firstly, congratulations on your engagement and welcome to the world of bridal dress shopping!

we understand that planning your wedding may be a daunting experience, and quite stressful at times, and that you even may feel a little overwhelmed. but worry not, we are here to help you on your journey and guide you through the process to make your experience a calm and happy one. we are here to show the most beautiful dresses and to help you work out the differences between the fishtales and the princesses.

so here are a few 'frequently asked questions' for you to have a quick read through, to help prepare you for your first appointment with us.

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do i need to book an appointment, or can i browse?​​

we do advise that you book an appointment to visit the boutique. we have altered our opening hours and we now mostly run via appointment only.

the boutique is closed on Sundays, Monday and Tuesday

Wednesday - by appointment only

Thursday 9.00am - 4.00pm

Friday and Saturday 9.00am - 5.30pm.

you are welcome to pop in to browse our beautiful section of dresses, but as we are such a small shop it is best if you book an bridal appointment if you would like to try some dresses on.

saturday appointments are run appointment only, therefore it would be very unlikely that you would be able to simply pop in. we have the door locked during an appointment. so we request that you book an appointment via phone 01904 640046 or email us on hello@elenaferrarabridal.co.uk or DM us on social media. as we would hate for you to be disappointed

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do you charge for your appointments?

yes we do! we now charge for our Saturday appointments. 

our luxury Bridal appointments are 1hour 30mins long and you will have a dedicated stylist guide you through all our beautiful dresses. the appointment fee is £20 and is non refundable but is redeemable against the cost of a dress, or accessory with a minimum value of £200. as is valid for 2 months.

weekday appointments are still free

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do you confirm your appointments?​​

we always confirm our appointments by email, which is followed up with a phone call the week prior to your appointment. if you do not receive an email or a phone confirmation, please contact us before making a journey to the boutique. we normally have a waiting list for our saturday appointments so if we do not get a confirmation, we would open up the appointment to another bride.

if you cannot make the appointment, please let us know immediately as we can offer the space to another bride on the list.

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when is the best time to start my search for my dress?

ideally you need to begin looking for your dress about 1 year prior to your wedding date. most of our dresses take between 16-20 weeks to arrive at the boutique. some can take a little longer, so we would advise that you leave at least 6-9 months to ensure your dress arrives on time with a further 8 weeks for alteration appointments. rush orders can be arranged, but these come with an additional charge, depending on the designer. however, if you do not have this length of time please still contact us as we maybe able to obtain your gown within a short time period.

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WHAT IS THE PRICE RANGE OF YOUR GOWNS?

our gowns start from £800 up to £3000 therefore ensuring a wide range for everyone to find their dream dress.

it is always a good idea to have a dress budget in mind and to decide whether you want to be strict or have a little flexibility with it. don't be afraid to share your budget with us as we are here to help you find your dress and it will allows us to focus on the right dresses at the right price point for you.

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WHAT SIZE ARE YOUR SAMPLES?

bridal sizes work very differently to the standard high street and a sample dress would never fit you perfectly so please do not worry, as we would order your dress based on your measurements. the samples that we have in the boutique are usually a size 12 but we do have a selection of 10's & 14's. we are sorry but we do not carry plus size bridal sizes.

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do you sell your samples

yes, we do! as we need to make room for our new collections. we have a permanent rail of dress that are in our sample sale, all of which are priced at a hugely knocked down price. we have a wide variety and prices can start from as little as £500, and they are always in excellent condition. and even better, you are welcome to take them away with you there and then! they are one off's and once that are sold, they are gone!! so don't #missitmissout

 book an appointment with us today

do you offer Sample sale appointments?

yes, we do! we offer a 'sample sale only' try on appointment, in which can book a time slot to try on all our sample sale dresses. you are able to try on as many as you like. we would help and give you advice on what alterations would be required on each dress. 

this is a free of charge appointment and we do not charge any booking fee. the only restriction is that you will only be able to try on the sample dresses and if you would like to try on other dresses so would need to rebook for another day.

the dresses are priced at a very affordable £350- £1200.

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do you sell shoes and accessories?

yes we do, we stock a fantastic range of beautiful bridal accessories to compliment your dress, we have everything from hair vines to combs and veils.

we also stock a beautiful range of bridal shoes, from sparkly to pearls to high heels and block heels. plus did you know that we can dye shoes too.

we have a couple of shoes in the sale and priced to sell. so once that are sold, they are gone!! so #missitmissout

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CAN I pop in to VIEW YOUR ACCESSORIES ONLY?

yes you can, please feel free to pop in at anytime the shop is open, (except saturdays) but please be aware that if the door is locked, it means that we are in an appointment with another bride, so we will not be able to assist you at that time.

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who can i bring with me? all the girls?

we are a very small boutique, with no waiting area, so space is very limited. therefore our bridal appointments are now limited to 4 people only. 

so that is you, the bride,  plus 3 VIP guests only.

please chose your plus three very well, people who you trust their opinion and respects yours. you will be able to video call extra family or friends if you find a dress that you love, so that you can include them in the occasion, but please remember that there are no photos. 

we will not accept large bridal parties, due to fire regulations and please do not get offended if we decline to allow extra guests into the appointment. 

if you would like to include other guests, this can be done via video call, WhatsApp, skype etc

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wHAT SHOULD I WEAR?

we would recommend that you wear nude underwear and a nude strapless bra, as this helps to give you a good idea of how the dress will look on your big day. please refrain from wearing dedicated shape wear as this will not give you a true representation of the final fit.

 if possible please can you bring some shoes of a similar heel height to the size that you would consider wearing wedding day.

we would also kindly advise against wearing heavy make up and/or tanning as these do rub off onto the dresses and damages them. thank you.

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WHAT HAPPENS during MY APPOINTMENT?

we offer private bridal appointments, in which we close the shop and dedicate the entire space to you and your party, allowing us to give you our full attention and shower you with the luxurious experience that you deserve. we love to hear all about your wedding plans and what styles you like, so if you have a bridal pinterest board, please share this with us! we are here to show you our collection of beautiful dresses, once you have selected a few dresses we go upstairs to the changing area to try them on. with your bridal party waiting patiently on the other side. we have a beautiful selection of veils, hair accessories, jewellery and shoes to complete your perfect look.

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may i take pictures of the dresses?

unfortunately, we do not allow you to take pictures of the dresses due to the copyright of our own dress designs. please respect this.

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do you serve prosecco or fizz?

unfortunately, due to the strict licencing laws, we are unable to serve bubbly or fizz. we do make a mean cuppa!

 

what happens if i need to cancel my appointment?

if you ​do need to cancel your appointment for any reason, please  let us know as soon as possible, via telephone 019040 640046 (please leave a message if we don't answer the phone) or via email hello@elenaferrarabridal.co.uk. this will allow us to open up the appointment to other brides on the waiting list. so please be considerate and give us as much notice as possible, thank you.

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i have found my dress, what happens next?

congratulations on finding your perfect dress! we guide you through the process and complete the paperwork, and request a deposit payment of 50% of the dress to confirm your order. we accept both card or cash payments. sorry we do not accept cheques. 

we plan in all your fitting appointments, these are flexible, so if you wish to change them at a later date, you will be able to. when your dress arrives in the boutique, we will see you for your first fitting, which is very exciting. at this point we request that you keep your weight as stable as possible. please remember to bring your shoes and correct underwear for all your appointments. the remaining balance is due at your hem appointment.

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what are my fitting appointments?

the fitting appointments are when we start to work on your dress, the appointments are in place so that we can make sure the seamstresses have time to make your dress perfect for you. these appointments are generally made mid-week, with a couple of late night times available. due to high demand we ask for you to be flexible with your time and work with us to manage a fitting appointment plan that suits us all.

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i would like to lose weight, will this affect my dress fitting?

if you plan to lose weight, we advise that you are at your desired weight at the point of your first dress fitting. as soon as we order your dress or start to work on your dress we kindly request that you stay as stable as possible and please do not undertake any crash diets. any fluctuations in weight from this point to the final fittings will mean that there will be extra alteration work, which will incur extra costs.

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do you have an in house seamstress? & do i have to pay for alterations?

if your dress requires some alterations, this will be carried out by our team of super talented seamstresses, who work for us only. this is at an additional charge, which varies depending on what work is carried out on your dress. this typically starts from £180, and increases with the additional work. a full price list is available on request.

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do you carry out alterations on dresses that have not been bought from your shop?

we do not do alterations on dresses that have not been purchased in our boutique. but York Bridal Studio does! so if you pop over to their website York Bridal Studio, or give them a call, or email them on hello@yorkbridalstudio.co.uk or visit www.yorkbridalstudio.co.uk and they can book you in for an alteration appointment. they are amazing at bridal alterations and are very reasonably priced. a full price list is available on request.

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do you sell bridesmaids & flowergirl dresses?

we do not stock any bridesmaids dresses at this moment in time, but we do make our own range of flowergirl dresses. please take a look st the elena ferrara mini maids. these dresses are available in ages 1 - 10 years

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