to you!

Stocking designers from across the globe is important to us -  we want to offer our brides dresses that they would never see if they didn't come to us; we want to be unique. But - sorry guys - this does come with additional costs.

Shipping a delicate dress is expensive; we don't receive these beauties in jiffy bags! Plus there's tax and customs to pay (yes, importing again! Our US designers can import fabric from within the EU, paying import charges, only for it to come back to us and incur charges again to enter the EU - this time in the form of your beautiful dress).  It's a complicated business but it is so worth it, for the right dress.

Rock the Frock bride Laura (& her excited bridesmaid!). Image by Love That Smile Photography.

So there you have it, some reasons behind the cost of wedding dresses! We hope that this has helped answer the burning question of "how much?!" and also got you excited about wearing a garment that has had so much go in to it!

These dresses are made with love, and we can't wait to see you wear them with love, too.

So come and see us, soon! Book your appointment!

Love, RTF x