Chameleon Bride

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Chameleon Bride

Chameleon Bride Boutique in Bournemouth Dorset sells designer wedding dresses and mother of the brid

Chameleon celebrates over 35 years at the forefront of Bridal Retailing, we are also a proud member of the Retail Bridal Association. At Chameleon, you will find a beautiful collection of designer wedding dresses. Our extensive Ladies wear and Mother-of-the-Bride occasion wear department with co-ordinating millinery, shoes and bags means that everything that you require is hear under one roof, mak

ing it easy for you to enjoy shopping for that special day in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere with the best advise and service in the south. We stock Wedding gowns from Madi Lane, Essense of Australia, Enzoani Blue and Maggie Sottero. We have a sister shop which carries carries collections from Ian Stuart, John Charles, Luis Civit, Fely Campo and Veni Infantino. Come and visit Chameleon to view the stunning rages we offer from leading wedding dress designers.

15/08/2024

There seems to be an urban myth out there that bridal shops order wedding dresses too big.

It’s honestly not the case 🤷🏼‍♀️

Your wedding dress size is likely to differ (sometimes dramatically!) compared to your high street size.

We order according to the Designer size chart and we order based on your largest measurement. Dresses are made to a specific dress size and are not made to measure.

This means that when your dress comes in, it might be too big in some areas. Don’t panic!

Our seamstresses are there to alter the gown for that perfect fit 👌🏽

Any questions just shout 👇🏻

14/08/2024

Which halter neck wedding dress would you choose?

All 3 have stunning low backs 🤍

10/08/2024

Our Marble Suites have had a little facelift. New wallpaper and new seating from means your entourage will be comfy while they watch you try on our gorgeous dresses 🤍

04/08/2024

Your wedding is still 10 months away. You’ve got plenty of time to keep shopping for your wedding dress, right? WRONG (sorry!)

So, dresses take anything from 3 - 7 months to be made. Yes that’s right some of our designers are taking 7 months to make your dream dress for you when ordered 😳

On top of this, you need 2-3 months for alterations (and our in-house seamstresses only have a certain number of spaces in their alterations diary, so once full, we have to send you externally for alterations)

This means that in order to have the full choice of all our designers, you need to be placing your order at least 10 months before your wedding.

Now if you do place the order at 10 months, believe us when we say that this can be still be a little stressful 😫 You’ll still be waiting for your dress to arrive just months before your wedding. And as soon as she arrives, you’ll have to drop everything and come straight in for alterations (and don’t you just know this is going to fall on the worse week work wise and you have tons of meetings on?!) Not ideal right?

You’ll also have to be choosing your accessories such as veils/hair combs etc at the same time as alterations (and some won’t be available to you as they can take 3-4 months) 😞

It can all be a bit much so close to the wedding!

The DREAM timeline is to order your dress at least 12 months before your wedding. This gives you the choice of ALL our designers in store. This gives you a calm, relaxed and fun lead up to your wedding. There is no stress with this timeline 💁🏼‍♀️

You’ll have time to book in for an accessory appointment with all your gal pals waaay before you even have to think about alts.

You can then book your alterations appointment for a date that works around your work diary. Not having to stress to fit it all in.

If you do have less than 10 months, we can still get you a beautiful dress, but your choices of dress Designer will be more limited as you will have missed the cut off for some, and not all offer a rush cut for an additional fee.

Did you know this info?

01/08/2024

Georgia’s wedding looks like it should grace the cover of Vogue magazine! Just wow!

Beautifully captured by 📷

Venue
Make up
Hair
Florist
Dress

25/07/2024

Gorgeous Virginija on her wedding day 🩶

She chose a dreamy gown and customised it with an overskirt. Her dress is just a frothy tulle dream

Congratulations on your wedding beautiful and enjoy your new chapter together 🤍

22/07/2024

Calling all fashion forward brides… NOEMI by has arrived.

She has an over corset which just gives a peak-a-boo of the beaded bodice underneath… So you can go more conservative for the day - and then remove the corset for full bodice sparkle in the evening

Eva Lendel - at the forefront of bridal design as always 🩶

| Modern fashion forward wedding dress

17/07/2024

Once you’ve said a big fat “YES TO THE DRESS” with us. What happens next?

Depending on the designer you chose, your dress will take anywhere from 3-7 months to be made for you.

Designers give us an estimated arrival date but this can vary due to external factors (such as shipping, staffing and even Ukrainian wars!) In these crazy times, we always recommend getting your order in nice and early to save you and us grey hairs!

Once your dress arrives with us, we will send you an email and text to let you know the exciting news that SHE’S ARRIVED!! 🙌🏻

You will then be invited to attend an Accessory Appointment with us. This is such a lovely time where you get to try on your actual wedding dress and look at how you would like to style her - with veils, capes, jackets, hairvines, gloves, crowns, jewellery etc..

Some of our accessories do take 6-12 weeks to come in - so again it’s always best to have ordered your dress nice and early. You then have time to look at and order accessories in a relaxed way and you really do have the maximum choice.

After this, if you are using our alterations service, your first fitting will be approx 6-8 weeks before your wedding. This is when you need to be the weight you want to as at your 1st fitting your dress will be pinned and then altered to those exact measurements. You also need your wedding shoes as your hem is going to be cut to your exact heel height ✂️

Your 2nd fitting is then a few weeks before your wedding when you’ll come back to check all the alterations are ok. Most brides end up needing 2-4 fitting appointments to get that perfect fit 👌🏻

You will then take your beautifully steamed and pressed dress away with you in a gown cover bag to keep her away from prying eyes.

You are now wedding ready 🙌🏻

Any other questions, just shout 👇🏻

11/07/2024

Gorgeous Abigail 🤍 When the photos drop and so does your jaw!

Dress
Hair .makeup
Makeup
Amazing photos .co
Venue

Long sleeve high neck wedding dress

02/07/2024

MILLA NOVA TRUNK SHOW 23-26 AUGUST!

If you’re a Milla fan, this is for you! For this one weekend, the Designer will be sending us lots more dresses from the brand new Chapter Bride and Lorenzo Rossi Secret Garden collections.

Be one of the first brides to try on these 2025 dresses.

During this exclusive event, all brides who say yes to a Milla Nova dress get an exciting discount off their dress along with a goodie bag.

This weekend is not to be missed. Appointments are limited so book now to avoid disappointment 💕

24/06/2024

Sample Sale - 4 DAYS TO GO✨

Here’s a few tips to prepare for your Sample Sale appointment!!

▪️Be ready to buy
You need to be at the stage of wanting to buy your dress! The dresses sell fast so if you love a dress you have to go for it! You won’t have the luxury of sleeping on it with over 35 brides booked in

◾️Know what you’re wanting
Sale appointments are fast! Only 1 hour long so there isn’t time to try lots of dresses in different styles. Do a bit of research to know what you’re drawn

▪️ Choose your entourage carefully
Being the people you need there to say yes. There’s no point coming if you could not imagine saying yes without Great Aunt Mildred and she isn’t coming. We can’t hold dresses while you await someone’s approval

▪️ One dress, one size
We really do only have the one dress in the one size. It isn’t something you can come back to and decide later. If you don’t say yes, there’s a huge chance the very next bride could snap it up

▪️ Dress condition
All our dresses are new and not second hand. They are simply tried on in the shop. Due to this a dress may need dry cleaning or a button sewing back on or a bit of lace to re sew back down. Tiny little things can all be fixed by your seamstress. We get you to check the dress over to ensure you are fully happy with your purchase

▪️You’re there for a bargain!
And that is why you booked a sale appointment. You have to bear in mind although we are still giving you our best service the appointments are “no frills” ie no drinks and no say yes merch/gift. They are super fast paced and not like a regular bridal luxe appointment.

▪️ The fit
No dress will fit you perfectly! Even a dress in your size is likely to need alterations such as hem and tweaks to the bust. This means you are not tied into just 1 size. With alterations possible, buying bigger or slightly smaller and adjusting to you can be done! Buying a sample and sizing down is a lot cheaper even with alterations than buying a brand new dress m. You can therefore look 2 sizes up and 1 size down

▪️ No dresses can be reserved or held

Spaces still available for Fri/Mon

22/06/2024

Detachable overskirts are still so popular!

Which is Your favourite?

20/06/2024

SAMPLE SALE ‼️

Our sample sale is running Friday 28 June to Tuesday 2 July.

All of these dresses pictured will be the sample sale - ready to take home that same day.

All the dresses in our sale will be priced between £300-£1300. Some of these retail for over £3k so you’ll be getting a real bargain!

We have just 2 appointments left on Saturday- but more availability on the weekday dates.

Click our link in bio to book - select “free sample sale appointment”

18/06/2024

Congratulations to our stunning bride Morgan and her beautiful new wife Kat.

Morgan chose a minimalist chic dress, Renata.

📸
・・・
Morgan & Kat. What a gorgeous day this was. I loved how Morgan and Kat truly let their personalities shine throughout their day. You don’t need to reinvent yourself on your wedding day, simply enhance what you have and who you are and roll with it!

11/06/2024

Do you have more dresses than on your website?
YES YES YES we do …. 🙌🏻

Our website show you all our big name Designers and the dresses we have from them. But we do like to keep a little something up our sleeve…

We have 70+ styles on our rails that don’t always make their way on to our website as they are from our EXCLUSIVE “Chameleon Couture” collection … these gorgeous gowns are curated specifically for our boutique and we don’t therefore have any images of them on models. When we find 5 mins (which is rare- you girls keep us busy!) we try to pop these on our Stylists and take photos.

Kaleigh was obsessed with our new A V E R Y dress which arrived this week and couldn’t wait to put her on 🤍 Her basque waist is so on trend right now - but we love that her pearl beadwork is still so classic 🤌🏻

27/05/2024

Just engaged? Read our handy hints and tips as to how to prepare for wedding dress shopping 🤍

Any other questions, just shout 👇🏻

22/05/2024

Our gorgeous real bride M on her recent special day 🤍

EPIC Photos:
Dress: by
Venue:
MUA: .clients
Hair:

Eva Lendel Bride | Beaded wedding dress | Long sleeve wedding dress

15/05/2024

Our Emily’s wedding looks like it stepped out of the pages of a glossy magazine. The vibes were epic 🧡

Wearing her stunning wedding dress and these jaw dropping pictures captured by the over talented

Styling of by , flowers by and that dreamy hair by

07/05/2024

MEET THE TEAM 🤍

We’ve had a few new followers recently so thought we might say hi and introduce ourselves.

Say hello to Anneliese - our girl boss and owner.

She took over the business over 7.5 years ago and since then has rebranded, remodeled and expanded. Before owning a bridal shop, she was a lawyer for 14 years before deciding she wanted to do something a little happier. And what could be more joyful than the wedding industry?

She’s obsessive about wedding dresses and the latest trends and hottest designers. Often spending waaaayyy too many hours on Instagram seeking out new styles.

At the shop, you’ll often find her hibernating in the office at the back, hiding under all the paperwork. She’s the one that does all the ordering, bill paying, website and most the social media.

Her favourite part of the job is unboxing new designs and looking at real brides pictures. She’s also quite partial to a pearl headband…

Random facts about Anneliese: she’s obsessed with shoes and animals (not in that order!) She has her own shoe room at home housing over 200 pairs of shoes 😱

She’s an absolute animal lover - and more particularly a crazy cat lady! She fosters for a charity in the local area and even volunteered at a Thai animal sanctuary at the end of last year for a whole month. She loves travelling and visiting new countries - where you’ll often find her sat on the floor cuddling and feeding the local feline strays!

02/05/2024

BRIDAL TRUTH 📢

Ok this is a big one.. Not everyone cries when they find their dream dress 🙈

Don’t let the “Say Yes to the Dress” rerun marathons create unrealistic expectations for your wedding dress shopping experience.
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Not everyone tears up in their dress and that’s okay! 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

If you go looking for it, it probably won’t happen. If you’re generally not a crier… then don’t expect to cry.

And the more dresses you try on, the least likely you are to have that reaction as you do become a little desensitised to the dress shopping experience.

Wedding dress shopping can be deeply emotional but sometimes it isn’t. It might not hit you until you have a chance to sit back, breathe, and reflect on the entire process.
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Some get tears, some get butterflies, some have a quiet moment of peace. Others have a big, bold moment of enthusiasm, jumping for joy and doing a happy dance!

Sometimes for all you logicians out there - it’s a process of elimination. “Which dresses can I safely rule out until I’m left with one I have no objections about”.

We’ve even seen frowns on brides - confusion why they love this dress over others.

We’ve seen all reactions and all are “normal”.

Don’t over complicate it and go searching for a specific feeling or reaction. Just ask yourself “do I love the dress? Will I feel amazing in it in my big day? Can I imagine myself getting married to the love of my life wearing it?”

It can just be a feeling of contentment. Knowing that you will feel comfortable wearing this dress on your day and that it’s somehow ‘you’.

How did you feel when you first met your fiancée? Some had the bolt of lightening, that HUGE chemical reaction…for others it was more a gradual realisation.

It can be the same with dresses. Some brides just know... others just keep coming back to that dress.
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Whatever your response, embrace your instincts and allow yourself to enjoy that moment in YOUR WAY what ever way that might be!

30/04/2024

One of our absolute favourites 🤍
Eclipse by 🤍

Rate a dress from 1 to 10 in comments!

29/04/2024

Double the pearls, double the satin 🤍

CLARINS is both regal and refined. Coming very soon!

11/04/2024

We understand that you would really love it if all your nearest and dearest loved your dress. But, the reality is that not everyone agrees. And the bigger the group, the more opinions = the bigger the headache for you in trying to please everyone.

We’ve done a few “pick your favourite” reels recently- and if you scroll through the comments, no-one agrees! Some love them all, some love only 1, others hate every single one 🥴

Everyone is different. Everyone has different tastes. And if you bought a different group of friends to every appointment, even though they all know you, know your body and your style, they’d all pick a different dress for you to wear.

You cannot please everyone.

The only person you need to listen to is you. Which dress makes your heart sing?

In our mother of the bride shop, something we (sadly) hear ALL THE TIME is that “I wish I’d picked xx dress. I went with the one [insert mum/sister/friend] loved”

Our advice is keep your bridal shopping group small. Bring those who support and understand your vision. Listen to your gut and wear what you love 🤍

04/04/2024

Real Bride Kirsty looking breathtaking in her gown.

“I just wanted to drop a message to say a massive thank you for helping me find my dream dress! We had our special day last week and I still can’t stop thinking about my dress! It was just perfect and me in every way. I had so many compliments on the dress and people asking where it’s from, so best be sure when the girls get engaged i’ll be sending them your way! I really have never felt so good!”

Photos

23/03/2024

First things first. You don’t have to lose weight for your wedding. [say it louder for the people at the back]

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOSE WEIGHT FOR YOUR WEDDING

Your fiancée is marrying you for you and not your dress size. Your worth is not defined by the size label in your dress and none of your guests will see your dress size - just you wearing a stunning dress 🤍

But you do you and if you do want to lose a few pounds before the wedding know these 2 key things:

1) as a good rule of thumb, wedding dresses can be taken in by around 2 dress sizes. This means that you can still find your dream dress, get it ordered and still lose a few pounds if this is what you truly want to do.

2) Don’t leave shopping too late. We often see brides put off shopping as they want to lose weight first. The problem is that they can then sometimes come to us too late to order a dress (our dresses take 3-6 months to be made and you need your dress to arrive at least 2 months before your wedding to avoid grey hairs through stress and to allow for alterations). 9-12 months is the sweet spot for ordering your dress.

Any questions just shout 😊

21/03/2024

If Consultant Kaitlin was getting married tomorrow, which dress would you pick for her? Vote below 👇🏻

All part of our in-house Chameleon Couture collection

14/03/2024

GWEN 🤍 Happy sigh!

08/03/2024

Happy International Women’s Day 🤍

To our beautiful brides who choose to support our small female led business. Thank you!

To our gorgeous team of girls, who work tirelessly to make our bride’s dreams come true. Our arms might ache from lifting dresses, our fingers bleed from pins, our feet ache from all the running and our cheeks ache from smiling. But we all just adore our job and weddings! Thank you to our amazing girls who throw their heart and soul into every appointment. We laugh, we cry, we moan and we whoop together. You’re all the best! And you all help to make Chameleon the best bridal boutique with the most supportive atmosphere 🤍

04/03/2024

OVERSHOPPING ✌🏻⁣
We’ve been seeing a lot of brides lately who have been to 5/6/7 shops. And by that time, they are so CONFUSED!

And believe us, these are the unhappiest brides ☹️

They have overshopped. They are dress blind. Everything starts to blur and they can’t even remember the detail of even their favourite gowns.

They no longer know what they are looking for in a dress and are now numb to the excited feeling (know that feeling at Christmas when you’ve eaten too much chocolate? You keep going, but actually you’re no longer enjoying it? Or when you’ve sniffed too many perfumes… everything begins to blur… yup it’s the same!)

Wedding dresses are beautiful! There are many many gowns that you will look breathtaking in. If you keep trying on, how will you ever choose? Know that situation where the cocktail menu has 50 choices on and you get paralysed by vast choice?

Let us let you into a secret… you can never try on every dress. There are billions out there! And new dresses will be released right up to the day before your wedding. And you can’t try them all.

When you were looking for the one you wanted to marry, did you keep on dating after you found them “just to make sure?” Probably not…

If you find the dress that makes you cry, smile or even makes you dance, or that you just feel very comfortable and “you”. It’s the one. Don’t overthink it. Don’t second guess yourself. Say a great bit fat YES TO THE DRESS and move on to the next bit of wedding planning 🙌🏻

And unlike some shops, with Chameleon the fun doesn’t stop once you’ve said yes. You get to come back and see us when your dress arrives, for an accessory/styling appointment and for your alterations. And we’ll celebrate with you at each and every appointment ✨

Address

Opening Hours

Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00
Saturday	09:00 - 17:00
Sunday	10:30 - 16:00

Website

http://www.chameleonbride.co.uk/

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Videos

What would your bridal Consultant choose? Fitted or aline? Lace or plain? See if you agree!

Helly ✨ How would you wear her? 1) Lace bodysuit or 2) satin gloves? Tell us below 👇🏻

Just the most appropriate name ever for a dress - meet DARLING 🤍

Dana - proving that a plain dress can be spectacular 🙌🏻 @evalendel #evalendel #evalendeldana #plainweddingdress #simpleweddingdress #satinweddingdress #dorsetbride

Which is your fave? 1) Leafy lace 2) Graphic lace and sparkle We’d love to know your thoughts 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 @madilanebridal @essenseofaustralia #madilanebridal #mlcassia #madilanebride #madilanecassia #essenseofaustralia #essensebride #D2905 #curvybride #curvyweddingdress #bridewithcurves #plussizeweddingdress #plussizebride

Another beautiful new arrival 🙌🏻 This beauty is from our very own in-house collection - Chameleon Couture. She needs a name. What shall we call her? #satinweddingdress #plainweddingdress #simpleweddingdress #classicweddingdress

When your guests get this stunning view 🍑 🍑 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ LAINEY by @enzoani ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⁠ #BlueByEnzoani⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #enzoani #dressoftheday #Lacedetails #love #lucidweddings #dirtybootsmessyhair #theweddingbliss #fantasywedding #weddinginspo #brideinspo #bridegoals #weddings #luxurywedding #glambride #gracefulbrides ⁣#mermaidweddingdress #lainey⁠ #chameleonbride #dorsetbride

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Our Story

Chameleon celebrates over 35 years at the forefront of Bridal Retailing, we are also a proud member of the Retail Bridal Association. At Chameleon, you will find a beautiful collection of designer bridal gowns, wedding dresses and Mother of the Bride/ Mother of the Groom special occasion wear created by the country's leading award-winning designers. Our extensive Ladies wear and Mother of the Bride / Groom occasion wear department with co-ordinating millinery, hats, fascinators, hatinators, shoes and bags means that everything that you require is hear under one roof, making it easy for you to enjoy shopping for that special day in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere with the best advise and service in the south. We stock Wedding gowns from Made with Love, Essense of Australia, Madi Lane, Maggie Sottero, Sincerity and Enzoani Blue.

Our Ladies wear department carries collections from Veni Infantino, Ian Stuart, John Charles, Luis Civit, Fely Campo, Lizabella, Gill Harvey, Gabriela Sanchez, Condici plus many more. Come and visit Chameleon to view the stunning rages we offer from leading wedding dress designers.