A bride who paid £2,500 for her dream wedding dress was left fuming after it turned up late and three sizes too big.
Kelly Marie Campbell, 35, got married in March after three previous wedding dates were cancelled due to Covid restrictions, the Mirror reports. She dreamed of feeling like a "princess" on her big day and spent £2,500 on the perfect dress by designer Riki Dalal from Newcastle boutique Si Bridal.
Kelly said: "As cheesy as it sounds, it was the sort of dress you dreamed of. They made me feel like I was a model trying on these dresses, they made me feel beautiful."
Kelly ordered the made-to-measure dress in July 2021 and expected it to arrive around eight weeks before the wedding. Bu just four weeks before the big day, Kelly's dream dress had still not arrived.
She chased the wedding dress boutique, Si Bridal, and claims she was told not to panic. But another week went by with no update on where the dress was or when it would turn up.
Again, Kelly says she was told not to worry and to wait for an update. Then, three weeks from the wedding, she was told her dress was stuck at the Ukraine border due to the Russian invasion of the country.
Riki Dalal is based in Israel, but has a shop making dresses in Ukraine. Kelly says she sympathised with the situation and asked Si Bridal if she could come into their boutique and try on a back-up dress just in case her dream one didn't arrive in time.
She said: "Two-and-a-half weeks before my wedding and I was having emails back and forth with them refusing to let me come in to try on alternative dresses and see what they had in store, off the rack, that would fit me, as at this rate I was going to be walking up the aisle in my PJs."
"Every little girl dreams of their wedding day and this completely ruined it for me. My dream come true became my nightmare. They kept refusing, there was no option of a refund, and they kept assuring me my dress would be here one week before the wedding.
"I was making myself sick from stress."
A week before the wedding and Kelly said she "completely freaked out", and she was only able to pick the dress up three days before her big day.
She went to Si Bridal to see her dream dress, and said seeing it made her remember "all the reasons she fell in love with it".
But when she tried it on, Kelly said her £2,500 'made to measure' dress was three sizes too big and looked "like a sack of potatoes".
"It literally fell off me," she said. "I was ready to cry and tell them where to shove the dress, but I stood there screaming in my own head it will be okay, as I didn't want to upset things further. But as the appointment went on I picked up the courage to put my big girl knickers on and asked, 'why is my dress too big?'"
Si Bridal told her it was because she had lost weight, which Kelly disputes, and says her personal trainer has been taking separate measurements that show that is not the case. She had to take a day off work to take the dress to be altered, which included serious changes like moving and adding the boning that gives wedding dresses their shape.
She paid an extra £350 for the alterations, on top of the £2,500 she had already paid.
On the day before her wedding, she dashed into Si Bridal to pick the altered dress up and says she was relieved it went on and stayed up.
But on her wedding day, she put the dress on and was disappointed at the fit, and realised she had been in too much of a rush when she went to pick it up.
"I didn't realise how unflattering it was," she said. "The waist was gathered in so much it made an unflattering lump, with a dent where it had been altered, with silver shiny things showing.
"The cups didn't fit my boobs and caused an embarrassing nip slip all day and night in front of friends and family during pictures."
"The boning of the dress was so uncomfortable and hurt, so much so I was left with blisters on my waist.
"The sleeves slid, even with tape, as the material was far too heavy. They had added poppers to attach the sleeves, but even with the most minimalistic movement, they popped right off leaving my sleeves to slide straight down to my elbows.
"Let's just say I didn't feel like the dream princess I should have felt. But I got on with it and my wedding day itself was a dream come true."
Si Bridal has said sorry to Kelly, but they have declined any refund for the ordeal.
A Si Bridal spokesperson said: "Understandably, given the current political climate, there are many circumstances that are currently out of our control. We understand that this may have caused distress, however, we have and will continue to communicate all updates we receive from our designers with our lovely brides.
"We are always in constant communication with our designers internationally and remind our brides that we are always a phone call or social media message away for any advice they may require. This being said, we do not think it is professional to publicly comment further on the matter."
Si Bridal encouraged Kelly to get in contact with Riki Dalal instead. Despite the war in Ukraine, the firm has offered to make her a bespoke red carpet dress.
Kelly said: "I replied, 'where do you expect me to wear it?' and they replied 'to your birthday party'.
"I don't think my story can get any weirder."
