We are passionate about the wedding dresses we carry, and the service we offer to our brides. We truly believe it isn't just about choosing a beautiful dress, at a good price, it's about all the little details that we put in to make the whole experience stress free, relaxing and fun, which of course it should be. We offer you exclusive use of our boutique to choose your wedding dress, in our beautiful and private boutique located just outside Market Harborough.
Your appointment
Nestled in a rural location on the Leicestershire / Northamptonshire border, Rachel Ash is a luxury wedding dress boutique boasting exciting collections from the very best in British and International bridal couture.
We operate on an appointment only basis so each bride has our undivided attention and benefits from the exclusive use of our large private dressing room. Each wedding dress appointment will last 90 minutes so we have plenty of time to talk through your ideas, and help to bring them to life with our diverse range of beautiful bridal gowns.
"I would recommend this bridal shop to anyone and everyone. Aimee is a dream and not pushy at all like some other dress shops. She made the whole experience a real pleasure and I'm so pleased I was able to buy my dress from her. She had a beautiful collection and clearly has a brilliant eye for what's on trend."
FAQs
A bride will start shopping whenever is most comfortable for her and we support that whole heartedly, try not to put it off because we aim to make this an enjoyable experience for you. In terms of lead times for wedding dresses 12-18 months before your wedding date is usually a good time to start looking for your dress, this way you are shopping the dresses that are in-season for your wedding. You should aim to order your dress at a minimum of 8 months before your wedding date to allow time for it to be made, delivered and fitted. Certain designers will accommodate shorter time-scales but there is usually an additional charge for this service. Some of our designers also have 'stock ready' dresses meaning, if you really have left it to the last minute, we can usually get your dress delivered within a few weeks. Alternatively, we have a range of sample-sale dresses which are 'off-the-peg' and ready to take away the very same day.
Our wedding dresses range from £850 to £4,300 with the majority of our collection priced between £1,500-£2,500. Our separates start from £715 the upper limit depends on whether you purchase multiple combinations. We usually also have a collection of 'sample' dresses which start from approximately £350.
Our wedding dress samples are sized 10-20, but the majority of them are a size 12-14. Don't worry if that's not your size, there's lots of little tricks to give you a good idea of how they will look when they are in your size and fit properly.
A few of our designers also offer plus sizes, petite or made-to-measure services to ensure we achieve the correct fit for your body, we are all unique after all. This is at a slight additional cost but is a great option when ordering your dress.
We do offer a cleaning service for samples charged at £95. We can arrange to have your purchase dry cleaned prior to shipping, we use a specialist wedding dress cleaning company.
If you choose to have your sample dress dry cleaned prior to shipping, please allow an additional 8 weeks for your dress to arrive with you after ordering.
If you would like to take up this service please contact us on 01858 374960 or email info@rachelash.co.uk.
Absolutely! We do like to chat about your wedding style dreams and then we let you pick some dresses out. We are of course on hand to pick out some dresses that we think match your style, and also once we have seen you in a couple of dresses, we will have a good idea of others that will look amazing.
We are open by appointment only so our hours will vary depending on bookings week by week. If you need to contact us and we are not answering the phone then please drop us an email to info@rachelash.co.uk.
Monday: Closed - open by appointment request
Tuesday: Closed - open by appointment request
Wednesday: 10:00 - 16:00
Thursday: 10:00 - 16:00
Friday: 10:00 - 16:00
Saturday: 9:00 - 17:00
Sunday: 10:00 - 16:00
We run the boutique on an appointment only basis, this is to ensure each of our brides gets our undivided attention, and exclusive use of our large appointment room. Trust us this will make your shopping experience so much more relaxing.
To book your appointment you can do so through this website 'Book Now' button or by calling us on 01858 374960.
Our boutique is run by appointment only with exclusive use of our bridal suite, we are now charging for our weekend appointment service in line with our competitors. The appointment fee varies depending on the appointment type you are booking. Any appointment fees paid are non-refundable, unless appointments are cancelled with at least 48 hours notice via email only to info@rachelash.co.uk.
* Bridal Consultation - Weekend & Evening - £20, non-refundable unless cancelled with a minimum of 48 hours notice. Including bank holidays.
* Bridal Consultation - Weekday - free, save card details, £15 for late cancellation/no show.
* Bridal Consultation (2nd appt only valid for brides re-visiting the store) - free, save card details at booking, £10 for late cancellation/no show.
* Sample Sale Appointment - £10, non-refundable unless cancelled with a minimum of 48 hours notice.
* Bridal Styling - free, save card details at booking, £10 for late cancellation/no show.
We know that you may want to capture this moment by bringing your mum, BFF, aunties, grandma, future mother-in-law, sister, and all your bridesmaids, but if you can limit this to a couple of key people, we promise that your shopping experience will be that much more enjoyable! You'll want to bring guests who understand your true style, give supportive feedback, and will help you look your best.
We'll never rush you through the process, in fact we schedule all of our appointments for a full hour and a half. For many, this is enough time to find your dress (yep, even on your very first visit) and if you're not ready to decide after 90 minutes, it's probably a good idea to give yourself a well-earned rest. You will always be welcomed back to us for another appointment to try on your favourites.
We always advise our brides to wear suitable underwear, nude or white underwear will work best under the dresses. If you have a strapless bra, that can be handy but a lot of our dresses have in-built support so they aren't always needed. A hair-band or clip can always be useful too if you are thinking of wearing your hair up. We have plenty of shoes for you to try on with our samples so bringing your own shoes isn't necessary but if you prefer to do that then its not a problem.
We also request that in order to protect our beautiful gowns we also request that you avoid wearing heavy makeup, fake tan or jewellery on the day of your appointment to avoid any damage to the gowns.
Having said 'yes' to the dress and once the excitement has calmed we get to the boring paperwork! To place your order, we require a non-refundable 50% deposit. The remaining balance is then due at your first fitting with our seamstress or at your collection appointment.
Any alteration costs are not payable to us and are an additional expense you need to factor into your budget. The price of your alterations will be determined by your seamstress and is based on their own independent pricing. Any alteration costs are not the responsibility of Rachel Ash.
We do work with Abigail Westrup Bridal (AWB) for our in-house alterations, although please note this is an independent business and we do not have any financial benefit to offering this facility. Any fittings booked in-house with AWB will take place on select Thursday's only, there is no flexibility on dates/times offered.
We do also have a recommended list of seamstresses which are below. These are to be booked independently by our brides.
Katrina Sanders
WhatsApp Contact: 07947776779
Location: Atherstone, Warwickshire
- Alterations at Katrina’s house, no dedicated space so it will be cheaper.
- Experienced in all designers and work
- Experienced with bespoke adjustments
- Expect to pay £180-£250 for standard alterations, any complex or bespoke work will be more expensive.
Abigail Westrup Bridal
https://abigailwestrupbridal.com/
Locations: In-house Rachel Ash, Warwick, Bristol, Glasgow
- Beautiful private fitting suites
- Experienced in all designers
- Experienced in bespoke adjustments
- Expect to pay £450-£650 for standard alterations. Any bespoke work will be an additional cost.
- Expect more complex lace dresses/layered skirts be the more expensive end of the price bracket.
Dawn Bird Alterations
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050328474001
Location: Northampton
- Private fitting suite
- Experienced in all designers
- Experienced in bespoke adjustments
Samantha Harrison, Beautiful Unique
https://beautiful-unique.sumupstore.com/page/bridal-alteration-services
Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire
- Private fitting room
- Experienced/confident with any designers but worked significantly on Caroline Castigliano and Pronovias.
Sally Robinson
https://bridaldressalterations.co.uk/
Location: Aylestone, Leicestershire
- Private fitting room
- Experienced in all designers
- Experienced in all adjustments
Kate Moir
https://www.facebook.com/thealterationcompany
Location: Sileby, Leicestershire
- Private fitting room
- Experienced in all adjustments
First of all it can be nerve racking for brides seeing the dress again after waiting for so many months, so please rest assured we totally understand and are on hand to guide you through the process. Please bring your wedding shoes and the underwear you plan to wear under the dress.
We do also ask that you bring one guest or maximum of two, as our seamstress will require your undivided attention.
If you are having fittings with our in-house seamstress you are more than welcome to take your dress at your final fitting or to leave it with us until closer to your wedding date.
If you are using another external seamstress, then we will aim to have your dress with us at least 12 weeks prior to your wedding date, this is to ensure your seamstress has enough time to alter your wedding dress. Once you have booked a seamstress please do let us know so we can maintain our records of your order.
Caring for your wedding dress after you have worn it on arguably the most important day of your life so far, is something many of us wouldn't even think about. Although you may not plan on wearing it again, trying to restore it to the condition it was when you purchased it has its benefits and will protect the gown for the long term.
We offer an after care package priced at £190-220. This includes dry cleaning by a professional cleaning company and having the dress packed in a special hand made wedding dress box, in a design of your choice. We do also just offer post-wedding clean only service for £135.
If you would like to take up this service please contact us on 01858 374960 or email us on info@rachelash.co.uk