WEDDING dresses are being sold by a Colchester business for as little as £5 with all the proceeds going to charity, a retailer has announced.

Serenity Brides, in Short Wyre Street, Colchester, has been overflowing with the bridal gowns because it was contractually obliged to buy dresses from designers throughout the Covid pandemic, a time when social gatherings were banned due to lockdown restrictions.

Julie Macrae, the owner of Serenity Brides, said many dress sellers have been left in a similar position since 2020, and with new designs set to arrive in the shop in the New Year, the 76-year-old has decided to flog the cur-price dresses and donate the profits to charity.

Gazette: Brand new – the dresses, some of which cost up to £2,000 have never even been tried on beforeBrand new – the dresses, some of which cost up to £2,000 have never even been tried on before (Image: Julie Macrae)

She said: “We try to get rid of them, but there comes a point when you’ve just got to sell them because there’s no room to keep them in the store.

“The pandemic caused a problem because we weren’t open, but we had a contract with designers where we still had to buy samples – we still haven’t been able to get it back to a manageable level and I’m sure there will be a lot of businesses in the same position.

“In the bridal industry, they are all saying there are too many dresses and not enough brides for the number of shops there are.”

Though Mrs Macrae offered the dresses to a charity in Colchester, she said she never found out whether they were sold successfully.

“We gave a lot to a charity in the city and we didn’t hear whether they sold them or not – I never heard a word from them.”

Gazette: Experienced – Julie Macrae, 76, has owned and run Serenity Brides since 2007Experienced – Julie Macrae, 76, has owned and run Serenity Brides since 2007 (Image: Julie Macrae)

Mrs Macrae explained the money which the business takes in for the dresses will be donated to the mental health charity MIND and the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID).

She said: “It’s as case of making good use of them – all we ask for is a donation to MIND charity, a minimum of £5.

“From a commercial point of view, it’s hard for us because we paid good money for these dresses, but sometimes there comes a time when you have got to make room because you are full of dresses, some of which have never even been tried on before."