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Bridal gowns are hard to come by in the capital with most options reflecting the flamboyant Arabic style. The best-known bridal shop in Abu Dhabi is Rahmanian (02 676 7079) at the Tourist Club Area end of Hamdan Street. Dubai has a broader range of dresses on offer and has several excellent bridal shops to choose from. Jumeira Beach Road is home to several, including The Bridal Room (04 344 6076) and Frost. Pronovias has a store in The Dubai Mall. For high-end designer gowns head to Saks Fifth Avenue’s bridal department in the BurJuman Centre which stocks the latest off-the-peg designer wedding gowns by Vera Wang and Reem Acra. The store keeps some gowns in stock, but others can be ordered (allow around four months for delivery). The bride will need to attend a number of fittings, but alterations are done in-house and are to couture standards.

There are several specialist bridal gown designers with workshops in Dubai, but Arushi (arushifashion.com) is renowned as one of the best. You can select the fabric yourself or it can be selected during the first meeting with the designer. Gowns take around one month to make, but as Arushi is so popular, there is often a waiting list.

Some of the tailors in Abu Dhabi are also able to work from pictures to create your ideal dress, but proceed with caution as, while most tailors will tell you they can sew anything you want, standards vary hugely, so it’s best to ask to see some samples of similar work before commissioning an expensive garment like a wedding dress. Bridesmaids and other wedding guests, as well as mothers of the bride and groom, are well catered for at stores such as Coast, Debenhams and Monsoon, among many others.

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